With 32 appearances in the starting XI, and four goals scored, Shkodran Mustafi (23) has proven all of his critics wrong. Just last year many pundits claimed that his transfer from Genoa to Valencia after his World Cup success was a mistake. Within a matter of weeks he managed to fully acclimatise to his new environment and fulfilled all expectations from a sporting aspect. Prior to Germany's EURO qualifier with Gibraltar on Saturday (20:45 CEST), Mustafi sat down with journalist Steffen Lüdeke to talk about his career, his priorities and goals.
DFB.de: Mr. Mustafi, you are only 23-years-old and have a long career ahead of you. However, have you ever thought about what you will do after your career?
Mustafi: I don't look too far into the future. I think that you should try to focus on the present time and not worry about what lies ahead. If you only think about what happened in the past or what might happen in the future, you forget about what's going on right now. I like to intensively live in the moment.
DFB.de: You come across as a very high-spirited person. You are almost always in a good mood and have a very positive personality. When was the last time you were really upset?
Mustafi: Really upset? That's a long time ago - during the World Cup after my injury. Until I decided to stay with the team in Brazil, I felt quite bad. I needed some time to get over it. I also experienced situations afterwards in Valencia, when I would be upset with a defeat – but obviously that's a whole different level to the disappointment you feel when an injury rules you out at the World Cup.
DFB.de: You said, that you still haven't realised that you are a World Champion. Is that due to the fact that you experienced a roller-coaster ride on your way to the title? First you were nominated, then dropped from the squad, called back into the squad as a replacement, injured and then World Champion. Does all this make it even harder for you to realise what really happened?
Mustafi: I think that's what makes it all so special. I kept experiencing things that I wasn't anticipating and most of them were positive. I was surprised to even get nominated for the pre-tournament training camp in South-Tirol. Obviously it was a disappointment not to be included in the final squad but in the end it worked out wonderfully for me. The reason that I haven’t completely concluded with the World Cup, is rather due to my move to Valencia, as I haven't really had the time to think about everything in great detail.
DFB.de: You've played football in England, Italy and Spain. In all these countries you managed to integrate yourself extremely quickly and become a fan favourite. What is your secret to getting settled so quickly? Do you have a guideline or something?
Mustafi: I'm a very approachable person and I like to engage with other people. I always try to identify myself with the new city and the new country. For that to happen, I have to get to know the people and communicate with them. I therefore try to learn the language as quickly as possible. So far I've done quite well. The people realise that I'm not just a guy who comes here to play football and earn his money, but instead they see that I'm truly interested and that I enjoy being here. A very important aspect in all of this is to have a family that fully supports you. My family and their support takes a lot of pressure away from me. They give me the chance to fully focus on Valencia. Since I know that everything is running smoothly at home, I can fully focus on my tasks wherever I might be at the time.
DFB.de: Your first season in Spain was a complete success. You played as a regular, scored four goals as a defender and helped the club to a Champions League spot. Are you surprised how well things have gone for you in your first season at Valencia?
Mustafi: I signed for Valencia because I was looking to take the next step. I had a great time in Italy and learned a lot there. But I wanted to take my game to the next level. I was very convinced of my decision to join Valencia, but you can never be entirely certain that everything will go as planned. In this case it turned out to be even better than I had hoped. You always expect a set back or a bad spell here and there. But none of these things happened to me or my club last season.
DFB.de: The final big test before your holiday is the EURO qualifier against Gibraltar in Faro. How certain are you, that the team will keep up their concentration for the entire 90 minutes? Do you think this game will be decided mentally?
Mustafi: Gibraltar doesn’t have any players who play in big leagues around Europe like we do. But there are no longer teams out there, that don't know how to play football. And if they do struggle going forwards, they can at least defend well. You can't underestimate anyone anymore. As long as the score is 0-0, these teams will always have a chance to get a result. I therefore think that this game will not be a walk in the park for us. We have to create space with quick passing segments, like we did in the first half against the United States. If we take an early lead, a lot will come easier to us.
DFB.de: After the game you will finally get to enjoy some time off. How much are you looking forward to your holiday?
