World Cup winner Mats Hummels has looked back on last season and has been critical of himself and claims that issues, such as being overweight, were reasons for his poor form. “The first half of last season was probably the worst I’ve ever played in my life,” said Borussia Dortmund’s defensive leader in an interview with kicker.
That was also due to his physical condition. “The first half of the 2014/15 season felt and seemed very sluggish,” explained Hummels. “In terms of my weight, it was a disaster for me. I have a guilty pleasure of comfort eating, and because the first half of the season brought a lot of frustration for me, it became a vicious circle.”
Persuasive Tuchel
Now he has returned in a completely different condition, and at a clearly lower weight, than he did in 2014. He has done this by eating well and because he supposedly did more running sessions on holiday this year than in previous years combined. Now he is a bit quicker across the ground – “I didn’t notice it with just one kilo lost, but after a few, yes.”
Earlier in the year Hummels was publically considering a move to another club, but new manager Thomas Tuchel convinced him to stay at Dortmund. “We had a conversation whilst I was still thinking about my future and I really liked what he had to say, as well as how he said it,” said the central defender.
Hummels not clinging to captaincy
He liked that Tuchel spoke directly to him about personal flaws: “when a manager wants to motivate me to stay, I find it very good when he doesn’t butter me up but talks to me clearly.” Essentially there were days when he wanted to go but others when he wanted to stay: “when I do move, I must be 100 percent convinced to do so. I have to know that it works on all levels; and that just wasn’t the case this year.”
But he isn’t necessarily clinging to the captaincy at Dortmund. “This question is not even relevant for me. If Tuchel prefers to have another captain, then that isn’t a problem in the slightest for me,” said Hummels. “I noticed last season that a lot of needless comments were made from outside about me as captain. And I don’t need that.” If Tuchel were to ask him if he wanted to remain as captain, he would be ready to do so.
World Cup winner Mats Hummels has looked back on last season and has been critical of himself and claims that issues, such as being overweight, were reasons for his poor form. “The first half of last season was probably the worst I’ve ever played in my life,” said Borussia Dortmund’s defensive leader in an interview with kicker.
That was also due to his physical condition. “The first half of the 2014/15 season felt and seemed very sluggish,” explained Hummels. “In terms of my weight, it was a disaster for me. I have a guilty pleasure of comfort eating, and because the first half of the season brought a lot of frustration for me, it became a vicious circle.”
Persuasive Tuchel
Now he has returned in a completely different condition, and at a clearly lower weight, than he did in 2014. He has done this by eating well and because he supposedly did more running sessions on holiday this year than in previous years combined. Now he is a bit quicker across the ground – “I didn’t notice it with just one kilo lost, but after a few, yes.”
Earlier in the year Hummels was publically considering a move to another club, but new manager Thomas Tuchel convinced him to stay at Dortmund. “We had a conversation whilst I was still thinking about my future and I really liked what he had to say, as well as how he said it,” said the central defender.
Hummels not clinging to captaincy
He liked that Tuchel spoke directly to him about personal flaws: “when a manager wants to motivate me to stay, I find it very good when he doesn’t butter me up but talks to me clearly.” Essentially there were days when he wanted to go but others when he wanted to stay: “when I do move, I must be 100 percent convinced to do so. I have to know that it works on all levels; and that just wasn’t the case this year.”
But he isn’t necessarily clinging to the captaincy at Dortmund. “This question is not even relevant for me. If Tuchel prefers to have another captain, then that isn’t a problem in the slightest for me,” said Hummels. “I noticed last season that a lot of needless comments were made from outside about me as captain. And I don’t need that.” If Tuchel were to ask him if he wanted to remain as captain, he would be ready to do so.
