DFB.de: Were you pleased that Germany triumphed in the end?
Langerak: Of course. I have some friends in the German team. As soon as we had been knocked out in the group stages, I kept my fingers crossed for them.
DFB.de: You’ve mentioned all the Australia fans who were at the World Cup. What support do you expect in Kaiserslautern?
Langerak: I honestly don’t know. I think that there will be quite a few fans there. In any event, my parents will be there in the stadium which is great. They’ve come from Australia to have a holiday in Germany and Europe, so they’ve obviously scheduled in attending the match.
Mitchell Langerak has played for Borussia Dortmund for five years and has come to love Germany and its people. “Germany has become a second home for me and I hope that it will continue to for a long time”, said the 26-year-old Australian goalkeeper. As such, you can imagine his excitement ahead of the international match against the World Champions in Kaiserslautern on Wednesday (20:30 CET).
DFB.de caught up with Mitchell Langerak to talk about the euphoria in Australia after winning the Asian Cup, being second-choice keeper, the Socceroos’ strengths and the attraction of German football in Australia.
DFB.de: Will you have mixed feelings in the international against Germany?
Mitchell Langerak: I’ve played here for the past five years. It’s a special feeling to play against Germany in Germany. It would be a real honour for me to play against them.
DFB.de: You moved from Melbourne Victory to Borussia Dortmund in 2010. Has Germany become your home?
Langerak: Yes it has and obviously it feels more like home every year. It was a bit tricky to begin with but now I feel truly comfortable here. I have lots of fun and have made plenty of friends. Germany has become a second home to me and I hope that it remains so for a long time.
DFB.de: With regards to friends, is there an Australian community here in Germany?
Langerak: Yes, I have some Australian friends here. There’s obviously Mustafa Amini from BVB’s U23s but also, some other members of the national team who ply their trade in Germany, like Bayer Leverkusen’s Robbie Kruse. My girlfriend is good friends with his girlfriend. It’s a good feeling to have some of my fellow countrymen here.
DFB.de: You won the Asian Cup with the Socceroos at the end of January. How euphoric was everyone Down Under?
Langerak: The euphoria was unbelievable; it was overwhelming. I never expected the celebrations to be so big. Football has grown a lot in Australia over the past few years, but now, thanks to winning the title, it’s increasingly popular and is on its way to becoming the number one sport.
DFB.de: Is that increased interest shown in the fact that more Australian footballers are moving to Germany?
Langerak: I think that the main aim for every footballer in Australia is to play in Europe. They particularly want to play in Germany as they know that the Bundesliga is one of the strongest leagues in the world. It’s therefore the goal of lots of players to come here to be able to train at a high level and develop.
DFB.de: Let’s turn our attention to the game against Germany in Kaiserslautern: are you looking forward to the unusually short trip as well as the game?
Langerak: Of course. It normally takes approximately 25 hours when I have to fly to Australia for an international fixture. We sometimes play in Asia which is an equally long journey. It’s really good for us to play here in Germany. It means that it’s only a two or three hour car journey. We’re meeting up in Mainz on Monday to prepare for the clash.
DFB.de: Asian Cup Champions against World Champions: how much respect do you have for your opponents ahead of the game?
Langerak: It’s not going to be an easy challenge against Germany. We need to be 100 percent focussed and play at our peak, then we can get something out of the game. That’s exactly what we did when we won 2-1 in Gladbach back in 2011.
DFB.de: Which players are you most afraid of coming up against in the DFB team?
Langerak: There are quite a few world class players in Germany. The quality runs all the way through the squad, not only in the starting line-up. It just goes to show how strong the league and the country are. It’s obviously going to be a tricky game but I hope that we can come away with a good result.
DFB.de: Which player do you think your team needs to pay particular attention to and try to keep out of the game?
Langerak: (laughs) There are so many dangerous players all over the pitch. I don’t know yet who’ll be playing but their attackers, including Mario Götze, Marco Reus, Mesut Özil and Thomas Müller, are prolific.
DFB.de: How can Australia pose a threat in Germany?
Langerak: That is difficult to say. We have a lot of pace on the wings so hopefully we can use that to our advantage. We also have a great team and fighting spirit which I hope will stand us in good stead.
DFB.de: What are your chances of featuring in Kaiserslautern?
Langerak: I still don’t know whether I’ll be playing or on the bench. There are lots of very good goalkeepers in the squad. I need to prove myself in training, then I’ll hopefully be given the nod.
DFB.de: Is the competition between you and Club Brugge‘s Mathew Ryan for the position of Australia’s number 1 similar to the battle at club level between you and Roman Weidenfeller at BVB?
Langerak: I think so. I have an excellent working relationship both with Matty and Roman. There’s no bad feelings between us and we’re good friends off the pitch. It’s good that we have such a wealth of strong goalkeepers in Australia because then we can keep pushing each other to be better.
DFB.de: You’ve recently found yourself as the second-choice keeper. How difficult is that?
Langerak: It’s not easy and not often a good feeling. It’s essential to still support the team from the bench though. That’s also currently my role in Dortmund. I hope that I can continue to develop and get better, both for BVB and Australia. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the future. Football is very fast-paced so things can change quickly.
DFB.de: From June onwards, Australia will take part in the next World Cup qualifiers. What are you expecting?
Langerak: We still don’t know who we have to play against. I hope that we can get off to a good start in qualifying and take six points from the first home-and-away fixtures. We want to secure qualification as quickly as possible.
DFB.de: How was your experience at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil?
Langerak: It was a very good experience; it’s an excellent feeling to travel to the World Cup to represent your country. It was an amazing feeling in Brazil because football is like religion there. So many fans made the trip and it was unbelievable to have such incredible support. Every time we played I felt like we were on home turf – it was a very special feeling.
DFB.de: Were you pleased that Germany triumphed in the end?
Langerak: Of course. I have some friends in the German team. As soon as we had been knocked out in the group stages, I kept my fingers crossed for them.
DFB.de: You’ve mentioned all the Australia fans who were at the World Cup. What support do you expect in Kaiserslautern?
Langerak: I honestly don’t know. I think that there will be quite a few fans there. In any event, my parents will be there in the stadium which is great. They’ve come from Australia to have a holiday in Germany and Europe, so they’ve obviously scheduled in attending the match.
