There are just three days to go until Germany walk out onto the legendary Maracana pitch in Rio de Janeiro against Argentina on Sunday (live on ARD from 21:00 CEST) in search of their fourth World Cup title.
After their historic 7-1 triumph over hosts Brazil in the semi-final, "Die Mannschaft" have been slowly preparing to leave their base in Campo Bahia for the last time. Before their departure for Rio on Friday (20:30 local time / Saturday 01:30 CEST), record World Cup goalscorer Miroslav Klose, left-back Benedikt Höwedes and assistant coach Hansi Flick gave the team’s penultimate press conference in Santo André about the final, their dreams of the title and Sunday’s opponents. DFB.de brings you the highlights from the press conference.
MIROSLAV KLOSE ON...
... dreams of the title: We’ve got to give our all on Sunday. I know how it feels to lose a final. I want to lift that trophy into the air. We want to go one better on Sunday and we’re hoping for victory.
... opponents Argentina: We’re completely focused on Argentina. It’ll be a completely different game. Messi is a fantastic player who can decide a match single-handedly, but we’ll look to try something new again on Sunday; we want to surprise them. I’m expecting an exciting and extremely tactical game.
... the goalscoring record and his predecessor Ronaldo: Ronaldo was the most complete striker there has ever been. He’s a fantastic character. He congratulated me when I joined the '15 Club'. Now it’s just me who can say: "Welcome to the 16 Club – everyone is welcome to join."
... the team spirit in Campo Bahia: The atmosphere within the squad is fantastic. Everyone’s giving everything in training, working extremely hard and staying sharp in our team talks too. Everyone knows what’s important, and for me that’s what team spirit is all about.
... continuing his international career: I’m enjoying every moment I get on the pitch with this team. I’m savouring every emotion. But I’ll decide after the final whether I’ll carry on. Unfortunately I feel like I can. (laughs)
HANSI FLICK ON...
... he players’ fitness: Everyone is able to train today but we’re letting players train individually. Some will probably work on the bikes, others out on the pitch. We’re tailoring the exercises to each individual player.
... the final on Sunday: We’re looking forward to playing such strong opponents. Everyone is in good form and the mood is strong, but we’re also very focused and concentrating fully. We’ll try to play with intelligence, commitment and willpower – if we can do that, then I’m confident that we’ll prevail. We know that anything is possible if we perform at our best. We’ll analyse our opponents then come up with our game plan.
... his last match as Germany’s assistant coach: Of course, it’s even better that it’s the final. I’m extremely excited, but the Sporting Director post is something for the future. Right now, my whole focus is on this big final in Rio.
... team spirit in Campo Bahia: What has happened within the team from South Tyrol to now has been sensational. Campo Bahia has been key to our success so far.
... the semi-final between Argentina and the Netherlands: We watched the match with great interest. Both teams were tactically disciplined and moved well. They cancelled each other out. The game was characterised by extremely good defending.
... the team’s development: As a coaching team, we’ve always followed our own beliefs, and we haven’t done badly when it comes to developing the team. Since our opponents got used to our playing style in 2010, we’ve almost perfected our brand of possession football, and we’re quite proud of that.
BENEDIKT HÖWEDES ON...
... the final against Argentina: The anticipation is enormous; we’re playing great opponents. But we’ve got to make sure we don’t make any mistakes or think that everything will take care of itself after the 7-1 win over Brazil. If we can stick to our tactics, we’ll have a chance. Argentina will try to counteract our tactics at all costs. We’ve got to give everything to win this title. We’re already completely focused on Sunday but we shouldn’t tie ourselves in knots about it either – we’ve got to find a good balance. No matter what, we want to contest the final positively and bring the trophy home.
... Lionel Messi: Messi is an exceptional player, but we’ve got to beat Argentina as a unit, stay tight as a team and not let Messi play his game. Of course I want to play my part in that.
... his role as a left-back: I’m no Roberto Carlos, but I’ve done my job in defence. After my injury, I put a lot of time into getting back into top shape. It’s outrageous and fantastic to see that it worked. Now I want to do my bit to help us win the title and add the finishing touch to our excellent performances so far.
... team spirit: We’ve had the perfect conditions at Campo Bahia. We’ve been able to connect in a way that probably wouldn’t have been possible within a hotel complex. It’s here that we’ve developed the team spirit that has brought us this far.
created by sid/rs
[bild1]
There are just three days to go until Germany walk out onto the legendary Maracana pitch in Rio de Janeiro against Argentina on Sunday (live on ARD from 21:00 CEST) in search of their fourth World Cup title.
