Juventus was one of the teams in the scramble to sign the Czech forward from his home club. The deal looked to be sealed but Fenin had a change of heart after claiming he would not be happy as Juventus would loan him out to Udinese Calcio or Genoa CFC for a season. He then swiftly agreed to a deal with Eintracht Frankfurt where he got to a good start, scoring a hat-trick in his first match. Fenin played for several different youth national teams of the Czech Republic having the most starts for the under-19 team. Fenin scored three goals for the Czechs in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, including one in the final against Argentina. After the tournament he won 16th place in a poll for best under-21 player. One thing you notice about Martin is his love for the game and his love for playing in Frankfurt and he was more than happy to talk to me after practice one day.
Tim Harris: A little over a year now in Frankfurt, How do you feel within the team now?
Martin Fenin: Well it was not easy in the beginning. I came here with no one on the team speaking my native language nor could I speak German, no family and really not knowing how everything works here. I had allot to learn not only about the country but from the team and from the trainer. But everyone on the team was very helpful and that helped make things easier.
TH: Well you set a high standard for yourself, you very first game in the Bundesliga with 3 goals against a team like Berlin. Did you think that the fans would expect that every game?
MF: Well the fans know that does not happen everyday. I mean I was very lucky that day but I was also happy to show the fans and everyone else that I was worth all the effort they had put into me. You know the fans and coaches only want to see you give your best and that is all I try to do.
TH: Why did you choose to come to Frankfurt when there were teams like Weder Bremen and Juventus interested in you?
MF: Well because I knew in Frankfurt I would get to play and I knew Frankfurt wanted me. At the time I was the highest paid player on the team and for Eintracht to be willing to spend that kind of money is not as normal as for a team like Juventus. I went on the internet and seen the atmosphere in the stadium and I just wanted to really be part of that.
TH: How do you feel when you get to play here at home in Frankfurt?
MF: It is great. I mean there is not many places where you get to play in front of so many people and the Frankfurt fans are behind us 110%.
TH: You and Libelopolus seem to play very well together, how do you two make that happen?
MF: Allot of hand signals as neither of us speak the same language. Actually Nikos knows what I can do and I know what he can do and we do our best to play to each other strengths.
TH: So which team in the Bundesliga do you like to play against?
MF: Of course Bayern and the Yellow wall in Dortmund is also something to see. Of course no stadium is better than here at home in Frankfurt.
TH: What are the biggest differences from the Bundesliga and the league in you home country of Czech?
MF: It is a different style of game. You really have to be on your game if you are going to be a professional player in any league today because as you see nowadays it is very easy to go from one country to the next and play and you have to be ready if asked to do so.
TH: How long would you like to stay in Frankfurt?
MF: Well my contract is till 2012, and then we will see. I am very happy here but 2012 is also a long ways away. I concentrate more on what we are doing now and to give my best to the team as a whole.
TH: In closing is there anything you would like to say to our newsletter readers?
MF: Yes, Thank you so much for your support and I hope we continue to receive your support even when things do not look so good. I assure you we as a team are doing all we can to become better as a team. Thank you.
