Marijan Pusnik's joker Franck Ohandza was not a surprise just for the players of Iasi. General public was surprised when on Tuesday night Hajduk's coach announced a list of passengers for Romania, since Ohandza did not join the team for a pre-season camp in Austria and Slovenia.
However, according to the program of the coaching staff, Franck worked persistently and ended his rehab in Split, while his teammates were preparing for the season in Steyr and on Pohorje. On his first training sessions with the team in Split, before the start of the new season, it could already be noticed that Hajduk will have a player that can make a difference and that such player is in the club already.
In the 46th minute, Hajduk was losing 2:0 in Iasi, and coach Pusnik sent Ohandza on the pitch. Just two minutes later, Hajduk started their come back from 2:0.
"I am already happy for a chance to play and to be with the team after a long pause" said our humble Franck one day after the away match in Romania.
"The first half really didn't look good. However, at half time we agreed that we need to change the situation as soon as possible and try to start the turnaround. We managed to do that quickly, I found myself in a promising situation and scored. I am happy for that".
Before the trip to Iasi, Franck was not ready for some big announcements. Although he always enthralls Hajduk fans with his game, he remains modest even in the times when others would be celebrating. Experience has taught him that he still needs to be careful in such situations. On the pitch, but in the announcements too.
"I go step by step, I don't need any extra pressure. I feel good, I am now at some 70 percent of my optimal condition level and I only want to further improve 5 or 10 percent the next time I get a chance to play. There is a long pause behind me, in Iasi it was therefore not easy to play in the first moments. However, it didn't take long to get back with the good old feeling. You ask me how I was feeling after the game? Good, better".
Franck earned and heard public compliments from his coach Pusnik. He played and took a serious dose of risk. Fortunately, all ended well for him and Hajduk. He fails to hide caution whenever he is asked about what he expects from himself in the upcoming season. He got burned once so he is now blowing on the cold water too. When talking about the second leg match with Iasi, he speaks differently.
"We are a better team than Romanians who are good in defense, but not overly dangerous forward. Despite they scored two goals and created some goal chances, I think our first goal would solve everything. If we score first, we'll play with a lot less pressure and only then we will show everything that we know and we can. Believe me, if we score the first goal quickly, we will probably score more by the end of half time. If so, I can already see us in the third qualifying round against Ukrainians" said Hajduk's striker Ohandza.
