Olić severs home ties for Hamburg

Ivica Olić may be forced to break his brother's heart as Hamburger SV head to NK Dinamo Zagreb needing a draw to progress to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.

Big break
The 28-year-old Hamburg No11 has fond memories of Dinamo, having joined them from neighbours NK Zagreb in 2002. His 16 goals in 27 games for the club in the 2002/03 Croatian season helped them win the title and saw him launch his international playing career. He earned a high-profile move to PFC CSKA Moskva, then to Hamburg in January 2007.

Family ties
However, when it comes to his return to Zagreb, not even family or friends will stop him from seeking a win, even though a draw would be enough for his side to progress. "It will be hard on my brother," Olić said. "He is a Dinamo fan and said that a draw would be best." International team-mate Boško Balaban has also been on to Olić on behalf of his current club. "He told me how important the match would be for Dinamo, but I answered: 'Sorry pal, but I can't help you there.' "

German reputation
Olić is starting to earn a great reputation in Germany after some difficult times in his first months with Hamburg. While he scored five times in his first 15 matches in the back half of the 2006/07 season, he earned a reputation for missing good chances. Coach Huub Stevens stuck with him, though, and his work-rate has won admirers throughout the club. Sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer once said that after a match, the exhausted Olić's body is "one big cramp".

Goalscoring feats
Goals have come too, with Olić becoming the first Hamburg player to score a true hat-trick - one goal with each foot and one with his head - in the 4-1 win against champions VfB Stuttgart on 20 October, while his strike for Croatia in a 3-2 win at Wembley helped knock England out of UEFA EURO 2008™. Sunday's draw pitted Croatia against Germany at the finals, with Olić saying: "It's good to play Germany in the group stage, becaue you don't want to meet them in a knockout match."

Special place
As he heads back to Zagreb, Olić feels that regardless of the quality of the current Dinamo squad, Hamburg are in for an exciting experience at the Maksimir Stadium. "They have a technically very strong team, with some top players like Luka Modrić, who I think will play for Chelsea [FC] or Arsenal [FC] next year. [The stadium] is old and decaying, but there is an incredible atmosphere there - very loud. Our national team was unbeaten there for ten years because of the atmosphere."