Mats Hummels sits attentively on the podium at Borussia Dortmund's hotel. The German player has not only got his mind on the club's training sessions at BVB's training camp in La Manga but he has also got his mind on the press conference.
In pleasant temperatures in south-east Spain, Jürgen Klopp's team want establish a basis for a successful second half of the season in the Bundesliga. The national player reported for duty in a short t-shirt at the team's hotel during their preparation in Costa Calida. DFB.de were there as well.
Mats Hummels about...
...The World Cup being on his mind: As funny as it sounds, the World Cup has had a longer lasting effect on my knee than in my mind. After the World Cup in 2010, I didn't have any problems getting back onto the pitch and getting into the right frame of mind after a short period's rest. That didn't happen this year. On the Friday before the game against Leverkusen, I injured myself and the injury has unfortunately been with me for the whole first half of the season. Right now, everything feels good.
...On his fitness condition: At the moment, everything looks very good. In winter, I was allowed to do a bit more and I am in good shape. If I get through something without injuring myself, then the foundation is laid for me to play how I expect myself to play. That was not the case in the first half of the season. I can count the games on one hand in which I felt fit or was not in any pain.
...The many injuries: Almost all teams get them unfortunately. Football is always getting quicker than it was in previous years, more intensive and we play more games. I get the feeling that teams get more injuries now than they did ten years ago. Sven (Bender) will be back at the beginning of February, Erik (Durm) as well. That is not great but, if it stays that way, then we will have been a bit lucky, as we have only had two players that have had short spells out. At other teams, there are players that are out for longer. I hope that that does not happen to us now.
...The intensity of the training in La Manga: Everything is much more intensive now. I'm trying, like everyone else, to take advantage of the training sessions and tire myself out but am also trying to come out of it a little bit fitter. That is everyone's approach. Up until now, everything has gone to plan. The manager has even praised us at times and that is rare in training.
...His mental work: At the end of the first half of the season, we had a problem with our self-confidence. That was evident from the fact that we were conceding so many goals. We are working on that simply by lifting our morale through successes and trying to inject some self-confidence back into our own game.
...His new role as captain: That didn't go how I wanted it to go in the first half of the season, also with regards to my own situation, as I was often injured. That makes you fight more with yourself. So far, not much has changed, as Kehli (Former captain Sebastian Kehl) is there and is the clear leader in the group because he is a natural leader himself. He has always done that outstandingly and was aware that he was needed to help shape the team in this transitional year. He speaks with me a lot and helps me because you have to have the whole team in your mind. I think that, from now on, he can complete the transition for me and you can expect me to now do everything on the pitch that is expected of me.
...His confidence for the second half of the season: I have a lot of confidence. There are many reasons why we only picked up 15 points in the first half of the season. Our willingness in training is now very good but our technical skills are also at a high level. You can see that every individual not only wants to improve themselves but also the part of the team in which they play. I think that we are well on the way to being ready for the 31st January, when we play against a very hard opponent (Bayer Leverkusen).
...New player Kevin Kampl: He has confirmed what I saw of him when he was at Salzburg . It so happens that that happened a few more times this season. He's always struck me as a very positive person. He has confirmed that straight away and he is also a good footballer. He can work and run, and he wants to work and run. That is very important for us.
...The future planning of the club and individual players: I don't know if you only have to apply that to the relegation battle. We have also lost a lot of players after winning championships. Therefore, it would not mean that a player has a weak character if, come the end of the season, he were to say that he wanted to play elsewhere. I understand very well that the boss of a club sees that very differently.
...His own abilities to succeed in the relegation battle: We'll see. When I played for Bayern's academy, we were in the same situation and we got out of it. I therefore think that it should be possible to do that again. First of all, we have to try and get back on track in the first few games.
created by mmc/emd
Mats Hummels sits attentively on the podium at Borussia Dortmund's hotel. The German player has not only got his mind on the club's training sessions at BVB's training camp in La Manga but he has also got his mind on the press conference.
In pleasant temperatures in south-east Spain, Jürgen Klopp's team want establish a basis for a successful second half of the season in the Bundesliga. The national player reported for duty in a short t-shirt at the team's hotel during their preparation in Costa Calida. DFB.de were there as well.
Mats Hummels about...
...The World Cup being on his mind: As funny as it sounds, the World Cup has had a longer lasting effect on my knee than in my mind. After the World Cup in 2010, I didn't have any problems getting back onto the pitch and getting into the right frame of mind after a short period's rest. That didn't happen this year. On the Friday before the game against Leverkusen, I injured myself and the injury has unfortunately been with me for the whole first half of the season. Right now, everything feels good.
...On his fitness condition: At the moment, everything looks very good. In winter, I was allowed to do a bit more and I am in good shape. If I get through something without injuring myself, then the foundation is laid for me to play how I expect myself to play. That was not the case in the first half of the season. I can count the games on one hand in which I felt fit or was not in any pain.
...The many injuries: Almost all teams get them unfortunately. Football is always getting quicker than it was in previous years, more intensive and we play more games. I get the feeling that teams get more injuries now than they did ten years ago. Sven (Bender) will be back at the beginning of February, Erik (Durm) as well. That is not great but, if it stays that way, then we will have been a bit lucky, as we have only had two players that have had short spells out. At other teams, there are players that are out for longer. I hope that that does not happen to us now.
...The intensity of the training in La Manga: Everything is much more intensive now. I'm trying, like everyone else, to take advantage of the training sessions and tire myself out but am also trying to come out of it a little bit fitter. That is everyone's approach. Up until now, everything has gone to plan. The manager has even praised us at times and that is rare in training.
...His mental work: At the end of the first half of the season, we had a problem with our self-confidence. That was evident from the fact that we were conceding so many goals. We are working on that simply by lifting our morale through successes and trying to inject some self-confidence back into our own game.
...His new role as captain: That didn't go how I wanted it to go in the first half of the season, also with regards to my own situation, as I was often injured. That makes you fight more with yourself. So far, not much has changed, as Kehli (Former captain Sebastian Kehl) is there and is the clear leader in the group because he is a natural leader himself. He has always done that outstandingly and was aware that he was needed to help shape the team in this transitional year. He speaks with me a lot and helps me because you have to have the whole team in your mind. I think that, from now on, he can complete the transition for me and you can expect me to now do everything on the pitch that is expected of me.
...His confidence for the second half of the season: I have a lot of confidence. There are many reasons why we only picked up 15 points in the first half of the season. Our willingness in training is now very good but our technical skills are also at a high level. You can see that every individual not only wants to improve themselves but also the part of the team in which they play. I think that we are well on the way to being ready for the 31st January, when we play against a very hard opponent (Bayer Leverkusen).
...New player Kevin Kampl: He has confirmed what I saw of him when he was at Salzburg . It so happens that that happened a few more times this season. He's always struck me as a very positive person. He has confirmed that straight away and he is also a good footballer. He can work and run, and he wants to work and run. That is very important for us.
...The future planning of the club and individual players: I don't know if you only have to apply that to the relegation battle. We have also lost a lot of players after winning championships. Therefore, it would not mean that a player has a weak character if, come the end of the season, he were to say that he wanted to play elsewhere. I understand very well that the boss of a club sees that very differently.
...His own abilities to succeed in the relegation battle: We'll see. When I played for Bayern's academy, we were in the same situation and we got out of it. I therefore think that it should be possible to do that again. First of all, we have to try and get back on track in the first few games.
