It is no wonder that Kristin Demann has been a regular for Steffi Jones during the group stages of the European Championship in the Netherlands. The 24-year-old speaks to DFB.de about quarter-final opponents Denmark, her role on the field as well as in the team and how deep their opponents will be playing. She also describes how the excitement is building ahead of Germany’s last eight clash.
DFB.de: Kristin Demann, there are four Germany players that have featured for all 270 minutes at the European Championship so far. Do you know who they are?
Kristin Demann: I suppose Almuth as the keeper, Babs, Maro, and me.
DFB.de: Correct, is it an honour?
Demann: It is obviously nice when you can sense that confidence they have in you, especially in my current position. It is good when you can play with people like Maro and Babs, who have already been to lots of tournaments and have a lot of experience. It is enjoyable playing alongside them.
DFB.de: How do you view your role in the team?
Demann: It is my first major tournament which is why I am glad and happy with every minute I get to play. I try to pass it well, switch the play and hit some balls long. The things I do might be less obvious but that is fine.
DFB.de: To what extent does the way you play depend on the opposition’s tactics?
Demann: We always look at each opponent ahead of every game and analyse what solutions we can find against them. Where do you have to shut down the space and how can we exploit them going forward? These are the things I try to prepare for individually but the most important thing is that we work well as a team.
DFB.de: Will the match against Denmark be a little bit different to those in the group stage because they may be more attacking?
Demann: We hope that they attack more. I think we have enough games against teams that just sit back. If the Danes come at us a bit more, that will create more room for us.
DFB.de: And if they park the bus?
Demann: We still want to play the way we like to. We want to dominate, have a lot of possession and create a lot of chances. We failed to score from open play in the group stages but the opportunities were there. I would be more concerned if we were not creating. You could see against Russia that we can be dangerous from long distance but we also attacked down the wings and combined well with each other. We are versatile and don’t just follow a fixed template when we play. That is why I am not thinking anything different about the way we attack.
DFB.de: How do you manage to stay so calm on the pitch when you receive the ball in central midfield?
Demann: I try to anticipate where my teammates and opponents are going to be standing so that I can already have an answer in my mind as to when I will get the ball. Once I am in the game and have found my rhythm, then the nerves die down. Once I have played a few passes, then I am in my element.
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It is no wonder that Kristin Demann has been a regular for Steffi Jones during the group stages of the European Championship in the Netherlands. The 24-year-old speaks to DFB.de about quarter-final opponents Denmark, her role on the field as well as in the team and how deep their opponents will be playing. She also describes how the excitement is building ahead of Germany’s last eight clash.
DFB.de: Kristin Demann, there are four Germany players that have featured for all 270 minutes at the European Championship so far. Do you know who they are?
Kristin Demann: I suppose Almuth as the keeper, Babs, Maro, and me.
DFB.de: Correct, is it an honour?
Demann: It is obviously nice when you can sense that confidence they have in you, especially in my current position. It is good when you can play with people like Maro and Babs, who have already been to lots of tournaments and have a lot of experience. It is enjoyable playing alongside them.
DFB.de: How do you view your role in the team?
Demann: It is my first major tournament which is why I am glad and happy with every minute I get to play. I try to pass it well, switch the play and hit some balls long. The things I do might be less obvious but that is fine.
DFB.de: To what extent does the way you play depend on the opposition’s tactics?
Demann: We always look at each opponent ahead of every game and analyse what solutions we can find against them. Where do you have to shut down the space and how can we exploit them going forward? These are the things I try to prepare for individually but the most important thing is that we work well as a team.
DFB.de: Will the match against Denmark be a little bit different to those in the group stage because they may be more attacking?
Demann: We hope that they attack more. I think we have enough games against teams that just sit back. If the Danes come at us a bit more, that will create more room for us.
DFB.de: And if they park the bus?
Demann: We still want to play the way we like to. We want to dominate, have a lot of possession and create a lot of chances. We failed to score from open play in the group stages but the opportunities were there. I would be more concerned if we were not creating. You could see against Russia that we can be dangerous from long distance but we also attacked down the wings and combined well with each other. We are versatile and don’t just follow a fixed template when we play. That is why I am not thinking anything different about the way we attack.
DFB.de: How do you manage to stay so calm on the pitch when you receive the ball in central midfield?
Demann: I try to anticipate where my teammates and opponents are going to be standing so that I can already have an answer in my mind as to when I will get the ball. Once I am in the game and have found my rhythm, then the nerves die down. Once I have played a few passes, then I am in my element.
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