Our new player Tomas Zapotochny has given his first interview to Beşiktaş’s official web site with his new Black and White jersey on. Zapotochny couldn’t stand losing and gave everything his got on the pitch. Here are extracts from the interview with the Czech player:

What are your plans for the new season?
“It is an extremely exciting situation for me. A new team, a new league and new mentality… I am making the necessary adjustments to suit all of them. My main goal is to win every ahead of us this season. That’s why I’ve transferred to this great club. I hope I do not disappoint them.”
What do you know about Turkish Football and Beşiktaş in general?
“I know there are a lot of fast and technical players in Turkish football. They have proven their talent in Euro 2008 recently. They also put up a valiant effort and never give up until the referee blows his final whistle. Our trade talks have been going on since winter. Therefore, I had a chance to follow all their European games at close range. I cannot wait to wear that Black and White jersey on the pitch.”
How did you feel at the end of the Turkey- Czech Republic game in Euro 2008?
“Of course, it is always sad to see your team loose in the closing stages. We should have won that game, because we had a two- goal advantage with only 15 minutes from time. Then the Turkish team staged an unbelievable comeback and thanks to our goalkeeper’s mistake, scored 3 goals in a row to walk way with 3-2 victory.  It sure was a ‘once in a life time’ match. We will not get over it for a long time.”
Could you give us some information about your playing style?
“I am, what you may call, an aggressive player. I put pressure on the player I am defending from start to finish. I’d like to keep the ball on the opposing team’s side of the pitch. I try to win games even during training sessions, let alone the league the games. I cannot stand losing under any circumstances, so I give everything I’ve got when I am out there.”
Do you receive cards quite often?
“I received only one red card during my career in Italy, which probably has the roughest league in Europe. In that position I was the last man standing on the goal line and had no other chance to stop the other player from scoring.
Holosko, Sivok, Seric and I are all professionals playing in similar positions and we have sufficient experience for not getting unnecessary cards on and off the pitch.
Having four players from the same part of Europe on your lineup is surely a positive asset for team. It was actually Holosko who convinced us to play for Beşiktaş. We used to play together at Liberec. Therefore we know each other quite well and will have no adaptation problem. Besides, we must all concentrate on winning our games and have no time for adaptation matters. If you are a true professional, you should be ready to play everywhere on this planet.”
Could you give us some brief information about your football career?
“I started playing football when I was only 6-7 years old in a small village called Pribram. After playing at the different age levels of Pribram’s youth organization, my coach took me to Liberec with him. There I spent 4.5 years before getting transferred to Italian Udinese.”
What do you know about our country? Have you ever been to Turkey before?
“I had a chance to visit Izmir City while playing for the B Team of the Czech Republic. But I know how historical and large the Istanbul City is. I fell in love with the city when I took trip around the Bosphorus. I am sure there are many other attractive places to visit but I am not in a rush, because I will have enough time to see them all.”
You are player of a team which is fighting on 3 different categories.  What is your message to our fans?
“As I’ve told before, I always have a deep desire to win. I have seen how sweet the championship can be when I was playing for Liberec and I want to repeat it here. This means winning both the Turkish League and Cup and go as far as we can in the UEFA cup.”