Reus: To be honest, I've scored better goals before, but I'm pleased nonetheless to have gone level with my friend Mario Götze, who won the same award last year. My goal was just as important as his was (laughs). Honestly though, the fans must have rated the great work from Sami in the build-up. That probably made the difference above all the other goals.
DFB.de: You've said before that goals aren't the most important thing for you. What could be better than the celebrations and the applause after a goal?
Reus: Naturally, the celebrations and the applause after the final whistle. A win counts far more for me than any goal. If my team leaves the field as the winner, it gives a nice feeling to the entire weekend.
DFB.de: You've already won the ARD goal of the month award three times, and now you've added this award to your collection. What does it mean to you?
Reus: Polls that are decided by the fans always mean the most to me. Our fans, whether those of BVB or those of Die Mannschaft, follow our games intently and then make their decision. To receive almost a third of the votes is fantastic, and a good sign that we've given our fans good reason to celebrate this year.
Marco Reus is relieved. He's finally drawn level with his good friend Mario Götze, as they've each now won the award for the Germany goal of the year once. The Borussia Dortmund attacker won with 35.8 per cent of the vote for his strike against Australia. Reus spoke to DFB.de about the importance of the goal for him, how the goal came about and what the year ahead promises.
DFB.de Mr Reus, to what extent has football become a high-speed game with a huge emphasis on attention to detail?
Marco Reus: Small details have always been decisive in football. The difference between now and the past is that the sport is extremely athletic. I'm pleased that I'm naturally quite fast, and obviously we work in pre-season and in every training session on gaining that crucial extra centimetre ahead of our opponents.
DFB.de: How hard was it to put away your goal against Australia, and how easy would it have been to put it wide of the target?
Reus: If luck hadn't been on my side, I obviously could have missed, but Sami played the ball in flat and hard and the goalkeeper assumed I wasn't going to get there in time. I slid in and managed to make it, so I was able to put it in the back of the net.
DFB.de: How hard did you find it to score the goal?
Reus: It wasn't that hard, but it was cool that the two of us managed to create that situation against five defenders. I wanted to offer him an option out wide at first, but I made some space for Sami and went through the middle. He reacted well to my signal and played the correct ball. The rest came naturally – you don't need to think so much in those kinds of situations.
DFB.de: Are you surprised that your goal was voted for by the fans?
Reus: To be honest, I've scored better goals before, but I'm pleased nonetheless to have gone level with my friend Mario Götze, who won the same award last year. My goal was just as important as his was (laughs). Honestly though, the fans must have rated the great work from Sami in the build-up. That probably made the difference above all the other goals.
DFB.de: You've said before that goals aren't the most important thing for you. What could be better than the celebrations and the applause after a goal?
Reus: Naturally, the celebrations and the applause after the final whistle. A win counts far more for me than any goal. If my team leaves the field as the winner, it gives a nice feeling to the entire weekend.
DFB.de: You've already won the ARD goal of the month award three times, and now you've added this award to your collection. What does it mean to you?
Reus: Polls that are decided by the fans always mean the most to me. Our fans, whether those of BVB or those of Die Mannschaft, follow our games intently and then make their decision. To receive almost a third of the votes is fantastic, and a good sign that we've given our fans good reason to celebrate this year.
