Marbella. Naher Basara has not signed a new contract with Hammarby yet.
Sportbladet had a chat with the Bajen captain about, among other things, contract negotiations, mentoring the club’s young players, the battle for the top, AIK’s signing of Pole Jimmy Durmaz – and what Hammarby means to him.
– I sacrificed a lot to return to Hammarby and I hope the fans feel the love, he says.
Naher Basara played 114 matches with Hammarby and was chosen as the captain of the team this season. During the training camp in Marbella, Bajin will lay the foundations for a serious challenge for SM gold this season.
– I think the team is a little different compared to last year. We generally have a lot of young players, so it’s up to us for the older, more experienced players to try and control it, he says.
Were you surprised, for example, by the departure of such an experienced player as Fton Berisha?
– Yes, I think everyone was. Because he came last summer and he was signing up for a profile. Then it disappears after six months, that’s how football works.
You are the captain of the team now, how do you see how important your role is?
– We are a few older people who are framed. Since then, the club has added many exciting young players from its ranks. But it’s me, Laureate Sadiko, Madsfinger, and a few others who will show the way. We know what it takes to play in Hammarby and succeed.
– It’s just a matter of managing the juniors, they have all the talent in the world. We will help them on their way.
Why are you playing football in your life now?
– I think it has to do with the fact that Hammarby is now the best team I’ve played for in my career. It’s the first time I’ve played in a big, offensive team. With all due respect to Örebro you scored a lot of points. It also has to do with the way we play football here at Hammarby, the expectations and so on.
“I watch football a lot.”
You and Marti Cifuentes feel you have a special chemistry, how do you experience it?
– Yes it is true. We see football the same way, we want to play the same way too. I watch a lot of football and when I watched some with Arsenal and Manchester City, I could come the next day and ask Marty if he saw how they played and what they did, and he saw the same thing. We discuss a lot about these details.
– I follow this kind of football a lot. The player played by Arsenal, City, Barcelona and Real Madrid as well as Marty.
I’ve been around clubs like Göztepe, Hatta, Al-Fayhaa and Paphos abroad. Is there a club choice you regret or is there something in your career that you think you could have done differently?
– You talk a lot with our young players about it, when you read about interest in them. When you talk to guys, they’ll probably tell you what I should think about and what I should do differently. But for me, there is no regrets.
– I’m where I want to be now. Then I feel like I did something good to get here.
But you must have gone through some strange things during your career?
– Yes, there are probably many things. My typical career wasn’t like going to Holland or Italy or something like that. It was different.
– But I made friends for life and got to know a lot that not many people can do.
What do you say that my donkey means to you?
– It means a lot, of course. I sacrificed a lot to get here and everyone knows I wanted to come back. This is where I want to be.
– I feel like there were a few times I wanted to bring myself back, but it didn’t suit the club and things like that. But now everything felt perfect.
When you say “sacrifices”, is it because you skipped the high reward from Orebro, or what do you mean?
– Well, other things too. I had other options on the table as there was a lot of money to be made. But I have never chased money this way. She went after what I wanted in football. Especially now, it was 100 percent what the heart wanted.
Naher Basara has not signed a new contract with Hammarby yet. The two parties have conducted a dialogue but have not yet succeeded in reaching an agreement, although negotiations are continuing.
“I don’t want to get involved in…”
Sometimes you may feel that many clubs in Allsvenskan are not inclined to spend a lot of money on an older player who has strong feelings for the club if you compare him to a foreign signing. How do you see that?
– You can’t become a prophet in your town, that’s usually a valid theory. But this theory has been refuted many times. You have Kennedy here in Hammarby and Marcus Rosenberg in Malmö. They broke this theory.
– I think clubs value loyal players too, but it turns out they don’t have to pay the same way because those players are already in a place they want to be and don’t want to play for anyone’s Allsvenskan club.
– So either it’s that club or he’s going abroad, because you don’t want to break off your relationship with the fans. If you play for another Allsvenskan club, you break the thing you had with the fans. So either you play for the club you love or it will be abroad.
But do you wish to agree with Hammarbi?
– Yes, my agent had an interview with Hamrabi. So I let them handle it. I don’t want to get involved, that’s their job.
– I take care of the midfield so they can take care of themselves outside.
Got a lot of positive feedback from the fans?
– Yes sure. I really feel loved. They write a lot on social media and on Instagram. And when they met me in the city. I really hope they feel the love.
Do you think you need to recruit a few players to join the challenge?
– I leave it up to Jesper Jansson. We have lost many incredibly good players who we will miss, but at the same time we have young players who can explode from day to day. But as I said before. Hamrabi existed before me and will exist after me. They will sign good players, although we have a good foundation to stand on now.
How do you see the first fight, AIK has trained, among other things, with Jimmy Durmaz who has been training with you for a while?
– Yes, I know Jimmy very well and only spoke to him a few days ago. Interesting that Allsvenskan is full of profiles. It’s a fun league and it’s fun for so many teams to prepare as well. Plus there will be new coaches who want to play good football and it will be interesting to start soon.