... the strains of international football on the players: It gets on my nerves that we have this debate every October. There’s no real evidence that international football is problematic for the players. It will always be discussed, but I believe that international games are very important in terms of player development. It’s not just the games, but also the travel and the obligations of club sides which cause the problems. International matches help players improve and develop them into stars. We would like to sit down at a table with all parties involved and find a solution.
... the impact of winning the World Cup: On 10th November the World Cup winners will be in Berlin to be honoured with the Silbernen Lorbeerblatt (the highest sports award in Germany). We’ll also receive the FIFA World Champions badge that night. On that day we will show our official World Cup film Die Mannschaft. As well as showing on pitch action, the film also features behind the scenes footage. We hope that it will remind the fans of our title success and show them how it was from our perspective. In conjunction with this, a book of photos called Eine Nacht in Rio by Paul Ripke will be published.
MANUEL NEUER ON...
... his role as temporary Captain: The captaincy doesn’t stress me out. I relish the responsibility.
... Bastian Schweinsteiger’s absence: We will miss Bastian. We are looking forward to him returning. He is important as he sets the tempo.
... the defensive situation after retirements and injuries: We have important qualifiers ahead of us and need to show that we can defend strongly. Mats Hummels is back, which is great news. In training we are looking to communicate well and create an understanding.
... facing teammate Robert Lewandowski in the game against Poland: It is important that we build on the three points we got against Scotland, but it isn’t going to be easy in Warsaw. Robert Lewandowski is one of the best strikers in the world, so we will have to be careful. But: I know him and he hasn’t scored past me in training so far. Laughs.
... young German goalkeepers: We have some great goalkeepers in Germany. The coaching is great. We have good goalkeeper coaches who make sure that the players fully understand the modern game. We have no problems at all in this position.
On Saturday Germany face Poland in Warsaw in their second 2016 UEFA European Championship qualifier before facing Ireland in Gelsenkirchen the following Tuesday. In the first press conference after arriving in Frankfurt team manager Oliver Bierhoff spoke about personnel, the strains of international football and the planned film to celebrate World Cup victory.
OLIVER BIERHOFF ON...
... the upcoming European Championship qualifiers: It’s a slightly different situation now we’re World Champions. Expectations are raised and obviously the opposition want to beat the World Cup winners. October will be difficult, the games will be awkward for us- There are some changes, we are introducing new players to the squad and they need to settle in. It’s a great opportunity and challenge for the coaching staff, as they need to get the players playing at the same level again. The players who weren’t on duty at the World Cup now need to step up. There are things we can improve on. The aim is to win both games in October. We want to take more steps forward and capitalise on the current enthusiasm.
... Bastian Schweinsteiger condition: We obviously hope he gets better soon, but we don’t really know about his situation. We know that he is impatient and wants to return but we know that he needs to take time to recover properly and not rush back.
... the development of Toni Kroos: Toni has developed hugely. He was excellent at the World Cup. He is a very mature player.
... Lukas Podolski: He is part of our team. He’s an energetic player and offers something different. You can understand why he is disappointed – he wants to play. I would urge him to speak to the Head Coach to see if they can find a solution. I hope that he ´adds consistency to his game, because it has been lacking recently.
... André Schürrle’s fitness: It’s looking good for André. Joachim Löw wants to see how he copes in training. Yesterday he was with Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt and has improved, so we’ll have another look tomorrow.
... whether Julian Draxler will return: We are quietly optimistic that Julian will link up with us again soon – maybe even today.
... the strains of international football on the players: It gets on my nerves that we have this debate every October. There’s no real evidence that international football is problematic for the players. It will always be discussed, but I believe that international games are very important in terms of player development. It’s not just the games, but also the travel and the obligations of club sides which cause the problems. International matches help players improve and develop them into stars. We would like to sit down at a table with all parties involved and find a solution.
... the impact of winning the World Cup: On 10th November the World Cup winners will be in Berlin to be honoured with the Silbernen Lorbeerblatt (the highest sports award in Germany). We’ll also receive the FIFA World Champions badge that night. On that day we will show our official World Cup film Die Mannschaft. As well as showing on pitch action, the film also features behind the scenes footage. We hope that it will remind the fans of our title success and show them how it was from our perspective. In conjunction with this, a book of photos called Eine Nacht in Rio by Paul Ripke will be published.
MANUEL NEUER ON...
... his role as temporary Captain: The captaincy doesn’t stress me out. I relish the responsibility.
... Bastian Schweinsteiger’s absence: We will miss Bastian. We are looking forward to him returning. He is important as he sets the tempo.
... the defensive situation after retirements and injuries: We have important qualifiers ahead of us and need to show that we can defend strongly. Mats Hummels is back, which is great news. In training we are looking to communicate well and create an understanding.
... facing teammate Robert Lewandowski in the game against Poland: It is important that we build on the three points we got against Scotland, but it isn’t going to be easy in Warsaw. Robert Lewandowski is one of the best strikers in the world, so we will have to be careful. But: I know him and he hasn’t scored past me in training so far. Laughs.
... young German goalkeepers: We have some great goalkeepers in Germany. The coaching is great. We have good goalkeeper coaches who make sure that the players fully understand the modern game. We have no problems at all in this position.
TONI KROOS ON...
... the match in Warsaw: It is an important game and probably the most difficult one we have to play during qualifying.
... his first few months in Madrid: I have settled in well in Madrid. I am very happy there but the language is difficult.
