The World Cup winners have met up in Frankfurt. Two days before the German national side's European Championship qualifier against Ireland in the Aviva Stadium, defender Jérôme Boateng and midfield maestro Ilkay Gündogan held a question-and-answer session with the press, looking ahead to the Ireland game and the following match against Georgia in Leipzig.
Assistant manager Thomas Schneider had to pull out of the press conference at short notice with stomach problems, with the DFB also reporting that Lukas Podolski is unlikely to feature. The Galatasaray forward is suffering from a slight ankle injury and is being treated away with the national team. Karim Bellarabi is also receiving medical treatment, with the Bayer Leverkusen forward contending with a shoulder injury. Both players will travel with Die Mannschaft to Ireland on Wednesday. DFB.de have put together the most important quotes from the press conference.
Jérôme Boateng on…
…his 5-1 win with Bayern against Borussia Dortmund: It was obviously a good result for us, but now we're all here with the national team. We're united on the field and we want to achieve our goals. Sunday's game is out of my mind.
…the 6-1 win in their last game in Ireland: Above all, we're concentrating on this game. The fans in Ireland always create a great atmosphere. It's great to experience how respectful they are when they applaud their opponents, too. We played very well back then and I hope we can produce a repeat performance.
…the task lying ahead in Ireland: We need to concentrate fully on the challenge from the very start. The Irish will line up very compact and make things hard for us.
…his personal development: It's important for me to bring my best performance. I want to keep improving and do my job at Bayern as well as at international level. I've made some good progress and I'm now taking on more responsibility. I'm happy when I can perform convincingly on the pitch. My managers have had a big impact on my development: Pep Guardiola in Munich but obviously Jogi Löw with the national side too.
…top scorer Thomas Müller: He's deadly in the box and it's impossible to put a value on him. He's unique in the way he plays, and that's what makes him so important for us – at Bayern and for the national team. We hope he can keep up his form.
…long balls in the national team: Our game isn't based on long balls to the strikers, but our manager has nothing against diagonal passes that switch play, and if a long ball leads to a goal, nobody can complain.
The World Cup winners have met up in Frankfurt. Two days before the German national side's European Championship qualifier against Ireland in the Aviva Stadium, defender Jérôme Boateng and midfield maestro Ilkay Gündogan held a question-and-answer session with the press, looking ahead to the Ireland game and the following match against Georgia in Leipzig.
Assistant manager Thomas Schneider had to pull out of the press conference at short notice with stomach problems, with the DFB also reporting that Lukas Podolski is unlikely to feature. The Galatasaray forward is suffering from a slight ankle injury and is being treated away with the national team. Karim Bellarabi is also receiving medical treatment, with the Bayer Leverkusen forward contending with a shoulder injury. Both players will travel with Die Mannschaft to Ireland on Wednesday. DFB.de have put together the most important quotes from the press conference.
Jérôme Boateng on…
…his 5-1 win with Bayern against Borussia Dortmund: It was obviously a good result for us, but now we're all here with the national team. We're united on the field and we want to achieve our goals. Sunday's game is out of my mind.
…the 6-1 win in their last game in Ireland: Above all, we're concentrating on this game. The fans in Ireland always create a great atmosphere. It's great to experience how respectful they are when they applaud their opponents, too. We played very well back then and I hope we can produce a repeat performance.
…the task lying ahead in Ireland: We need to concentrate fully on the challenge from the very start. The Irish will line up very compact and make things hard for us.
…his personal development: It's important for me to bring my best performance. I want to keep improving and do my job at Bayern as well as at international level. I've made some good progress and I'm now taking on more responsibility. I'm happy when I can perform convincingly on the pitch. My managers have had a big impact on my development: Pep Guardiola in Munich but obviously Jogi Löw with the national side too.
…top scorer Thomas Müller: He's deadly in the box and it's impossible to put a value on him. He's unique in the way he plays, and that's what makes him so important for us – at Bayern and for the national team. We hope he can keep up his form.
…long balls in the national team: Our game isn't based on long balls to the strikers, but our manager has nothing against diagonal passes that switch play, and if a long ball leads to a goal, nobody can complain.
Ilkay Gündogan on…
…the game against Bayern in the Bundesliga: I've tried to forget the game as quickly as possible, so it's a blessing to be involved with the national side again and to be able to play with the boys once more.
…the Irish opponents: The atmosphere in the stadium will be great. We've already won in Scotland, so our intention is to win in Dublin too. We want to cement our qualification for the European Championship.
…the sole training session as a team: We're accustomed to not getting much time to train together. Everyone responds in different ways, but it's nothing new for us to only have a few days together. In the end, the only thing that matters is that we're focused and fit when we take to the pitch.
…top scorer Thomas Müller: Opponents never know what he's going to do next, which makes him very difficult for defenders to deal with. He makes intelligent runs and there's a good reason why he gets so much praise. As a result, he's incredibly important for Bayern and for the national side.
