Two days ahead of the international classic against France on Friday at St. Denis in Paris – the ground in which the European Championship final will be held - two players and two members of the DFB managing team took part in a press conference.
World Cup winners Thomas Müller and Julian Draxler along with assistant manager Thomas Schneider and Goalkeeping coach Andreas Köpke spoke about the upcoming friendly against the Euro 2016 hosts and the final international fixture of 2015 against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Andreas Köpke on...
... Manuel Neuer’s wish to play against France: That’s the plan. Manuel will play in France. Then when we play the Netherlands in Hannover we’ll have to see who plays in goal for us.
… the four nominated keepers: We want to see the lads in training. There is huge competition to become Manuel Neuer’s back up - no question. Marc-André ter Stegen will also be joining. He’s having a tooth operation which will keep him out for several days. I want to speak with all of them and see how they perform. Now is more or less the last chance for them to make a strong case for themselves. We have to make the most of the time we have now and then look to make the right decision for the Championship.
... other candidates in the Bundesliga: Of course there are plenty more top keepers in the Bundesliga. Ralf Fährmann for example has been given the opportunity to prove himself again. A lot can happen between now and the Euros.
... the criteria for choosing the keepers: Performance and social skills - both are important. Performance is the priority, but you have to be able to get along with others quite well if you’re together for eight weeks. We have had some difficult experiences in the past, but with the lads there at the moment I don’t worry at all that any of them might not be able to fit in.
Thomas Schneider on...
... the two upcoming international classics: They’re a great couple of fixtures to see us out of this calendar year. In the Stade de France in Paris, we will be playing a team with world class players. The French are even stronger now than they were in the World Cup and are four games unbeaten. The game against the Netherlands will also be interesting, despite their unsuccessful European qualification campaign.
... the return of Mario Gomez: Mario has made a good impression, he’s picked up the pace again. With him the most important thing is that he finds a degree of fitness and coordination about his game. He’s shown both of these in the last few weeks, that’s why he’s back in the squad. Gomez will definitely get some playing time.
... the first training session this morning: The boys trained as well as they could have done after two days of marketing activities. Everyone was fully focused on the session. The players all made a great impression. We’re confident they will perform in the coming games.
... the game on the Euro final stage: Obviously it’s important to acclimatise to the atmosphere in the stadium where the final will be held and to train there. We will definitely be getting another opportunity to do so over the course of the tournament.
Thomas Müller on...
... St. Denis stadium: It is of course amazing to play against a big team in a big stadium. I have played there once before, and it was a great match (2-1 Germany win in February of 2013, with Müller scoring the equalizing goal). We want to enjoy it and soak up the atmosphere, but were not thinking anything big. It doesn’t have that large a say in terms of the European Championship.
... the comparisons between the national side and Bayern München: There are different atmospheres. At Bayern, we have a lot of international players and spend more time together training. You always have the same players around you. With the national side, everything depends on who is nominated, and there’s less time to adapt. Everything is very quick. We are more tactically flexible as a team at Bayern because of the lack of training time with Germany. In terms of standard though, it’s very similar.
... his role as a someone people look up to: There are two sides to every coin. The positive side is that it is very enjoyable, and when we’re not on the pitch, we are providing entertainment. You have to give up a part of your free time to look after the fans. As footballers we are entertainers, and have to make the fans happy. We do this both off and on the pitch. Sadly, we can’t fulfill everyone’s wishes; we are fully focused both with Bayern and the national side. If you want to take part in both, then you have to be a role model.
... Holland related jokes with FCB teammate Arjen Robben: (grins) It’s got to be done really. We have to make use of the opportunity. Who knows what the situation will be in a couple of years.
Julian Draxler on…
… his return to the senior team: I was happy to be selected again, and the faces haven’t changed much. I was away for a while, but the whole time, was looking forward to being called up again.
… the reason for his first team absence: You need to replicate your club performances with your national team. Due to circumstances, I wasn’t able to do that. A six month injury is hard to deal with as you need to play at the highest level to be selected, but the coach has showed that he thinks I’m moving back in the right direction.
… his former Schalke teammate Leroy Sané: I’m happy that he’s here. I hope that he makes good on his chance in the senior team. He will get good experience here, and if he has any questions he can come to me. But I also have to concentrate on my own performance.
… his new home, Wolfsburg: My home will always be Gelsenkirchen. I am still connected to Schalke and the surroundings there, but I have adjusted well to Wolfsburg. I am there to play football and want to develop as a player.
created by mmc/dw/wh/alc
Two days ahead of the international classic against France on Friday at St. Denis in Paris – the ground in which the European Championship final will be held - two players and two members of the DFB managing team took part in a press conference.
