Neven Subotic has now found his feet at 1. FC Union Berlin. The 30-year-old centre back steadied the defence at Augsburg before excelling in our 3-1 win at home to Borussia Dortmund, his former club. So how has the experienced campaigner found his first month in Berlin? Christian Arbeit spoke to Neven in an interview, which can be found on AFTV, the club’s video platform, or in Saturday’s matchday magazine.

CA: We have received a lot of questions from the fans. It starts with an issue, that we’re wondering if it is actually one at all. After the game against Leipzig, you were photographed on your way home via the Berlin S-Bahn. This raised quite a lot of questions like ‘how could it be that the world famous footballer Neven Subotic rides with the train?’ Do you still hear that?

Subotic: Yes, of course. The question is really: at what point do people accept me as a person, not as a general footballer who has to live like a stereotype? Sometimes it becomes absurd when I go out for a walk or cook at home. The initial interest was amusing, but it levels off. People understand that I’m a normal guy like everyone else. Some folk go to work with a car; I go via train.

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Is there an unfulfilled dream in your career? Or could it not have gone much better for you?

A little bit of both. On one side, it really couldn’t have been more nice. What I experienced — like championship wins that nobody expected from us — I still get goosebumps today when I think back. It’s unbelievable what I was allowed to experience. I was on loan at 1. FC Köln when they qualified for Europe. Most loan deals end with a handshake and best wishes for the future, but we had the celebration of a century in Cologne. With St. Etienne, I accepted the challenge where we started as 16^th and finished fourth in the next season. There was also a lot inside the club, which happened, so it was a great experience for me. So now I’ve got the chance to create something with Union. The victory against Borussia Dortmund was a highlight, but nothing is guaranteed yet. There’s a mega chance here which I really like. When I look back on 20 years as a player, it’s tasks like this one at Union which give my football experience extra value. Nevertheless, there’s obviously still goals I want to reach. As an ambitious person, I set my self almost unachievable goals, which motivates me to stay focused. Many people say that my goals are very ambitious: which is why I don't want to be so concrete here. I'll work on achieving them until I can't, that's for sure.  

For us Union supporters, it was almost unbelievable to think Neven Subotic would be joining us. How was it for you the first time the phone rang and it was from Union Berlin?

First of all, there is of course a middleman in these kinds of negotiations. For me it was fairly clear, that I want to play back in the Bundesliga or possibly in the Premier League. When I heard that Union was interested, I thought: I need more information. This would have been the same for any club, there's some things that you need to find out: Who is the coach, how long has he been there, is he gone if we lose three games? You also know it from other areas of work. With a new boss it takes some time. It can go well, but it can also go badly. The coach's idea is also important: what kind of football should be played? The player must fit the team, but the team must also fit the player. Of course, other factors play a role here: the human factor, for example. Here I had information that I personally got from the club, the players confirmed what the coach and the manager had told me before. And as normal as that may sound, it's unfortunately unusual in our business. In training, nobodywould cross the line, we act courageously - these are all points that are very important to me.

Did you feel under pressure when you started here? You came to us after a long injury and had to prove your fitness to us. Many reporters were a little bit impatient when it came down to your first appearance? Same for you?

Nobody wants to play more than me, but it's not really a race. I don't have to prove anything to any journalist in the world. For me it's about making the right decisions in the context of the team and the season. Of course, I could have played two weeks earlier. But why should I take a risk if it's not necessary? I can absolutely stop this pressure. At times, my career to date has also given me a sense of aspiration and expectation, because I was champion with Dortmund and played in the Champions League final. Some people then seem to really think that that's why I defend everything on my own. Of course that's not possible and after a few days it felt like it was over again. I'm not a superman, I can always get the best results when I'm in a team with my colleagues. Here at Union, everyone has to fight for their position, everyone wants to play. We have a very large, but also high-quality squad, within which many positions are almost equally filled. So nobody can complain if someone else gets the advantage because everyone trains hard and well. It's good for the level of training and it helps to push each other within the team. It's different when there are only two central defenders and you know that they play anyway, no matter what they do in training.

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Let’s chat about your charity work. It’s not often that footballers get so involved in social projects during their playing career. When and how did you decide to tackle this?

Choosing a foundation was a recommendation from an old acquaintance. At first, it wasn’t making friends from it, but the likes of Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker have shown that you can achieve so much during your playing days. My task as a human being — and here, I see myself as a human not as a footballer — is to act and help according to what is possible for me. For example, I might be ill, my legs have been amputated, I can’t work, I have no support for my family — from a society point of view, these are people that we need to take care of. On the other hand, those of us working, who get huge sums of money and have contacts at their disposal, who can help together if you want to. If you look at these two examples, I think one of them bears a certain social responsibility. I want to create this balance; I want to live in a fair world. However, fairness does not happen on its own and we must not leave it up to the states and governments. As a society, we have to work on it. It was important for my own charity that I look beyond my own nose and don’t just want to be active in my area or region. The worldwide social context was really important. We want to focus specifically on one problem: in this case, the access to clean water — and then solve that.

So that means you are building wells in areas where it is a problem?

Exactly, yes. Especially in places where women and children have to walk for hours to fetch clean water. The long distances to the water source and the poor quality of the water cause many, many problems. For example, children who are sent to fetch water cannot attend school at the same time.

Do you manage to see the development of that on site sometimes?

In the summer and winter, I’m always there. Meanwhile, we have internal audits, but also discussions with the respective community to see if everything works ok. We have further checks to make sure that the pump works or when necessary, that it is properly repaired.