After their historic 7-1 triumph over hosts Brazil in the semi-final, "Die Mannschaft" have been slowly preparing to leave their base in Campo Bahia for the last time. Before their departure for Rio on Friday (20:30 local time / Saturday 01:30 CEST), record World Cup goalscorer Miroslav Klose, left-back Benedikt Höwedes and assistant coach Hansi Flick gave the team’s penultimate press conference in Santo André about the final, their dreams of the title and Sunday’s opponents. DFB.de brings you the highlights from the press conference.
MIROSLAV KLOSE ON...
... dreams of the title: We’ve got to give our all on Sunday. I know how it feels to lose a final. I want to lift that trophy into the air. We want to go one better on Sunday and we’re hoping for victory.
... opponents Argentina: We’re completely focused on Argentina. It’ll be a completely different game. Messi is a fantastic player who can decide a match single-handedly, but we’ll look to try something new again on Sunday; we want to surprise them. I’m expecting an exciting and extremely tactical game.
... the goalscoring record and his predecessor Ronaldo: Ronaldo was the most complete striker there has ever been. He’s a fantastic character. He congratulated me when I joined the '15 Club'. Now it’s just me who can say: "Welcome to the 16 Club – everyone is welcome to join."
... the team spirit in Campo Bahia: The atmosphere within the squad is fantastic. Everyone’s giving everything in training, working extremely hard and staying sharp in our team talks too. Everyone knows what’s important, and for me that’s what team spirit is all about.
... continuing his international career: I’m enjoying every moment I get on the pitch with this team. I’m savouring every emotion. But I’ll decide after the final whether I’ll carry on. Unfortunately I feel like I can. (laughs)
HANSI FLICK ON...
... he players’ fitness: Everyone is able to train today but we’re letting players train individually. Some will probably work on the bikes, others out on the pitch. We’re tailoring the exercises to each individual player.
... the final on Sunday: We’re looking forward to playing such strong opponents. Everyone is in good form and the mood is strong, but we’re also very focused and concentrating fully. We’ll try to play with intelligence, commitment and willpower – if we can do that, then I’m confident that we’ll prevail. We know that anything is possible if we perform at our best. We’ll analyse our opponents then come up with our game plan.
... his last match as Germany’s assistant coach: Of course, it’s even better that it’s the final. I’m extremely excited, but the Sporting Director post is something for the future. Right now, my whole focus is on this big final in Rio.
... team spirit in Campo Bahia: What has happened within the team from South Tyrol to now has been sensational. Campo Bahia has been key to our success so far.
... the semi-final between Argentina and the Netherlands: We watched the match with great interest. Both teams were tactically disciplined and moved well. They cancelled each other out. The game was characterised by extremely good defending.
... the team’s development: As a coaching team, we’ve always followed our own beliefs, and we haven’t done badly when it comes to developing the team. Since our opponents got used to our playing style in 2010, we’ve almost perfected our brand of possession football, and we’re quite proud of that.
[bild2]
BENEDIKT HÖWEDES ON...
... the final against Argentina: The anticipation is enormous; we’re playing great opponents. But we’ve got to make sure we don’t make any mistakes or think that everything will take care of itself after the 7-1 win over Brazil. If we can stick to our tactics, we’ll have a chance. Argentina will try to counteract our tactics at all costs. We’ve got to give everything to win this title. We’re already completely focused on Sunday but we shouldn’t tie ourselves in knots about it either – we’ve got to find a good balance. No matter what, we want to contest the final positively and bring the trophy home.
... Lionel Messi: Messi is an exceptional player, but we’ve got to beat Argentina as a unit, stay tight as a team and not let Messi play his game. Of course I want to play my part in that.
... his role as a left-back: I’m no Roberto Carlos, but I’ve done my job in defence. After my injury, I put a lot of time into getting back into top shape. It’s outrageous and fantastic to see that it worked. Now I want to do my bit to help us win the title and add the finishing touch to our excellent performances so far.
... team spirit: We’ve had the perfect conditions at Campo Bahia. We’ve been able to connect in a way that probably wouldn’t have been possible within a hotel complex. It’s here that we’ve developed the team spirit that has brought us this far.