World Cup winners Thomas Müller and Julian Draxler along with assistant manager Thomas Schneider and Goalkeeping coach Andreas Köpke spoke about the upcoming friendly against the Euro 2016 hosts and the final international fixture of 2015 against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Andreas Köpke on...
... Manuel Neuer’s wish to play against France: That’s the plan. Manuel will play in France. Then when we play the Netherlands in Hannover we’ll have to see who plays in goal for us.
… the four nominated keepers: We want to see the lads in training. There is huge competition to become Manuel Neuer’s back up - no question. Marc-André ter Stegen will also be joining. He’s having a tooth operation which will keep him out for several days. I want to speak with all of them and see how they perform. Now is more or less the last chance for them to make a strong case for themselves. We have to make the most of the time we have now and then look to make the right decision for the Championship.
... other candidates in the Bundesliga: Of course there are plenty more top keepers in the Bundesliga. Ralf Fährmann for example has been given the opportunity to prove himself again. A lot can happen between now and the Euros.
... the criteria for choosing the keepers: Performance and social skills - both are important. Performance is the priority, but you have to be able to get along with others quite well if you’re together for eight weeks. We have had some difficult experiences in the past, but with the lads there at the moment I don’t worry at all that any of them might not be able to fit in.
Thomas Schneider on...
... the two upcoming international classics: They’re a great couple of fixtures to see us out of this calendar year. In the Stade de France in Paris, we will be playing a team with world class players. The French are even stronger now than they were in the World Cup and are four games unbeaten. The game against the Netherlands will also be interesting, despite their unsuccessful European qualification campaign.
... the return of Mario Gomez: Mario has made a good impression, he’s picked up the pace again. With him the most important thing is that he finds a degree of fitness and coordination about his game. He’s shown both of these in the last few weeks, that’s why he’s back in the squad. Gomez will definitely get some playing time.
... the first training session this morning: The boys trained as well as they could have done after two days of marketing activities. Everyone was fully focused on the session. The players all made a great impression. We’re confident they will perform in the coming games.
... the game on the Euro final stage: Obviously it’s important to acclimatise to the atmosphere in the stadium where the final will be held and to train there. We will definitely be getting another opportunity to do so over the course of the tournament.
Thomas Müller on...
... St. Denis stadium: It is of course amazing to play against a big team in a big stadium. I have played there once before, and it was a great match (2-1 Germany win in February of 2013, with Müller scoring the equalizing goal). We want to enjoy it and soak up the atmosphere, but were not thinking anything big. It doesn’t have that large a say in terms of the European Championship.
... the comparisons between the national side and Bayern München: There are different atmospheres. At Bayern, we have a lot of international players and spend more time together training. You always have the same players around you. With the national side, everything depends on who is nominated, and there’s less time to adapt. Everything is very quick. We are more tactically flexible as a team at Bayern because of the lack of training time with Germany. In terms of standard though, it’s very similar.
... his role as a someone people look up to: There are two sides to every coin. The positive side is that it is very enjoyable, and when we’re not on the pitch, we are providing entertainment. You have to give up a part of your free time to look after the fans. As footballers we are entertainers, and have to make the fans happy. We do this both off and on the pitch. Sadly, we can’t fulfill everyone’s wishes; we are fully focused both with Bayern and the national side. If you want to take part in both, then you have to be a role model.
... Holland related jokes with FCB teammate Arjen Robben: (grins) It’s got to be done really. We have to make use of the opportunity. Who knows what the situation will be in a couple of years.
Julian Draxler on…
… his return to the senior team: I was happy to be selected again, and the faces haven’t changed much. I was away for a while, but the whole time, was looking forward to being called up again.
… the reason for his first team absence: You need to replicate your club performances with your national team. Due to circumstances, I wasn’t able to do that. A six month injury is hard to deal with as you need to play at the highest level to be selected, but the coach has showed that he thinks I’m moving back in the right direction.
… his former Schalke teammate Leroy Sané: I’m happy that he’s here. I hope that he makes good on his chance in the senior team. He will get good experience here, and if he has any questions he can come to me. But I also have to concentrate on my own performance.
… his new home, Wolfsburg: My home will always be Gelsenkirchen. I am still connected to Schalke and the surroundings there, but I have adjusted well to Wolfsburg. I am there to play football and want to develop as a player.
