[bild1]
As captain of Schalke 04's Bundesliga team, he's one of the established players with Germany. Having finished the club season on a high, with Schalke coming 4th in the table, Benedikt Höwedes is now keen to follow this up with the national team.
Ahead of Germany's encounter with Ecuador on Wednesday (Boca Raton, FAU Stadium, kick-off 14:30 local time), DFB.de writer Steffen Lüdeke talked to the 25-year-old central defender about Miami, Champions League finalists Dortmund and Bayern, and his friendship to Per Mertesacker.
DFB.de: Benedikt, the team have been here for almost a week now – your impressions?
Benedikt Höwedes: Things couldn't be better – a lovely hotel, a fantastic environment, excellent weather. Okay, let me qualify this – it's a little too hot and humid to play football, actually, so that training is more intense and tougher than what we're used to back home.
DFB.de: But it's not "all work and no play", is it? How did you like going to the NBA Eastern Conference final between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers?
Höwedes: An absolute highlight! The atmosphere in that arena was electric. The Americans clearly know a thing or two about staging if not to say celebrating events. The crowd went wild, it was truly phenomenal.
DFB.de: Not too much show business?
Höwedes: Naw, for me it was a great experience. You can't really compare this with football in Germany, basketball's a completely different game, with much higher scores, and many more interruptions offering opportunities for show interludes.
DFB.de: Generally speaking, the American public isn't as mad about football – or soccer, rather –as people in Germany. Has anybody recognised you yet?
Höwedes: No, but that's a welcome change from home, where fans and the media watch your every step and you can never really feel unobserved. Over here, people just aren't interested in soccer players from Germany. At the basketball game, it was fun standing next to the dancers and watching them, not us, being asked for autographs!
DFB.de: Has the fact that many regular players are absent from this squad had any impact on dressing room atmosphere?
Höwedes: Not at all. The mood is very good, and while everybody knows everybody else from the Bundesliga, it was remarkable to see how fast we managed to bond so well.
DFB.de: You're one of the established players – does this mean you're showing the newcomers the ropes?
Höwedes: There's no need for that. I mean I'll be happy to give advice when asked, but everybody here knows how to kick a ball. No-one needs me as a kind of private tutor.
DFB.de: New players equal new competitors. Is there anybody you're keeping a watchful eye on, Philipp Wollscheid for example?
Höwedes: Competition is an integral part of life when you play for Germany, and as a football player you're used to having to assert yourself day-in, day-out. Any national team player who's afraid of competition would be out of place.
DFB.de: How did you like the Champions League final?
Höwedes: A fast-paced match full of offense-minded, forward-oriented football. In the first half, Bayern looked a bit nervous, but then they got into their stride and had more and clearer chances to score, so eventually I'd say they deserved to win.
DFB.de: Would it be fair to say that, as a Schalke player, you weren't exactly heartbroken about FC Bayern's victory?
Höwedes: Let's say I was happy for Manu (Manuel Neuer). But in a way, you're right. Had Dortmund won that trophy, their fans in the Ruhr area would have loved to rub it in big time!
DFB.de: If the international media are to be believed, teams from Germany are now "light years ahead of their European rivals"….
Höwedes: The fact is that Germany has caught up in leaps and bounds in the last few years in terms of both national team and club football. Two German teams meeting in the Champions League final was no coincidence. It's really the reward for long, hard, and respectable work, tactically and technically speaking.
DFB.de: In Germany there's talk of Bayern and Dortmund dominating a Bundesliga that may become 'too boring' – as a Schalke player, can you relieve fans of their worries?
Höwedes: Rest assured that we'll have a say in the matter! It's true that Bayern's financial clout enables them to sign players who are out of reach for many other Bundesliga teams. Schalke just aren't able to spend EUR 40 million on a single player. We have to focus on identifying and nurturing young player and strategically strengthen the team. But there's definitely quality in our squad and I am certain we'll be able to keep our place in the top four. Over the last few years, we were one of the most successful German club teams, and everybody at Schalke wants it to stay that way.
DFB.de: It's Germany vs. Ecuador on Wednesday. What do you know about them?
Höwedes: They're at No.10 in the FIFA World Ranking, and you don't get to be there for nothing. We'll have a team meeting where the coaching staff will give us a comprehensive round-up. But any German national team, no matter of who's in the starting line-up, has the self-given mission to perform and, if possible, deliver a win.
[bild2]
DFB.de: How important would this be for media coverage of this tour in Germany?
Höwedes: You mean that debate about whether this tour makes any sense at all? Let me say I find this incredibly unfair against the players who are here. But having said that, we're called upon to silence our critics. We just have to give everything we've got and be worthy ambassadors of German football.
DFB.de: One of the options available to Joachim Löw would be to play you and Per Mertesacker as central defenders…
Höwedes: Because we get along so well? It's true, we've been good friends since last year's European Championship, probably because neither of us got many match minutes, so we ended up spending a lot of time together. We realised that we can laugh about the same things and have more or less the same outlook on life. So far, we've managed to maintain some kind of exchange even when we're not together with the national team.
DFB.de: In Holger Badstuber, one of your national team colleagues has just suffered a bad relapse of his injury…
Höwedes: I feel so sorry for him! He had made such great strides and become a regular with FC Bayern and the national team. It's extremely unfortunate for him to be sidelined yet again. But, knowing him, I'm sure he'll claw his way back, and I wish him all the strength and good luck in the world.
created by dfb
[bild1]
As captain of Schalke 04's Bundesliga team, he's one of the established players with Germany. Having finished the club season on a high, with Schalke coming 4th in the table, Benedikt Höwedes is now keen to follow this up with the national team.