Mustafi: I'm not really thinking about it at the moment. I don't think about what will happen afterwards this short before a game. If all of us are already thinking about our holidays, then this game might not turn out the way we expect it to. And I don’t want that at all. I'm only focussed on the 90 minutes in Faro on Saturday night.
created by mmc/fr
With 32 appearances in the starting XI, and four goals scored, Shkodran Mustafi (23) has proven all of his critics wrong. Just last year many pundits claimed that his transfer from Genoa to Valencia after his World Cup success was a mistake. Within a matter of weeks he managed to fully acclimatise to his new environment and fulfilled all expectations from a sporting aspect. Prior to Germany's EURO qualifier with Gibraltar on Saturday (20:45 CEST), Mustafi sat down with journalist Steffen Lüdeke to talk about his career, his priorities and goals.
DFB.de: Mr. Mustafi, you are only 23-years-old and have a long career ahead of you. However, have you ever thought about what you will do after your career?
Mustafi: I don't look too far into the future. I think that you should try to focus on the present time and not worry about what lies ahead. If you only think about what happened in the past or what might happen in the future, you forget about what's going on right now. I like to intensively live in the moment.
DFB.de: You come across as a very high-spirited person. You are almost always in a good mood and have a very positive personality. When was the last time you were really upset?
Mustafi: Really upset? That's a long time ago - during the World Cup after my injury. Until I decided to stay with the team in Brazil, I felt quite bad. I needed some time to get over it. I also experienced situations afterwards in Valencia, when I would be upset with a defeat – but obviously that's a whole different level to the disappointment you feel when an injury rules you out at the World Cup.
DFB.de: You said, that you still haven't realised that you are a World Champion. Is that due to the fact that you experienced a roller-coaster ride on your way to the title? First you were nominated, then dropped from the squad, called back into the squad as a replacement, injured and then World Champion. Does all this make it even harder for you to realise what really happened?
Mustafi: I think that's what makes it all so special. I kept experiencing things that I wasn't anticipating and most of them were positive. I was surprised to even get nominated for the pre-tournament training camp in South-Tirol. Obviously it was a disappointment not to be included in the final squad but in the end it worked out wonderfully for me. The reason that I haven’t completely concluded with the World Cup, is rather due to my move to Valencia, as I haven't really had the time to think about everything in great detail.
DFB.de: You've played football in England, Italy and Spain. In all these countries you managed to integrate yourself extremely quickly and become a fan favourite. What is your secret to getting settled so quickly? Do you have a guideline or something?
Mustafi: I'm a very approachable person and I like to engage with other people. I always try to identify myself with the new city and the new country. For that to happen, I have to get to know the people and communicate with them. I therefore try to learn the language as quickly as possible. So far I've done quite well. The people realise that I'm not just a guy who comes here to play football and earn his money, but instead they see that I'm truly interested and that I enjoy being here. A very important aspect in all of this is to have a family that fully supports you. My family and their support takes a lot of pressure away from me. They give me the chance to fully focus on Valencia. Since I know that everything is running smoothly at home, I can fully focus on my tasks wherever I might be at the time.
DFB.de: Your first season in Spain was a complete success. You played as a regular, scored four goals as a defender and helped the club to a Champions League spot. Are you surprised how well things have gone for you in your first season at Valencia?
Mustafi: I signed for Valencia because I was looking to take the next step. I had a great time in Italy and learned a lot there. But I wanted to take my game to the next level. I was very convinced of my decision to join Valencia, but you can never be entirely certain that everything will go as planned. In this case it turned out to be even better than I had hoped. You always expect a set back or a bad spell here and there. But none of these things happened to me or my club last season.
DFB.de: The final big test before your holiday is the EURO qualifier against Gibraltar in Faro. How certain are you, that the team will keep up their concentration for the entire 90 minutes? Do you think this game will be decided mentally?
Mustafi: Gibraltar doesn’t have any players who play in big leagues around Europe like we do. But there are no longer teams out there, that don't know how to play football. And if they do struggle going forwards, they can at least defend well. You can't underestimate anyone anymore. As long as the score is 0-0, these teams will always have a chance to get a result. I therefore think that this game will not be a walk in the park for us. We have to create space with quick passing segments, like we did in the first half against the United States. If we take an early lead, a lot will come easier to us.
DFB.de: After the game you will finally get to enjoy some time off. How much are you looking forward to your holiday?
Mustafi: I'm not really thinking about it at the moment. I don't think about what will happen afterwards this short before a game. If all of us are already thinking about our holidays, then this game might not turn out the way we expect it to. And I don’t want that at all. I'm only focussed on the 90 minutes in Faro on Saturday night.
