JUST ONE BIG FYRYTALE

TAKIS FYSSAS' greatest wish as a kid was to watch Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United playing in the world's greatest club competition.

The notion that he would one day play against Europe's big guns was beyond his wildest dreams.

That's why the Champions League has handed the Hearts defender the greatest experiences of his career.

The Greece international has already played in the competition with former club Panathinaikos in his homeland.

And his experience could prove vital when the Tynecastle side face Bosnia's Siroko Brijeg in the first leg of their qualifier at Murrayfield tonight.

Fyssas said: "The Champions League has given me some of the best moments in my career. I have nothing but great memories from the tournament.

"When I played for Panathinaikos I played everywhere and I mean in the biggest and best stadia in Europe.

"I played against the likes of Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Manchester United at Old Trafford, Arsenal at Highbury and Schalke 04 in the Schalke Arena to name a few.

"To play against Real Madrid and Barcelona gave me the ultimate high as a footballer. I often dreamed as a child of going to these places as a fan and suddenly there I was inside both of these venues as a player. They were big moments in my football career.

"We lost most of those games but I remember we beat both Real Madrid and Juventus in Athens and they were great experiences.

"At the moment Hearts can only dream about drawing those kind of illustrious opponents. I would not want to give false hope to the fans as the team still have to beat Siroki Brijeg first and that will be very difficult for us. I am not that kind of person who runs around shouting this kind of thing from the rooftops anyway.

"All the Hearts players know I don't like to come across as someone who says, 'I know this' or, 'I have experience of this'. I just want to be like the rest of the players in the Hearts team and be one of them.

"I am not a new player any more and I just want to learn and give everything to Hearts.

"I keep my experiences to myself but if someone wants to come and ask me something about playing in the Champions League or international football for Greece then of course they are free to come and ask my advice.

"But I never go to the other players and tell them this or that as it is not my style."

Fyssas knows Hearts will have a difficult task in trying to follow last season's successful campaign when they finished runners-up to Celtic in the SPL and won the Scottish Cup.

But berth in the lucrative group stages of the Champions League would be a fantastic start.

The 2004 European Championship winner with Greece said: "Last season nobody believed that by the end Hearts would still be playing as well as they did at the start of the campaign.

"We won the Scottish Cup and finished second in the SPL and we are extremely proud of that achievement.

"This season it will be more difficult for us but to keep our name and reputation as high as possible in the game in both Europe and Scotland we have to improve.

"This could be a big season for us and we have to work hard but I believe Hearts can enjoy another successful season.

"The players will see for themselves how beautiful it is to play in Champions League games. But we are still a long way off qualifying for the group stages and it is vital that we start with a good result in against Siroki Brijeg in order to advance to the next round."

Fyssas admits when he signed for the Tynecastle club he had private aspirations that they would challenge for a place in the Champions League.

And after starring in Otto Rehhagel's Greece side that shocked the footballing world in 2004 Fyssas is well aware that nothing is impossible in football terms.

Fyssas said: "When I came to Hearts I never really thought about the future but at the back of my mind I harboured some private dreams about the club which I kept to myself.

"That's why I was very happy with the success we had last season. It was a big success for the club and the players and it gave joy and happiness to the fans.

"That was very important but that has just opened up the avenue of possibilities and we must give everything for this season also. That is why I am solely focused on getting Hearts through to the next round of the Champions League.

"I have confidence and I never stop believing. It is the start of the season and nobody is 100 per cent.

"But in this kind of game we must give all of our heart if we are to get the result that we want. I believe Hearts have the team and the heart to be successful in the Champions League."

Taken from the Daily Record