Ahead of Germany's encounter with Ecuador on Wednesday (Boca Raton, FAU Stadium, kick-off 14:30 local time), DFB.de writer Steffen Lüdeke talked to the 25-year-old central defender about Miami, Champions League finalists Dortmund and Bayern, and his friendship to Per Mertesacker.
DFB.de: Benedikt, the team have been here for almost a week now – your impressions?
Benedikt Höwedes: Things couldn't be better – a lovely hotel, a fantastic environment, excellent weather. Okay, let me qualify this – it's a little too hot and humid to play football, actually, so that training is more intense and tougher than what we're used to back home.
DFB.de: But it's not "all work and no play", is it? How did you like going to the NBA Eastern Conference final between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers?
Höwedes: An absolute highlight! The atmosphere in that arena was electric. The Americans clearly know a thing or two about staging if not to say celebrating events. The crowd went wild, it was truly phenomenal.
DFB.de: Not too much show business?
Höwedes: Naw, for me it was a great experience. You can't really compare this with football in Germany, basketball's a completely different game, with much higher scores, and many more interruptions offering opportunities for show interludes.
DFB.de: Generally speaking, the American public isn't as mad about football – or soccer, rather –as people in Germany. Has anybody recognised you yet?
Höwedes: No, but that's a welcome change from home, where fans and the media watch your every step and you can never really feel unobserved. Over here, people just aren't interested in soccer players from Germany. At the basketball game, it was fun standing next to the dancers and watching them, not us, being asked for autographs!
DFB.de: Has the fact that many regular players are absent from this squad had any impact on dressing room atmosphere?
Höwedes: Not at all. The mood is very good, and while everybody knows everybody else from the Bundesliga, it was remarkable to see how fast we managed to bond so well.
DFB.de: You're one of the established players – does this mean you're showing the newcomers the ropes?
Höwedes: There's no need for that. I mean I'll be happy to give advice when asked, but everybody here knows how to kick a ball. No-one needs me as a kind of private tutor.
DFB.de: New players equal new competitors. Is there anybody you're keeping a watchful eye on, Philipp Wollscheid for example?
Höwedes: Competition is an integral part of life when you play for Germany, and as a football player you're used to having to assert yourself day-in, day-out. Any national team player who's afraid of competition would be out of place.
DFB.de: How did you like the Champions League final?
Höwedes: A fast-paced match full of offense-minded, forward-oriented football. In the first half, Bayern looked a bit nervous, but then they got into their stride and had more and clearer chances to score, so eventually I'd say they deserved to win.
DFB.de: Would it be fair to say that, as a Schalke player, you weren't exactly heartbroken about FC Bayern's victory?
Höwedes: Let's say I was happy for Manu (Manuel Neuer). But in a way, you're right. Had Dortmund won that trophy, their fans in the Ruhr area would have loved to rub it in big time!
DFB.de: If the international media are to be believed, teams from Germany are now "light years ahead of their European rivals"….
Höwedes: The fact is that Germany has caught up in leaps and bounds in the last few years in terms of both national team and club football. Two German teams meeting in the Champions League final was no coincidence. It's really the reward for long, hard, and respectable work, tactically and technically speaking.
DFB.de: In Germany there's talk of Bayern and Dortmund dominating a Bundesliga that may become 'too boring' – as a Schalke player, can you relieve fans of their worries?
Höwedes: Rest assured that we'll have a say in the matter! It's true that Bayern's financial clout enables them to sign players who are out of reach for many other Bundesliga teams. Schalke just aren't able to spend EUR 40 million on a single player. We have to focus on identifying and nurturing young player and strategically strengthen the team. But there's definitely quality in our squad and I am certain we'll be able to keep our place in the top four. Over the last few years, we were one of the most successful German club teams, and everybody at Schalke wants it to stay that way.
DFB.de: It's Germany vs. Ecuador on Wednesday. What do you know about them?
Höwedes: They're at No.10 in the FIFA World Ranking, and you don't get to be there for nothing. We'll have a team meeting where the coaching staff will give us a comprehensive round-up. But any German national team, no matter of who's in the starting line-up, has the self-given mission to perform and, if possible, deliver a win.
[bild2]
DFB.de: How important would this be for media coverage of this tour in Germany?
Höwedes: You mean that debate about whether this tour makes any sense at all? Let me say I find this incredibly unfair against the players who are here. But having said that, we're called upon to silence our critics. We just have to give everything we've got and be worthy ambassadors of German football.
DFB.de: One of the options available to Joachim Löw would be to play you and Per Mertesacker as central defenders…
Höwedes: Because we get along so well? It's true, we've been good friends since last year's European Championship, probably because neither of us got many match minutes, so we ended up spending a lot of time together. We realised that we can laugh about the same things and have more or less the same outlook on life. So far, we've managed to maintain some kind of exchange even when we're not together with the national team.
DFB.de: In Holger Badstuber, one of your national team colleagues has just suffered a bad relapse of his injury…
Höwedes: I feel so sorry for him! He had made such great strides and become a regular with FC Bayern and the national team. It's extremely unfortunate for him to be sidelined yet again. But, knowing him, I'm sure he'll claw his way back, and I wish him all the strength and good luck in the world.
