Nikola Šarić
In our latest interview with one of Gary Ablett's reserves, Liverpoolfc.tv talks to a striker who grew up a refugee after fleeing war-torn Bosnia. This is the incredible story of Nikola Saric...
It's spring 1992 and a bloody civil war has broken out in Bosnia.
The capital Sarajevo is under fire and guerrillas have begun a deadly campaign which will force 1.8 million Bosnians and Croats to flee their homes as part of Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II.
In their number is father-of-one Pedro Saric. He and his wife have no home, no money and no idea where their tiny son Nikola will grow up.
"I was only one and a half years of age at the time, but my parents have told me all about it," says Nikola, now 18.
"My family had nothing when I started life and they were forced to move to a foreign country where they didn't have jobs.
"You could see what's happened since as a fairytale story in some ways." And some.
The Saric family embarked on an onerous journey across the continent to a refugee camp in Denmark. A stopgap, they presumed. Little did they know that the war would last until November 1995.
Mum, dad, Nikola and new arrival Boris would remain in the camp for six years.
It was here that the seeds of a career in football were sown.
"We couldn't go to nursery or anything like that because we were supposed to be going home - but the war took four years," explains Nikola.
"So it was my dad who encouraged me to play football. He played in goal, though not professionally. I kicked my first ball when I was three and from there my dad would push and train me.
"I had boots but they weren't boots I wanted to wear. They were hand-me-downs from older friends and I would wear them until there was absolutely nothing left of them."
It's all a far cry from the Bill Shankly Playing Fields in West Derby where young Scousers cut their teeth but, sensing a distant echo of violins, Nikola interjects to prevent this becoming a sob story.
"It was a normal pitch - no grass or lines. We'd make the goals ourselves but football is football, it's the same wherever you play.
"To be honest, I don't really tell these things to many people. It's in the past. I don't want people to feel sorry for me. I don't know if Liverpool knew any of this when I signed. If someone asks me about it I tell them, otherwise I won't mention it."
Nikola joined his first club, Fano Boldklub, while still in the camp aged six. Again, his dad was central.
"My parents got to know some Danish people and it happened through them," explains the youngster. "My mum and dad told them about me and were told to bring me along."
It soon became clear that Nikola was not your average refugee.
At 13 he was snapped up by professional club Herfolge, where a dedicated coach took the youngster under his wing.
"The coach helped me a lot," Nikola explains through perfect English. "He was always looking for places we could go and play around Europe - Germany, Italy, anywhere. We went to Spain and played against Real Madrid. "
Nikola impressed even though his side lost 5-0.
"It's funny because Gerardo Bruna is my teammate here, and he played for Madrid and scored two goals. Don't mention that in your article, though!"
Herfolge finished a credible third in the tournament behind Real Madrid and a Barcelona side containing a certain Dani Pacheco.
Nikola's performances prompted Barca to offer him a week's trial. It went well, but his family and advisors considered him too young to leave a country he now considered home. Tottenham were also keen, but it wasn't until Liverpool came along last summer that the teenager was finally persuaded to leave Denmark.
Nikola had just a week to say his goodbyes after discovering Rafa Benitez and chief scout Eduardo Murcia were keen.
There was talk of his family moving to Merseyside, but they stayed in Copenhagen - where his dad now scouts for Herfolge and his mum works in a nursery school - for the sake of young Boris.
Nikola admits there are times when he aches for home - any teenager would feel the same. By the same token, he feels his childhood instilled in him the strength of character to adapt.
"I think it helped me to settle down," he says. "I think I found it easier than some to get an apartment sorted and to get to know my teammates here. You learn from everything that happens and I think I'm a lot stronger now.
"Maybe it has made me more grateful for what I've got. Some people don't have to play - they could stay at home and think of something else to do, but this is my only choice.
"I have no idea what I'd do if I couldn't play football. I don't come from a rich family who can send me to school or university. Since I was three I told my mum and dad I wanted to play football. I didn't have a Plan B."
Thankfully for Nikola, Plan A looks pretty foolproof. Managers across Denmark voted him their U17 Player of the Year last term and staff at Melwood expect big things when he returns from a persistent knee injury which has kept him out all season.
The forward is due train with his teammates for only the third time this week and he hopes to get some minutes for the reserves before 2008-09 is out.
Fans can expect to see a technically gifted player capable of playing up front or on either wing.
"I just want to come back and play," says Nicola, who has represented Denmark at U17, U18 and U19 level. "When you arrive at a new club you want to show them they were right to sign you.
"I don't even know anything about the team yet. You can watch them live but I don't know how things are going to work out until I play."
If the way he's overcome past tests is anything to go by, Nikola doesn't have anything to worry about.
sa sretnim zavrsetkom 
