Kuntz: “This team will be remembered”

Germany celebrated their second European under-21 Championship title with a 1-0 win over Spain in the final in Krakow on Friday evening. In a post-match press conference, head coach Stefan Kuntz spoke about the importance of the victory, his players, his emotions and the upcoming celebrations. DFB.de sums up what he had to say:

Question: Stefan Kuntz, what does tonight mean to you and the team?

Stefan Kuntz: Give me a moment to collect myself. Firstly, congratulations to Spain for being such a great opponent. We had to play at our very best tonight. It’s never an easy game against Spain.

Question: What did you say to the players ahead of the final?

Kuntz: I told them that they had nothing to lose. The main goal is to win the trophy and I told the players to give it all they had. I knew that it was going to be a great match and that we would make it difficult for Spain.

Question: What memories will you take from your time together in Poland?

Kuntz: We always look back at our most recent success before the start of a new tournament. So, we looked back to 2009, the last time we won the European under-21 Championship. Around eight players who featured for the under 21s at that tournament are now very important players for the first team. You will never forget the time you won the title, and in two years’ time, everybody will still remember this team. Nearly 10 million people watched the penalty shootout against England in Germany. The tournament has drawn a lot of attention. Players who are eligible to play for the under-21 team scored against Mexico for the first team. We didn’t want to remain in their shadow, we wanted to write our own history and win the cup.

Question: You lost the Olympic Games final around a year ago. Did that affect things this year?

Kuntz: I know my players well enough by now. Today, we wrote our own history and it couldn’t have gone better. Max Meyer won his first ever title and he is so pleased about it. That is the kind of thing that makes my job so rewarding.

Question: That’s the third shirt we’ve seen you wear today, how come?

Kuntz: Beer.

Question: Can you explain?

Kuntz: The boys and I have been spending a lot of time together lately. It’s normal for us to have a beer shower after winning a title like that, even if it stinks! It was great to be able to stand back as a coach to see all the boys singing, dancing and looking incredibly happy.

Question: How did you come to terms with the victory?

Kuntz: It took a while for it all to sink in. I went back and spent around an hour relaxing in my room. Afterwards, I drank a glass of red wine outside the hotel. It only really started to sink in the next morning to be honest.

Question: How significant is this win in terms of your career?

Kuntz: I can’t compare it to winning the European under-21 Championship title as a player, it feels completely different. As a player, you are just proud of yourself and your team. As a coach, you are proud of other achievements. For example, I have fond memories of achieving promotion with Karlsruher SC, but you can’t compare that with the euphoria of winning a European Championship title.

Question: What did you think of your team’s performance?

Kuntz: It is so satisfying to see the players doing exactly what we planned. We had to change a lot of tactics yesterday. We had to be bold and ready to press our opponent. It was difficult, because our players have had an intense schedule lately, however you can’t let that affect your performance in important matches like the final.

Question: How demanding is coaching the team at a tournament?

Kuntz: Helping the team is the most important thing. We split tasks between us very well and the whole coaching staff contributes to ensure that we can find the best solutions.