It's been a stand-out season thus far for Hamburg goal-getter Ivica Olic. In 22 Bundesliga appearances, the 28 year-old sharpshooter has scored ten goals. Since joining HSV in January 2007, Olic had a few problems, but now he is confident, settled and setting his targets high, as he revealed to bundesliga.de

bundesliga.de: Ivica Olic, with all due respect to HSV's elimination in the DFB Cup (against Wolfsburg), surely it is better to have to concentrate on two competitions: the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup?

Ivica Olic: I think it is a shame, as we were one game away from a final appearance. I'm not happy about that, but still, we are doing very well in the Bundesliga and in the UEFA Cup. There's still a few games left to go and we can still achieve something this season.

bundesliga.de: Not many fans or experts thought that Ivica Olic would be such a dangerous goal-getter this season. But how about you? Do you sometimes have to sit back and think about your season? Or have you done as well as you personally expected?

Olic: Personally, it's no big surprise. Wherever I have played, in Croatia or in Russia, I have managed to score a lot of goals. When I first came here, I wasn't as good as I wanted to be and I had a bad run of form. Now things are much better. In Hamburg, I need to score 15 goals a season as a striker. I think that is a normal quota for a HSV striker.

bundesliga.de: You're the kind of player who seems to never tire out. You just run and run! Where does this come from ?

Olic: That's always been one of my strong points. Looking back over 15 years, I have done a lot of running. It's not true that I am "never" tired; I juts give 100% all the time. That has always been my style. I don't have the technique of a Brazilian, so I've always had to run a lot. It was like that in Russia, in Croatia and in the national team.

bundesliga.de: You won the 2005 UEFA Cup with ZSKA Moscow. What sporting dreams do you still have?

Olic: Naturally, I'd like to finish first in the Bundesliga, but that will be very tough. It would be nice to win the UEFA Cup once again, and if I could do that with HSV it would be a major success. To be honest, I don't really know. I just concentrate on my game on a day-to-day basis.

bundesliga.de: Before joining Hamburg, you played for a few years in Moscow, and before that you had a brief spell with Hertha BSC. Did your time in the German capital help you adapt to playing in Hamburg?

Olic: I was very young back then and only stayed in Berlin for 15 months. I wasn't that developed and I have to admit that. I was just a talent and so I thought it would be better for me to return to Croatia. It was better for my development, as the league there is not as strong as the Bundesliga. I think I made the right choice. Those 15 months were however good for me. I trained with Bundesliga professionals and learnt some German. It was a good lesson, but it was also good that I returned to Croatia to play a couple of seasons there.