Szabolcs Huszti, welcome back to 96. You trained with the squad for the first time on Tuesday morning. What are your impressions on your return?
 
Huszti: “It feels a little bit like being back home. The first training session this afternoon was fun. We played an 11v11 game straight away. There are a lot of old faces in the team too.”

Who are they?

Huszti: “Steven Cherundolo of course, but also Christian Schulz, Jan Schlaudraff, Mario Eggimann, Kocka Rausch for example, and from the staff there’s Thommy Westphal and Mille Gorgas. With all these people still here I don’t think it will take too long to settle back in. While I’m at 96, I’d like to show that I’m a good player. The bottom line is, all that matters is the success of the club, and I want to help with that.”

What do you intend to do now that you’ve transferred? What are your personal goals?
 
Huszti: “I want to play football of course, because for the past few months in St. Petersburg, it didn’t happen very often. I use training to show what I can do. I know that I’ll get my chance if I perform.  I also want to show Zenit that they have lost a good player. Now, my full concentration is on 96. In the end, it's all about having success as a team."

How did you keep track of Hannover 96 in Russia?
 
Huszti: “When I looked up information about the Bundesliga at the weekend, I always wanted to see how 96 got on first. Obviously I looked at the table a lot to see where they were. The development in the past few years has been fantastic. When I first came to Hannover, we were always in moving around different parts of the table. Hannover is actually in the international frame at the moment.”

It’s your second consecutive year in the Europa League.

Huszti: “Yeah, obviously I didn’t expect that so my respect for this achievement is even greater. This season, we want the show what we’re capable of internationally. Last season we were among the best eight teams. However, our first goal should be to make it to the group stage.

Looking back, how would you assess your transfer to St. Petersburg? Was it the right decision to leave Hannover?
 
Huszti: “It’s good that I can say something about that again so that people can understand me properly. In 2009 I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to a top international team. Zenit St. Petersburg won the 2008 UEFA Cup and then later the European Super Cup. They beat FC Bayern 4-0 on the way to the title and easily brushed aside Bayer Leverkusen. On top of that, they offered me a great contract and a decent transfer fee for the club. I had to take up the offer. I didn’t take a gamble, but rather opted for a big club with outstanding prospects. That level was just not possible with Hannover at the time.”

How do you feel physically?
 
Huszti: “I’ve been at a training camp for 10 days with the Zenit reserves already. Europa League starts for us next week. Naturally I’m ambitious to play some part in the game.

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