Everything takes a little longer in London. The national team were stuck in traffic on their way back to the hotel after yesterday’s training and arrived fairly late. In this situation, some may wish to draw parallels with the career of Roman Weidenfeller, who at 33 has had to wait quite some time for his first call up to the Germany squad.
In
DFB.de’s
Interview of the Week with reporter
Steffen Lüdeke, the Dortmund keeper discusses his first few days with the national team, the rivalry amongst the squad’s goalkeepers and the international friendly against England on Tuesday (live on ARD from 21:00 CET), where Weidenfeller could finally make his debut.
DFB.de: Mr Weidenfeller, there are only two goalkeepers in the national team squad – you and René Adler. Is there much greater pressure on you in training than when you were third behind Adler and Manuel Neuer?
Roman Weidenfeller: No, yesterday was the second day after the Italy match, so it’s usual to take it a little easier, but of course we have worked very meticulously. Today was much like the few days previously. It’s fun to work with Andreas Köpke and my goalkeeping colleagues; it’s a special challenge for me and I love training with this squad.
DFB.de: You previously said that it would be your dream to play for the national team, even once. Has your dream already been fully realised or will it only be fulfilled when you win your first Germany cap?
Weidenfeller: Much of my dream has come true simply by being called up. I got a great welcome and feel right at home here. I wanted to experience what it’s like to be part of this squad and experience the national team set-up, and I’m doing that now. This already means so much to me; we’ll have to wait and see about the rest.
DFB.de: It’s not your first call up to a DFB squad, though…
Weidenfeller: That’s right. I was in every squad from U-15 through to the Team 2006 development squad, but none of that compares to this, just because it’s all on a much bigger scale. Ultimately, we’re talking about the Germany A team.
DFB.de: Would you say that the highlight of your DFB career before now was the U-17 World Cup in Egypt? You were voted the best goalkeeper there. How well do you remember that tournament?
Weidenfeller: That whole tournament was a great experience. When you’re 17, you don’t know for sure if you’ll ever become a professional, so everyone there wanted to savour the moment as much as possible. In the group stages, we played the hosts, Egypt, in front of 100,000 spectators in Cairo; I’ll always remember that.
DFB.de: You’ve been a member of the Germany national team squad for a week now, but first things first: how did your journey to join up with the squad start?
Weidenfeller: We BVB players met up in Dortmund and travelled together in a car to Düsseldorf airport. Unfortunately, it was a bit stressful as we got stuck in traffic for a while.
DFB.de: Good training for London…
Weidenfeller: Absolutely. But we managed to catch the plane and flew to Munich. Once we got there, I stuck with my Dortmund colleagues for a while. I had to get to know how everything worked and they helped me out a lot.
DFB.de: At your club, you’re the one who uses your experience to help young and new players settle in. Is it strange not to be in the same role here?
Weidenfeller: It’s not a problem for me. I think I can use my experience here too, but of course, as a newcomer, I’ve got to – and want to – get to know the ropes first.
DFB.de: How well did you know the Bayern players before this?
Weidenfeller: I know them well from the Bundesliga, and now we’re getting to know each other as team-mates. I’m a very open person; I like to interact with my team-mates. There aren’t problems with any other players just because they play for another team. I’ve been really warmly welcomed by everyone. We’re here for the national team, so the clubs we play for are irrelevant.
DFB.de: Is the same true of Manuel Neuer and René Adler? What’s your experience of the rivalry between the goalkeepers?
Weidenfeller: Completely positive. I met Manu in the fitness area straight away on the first day and trained with him. That was fun, as were the general training sessions out on the pitch. It’s the same with René Adler, and I also know him personally from Cologne and Düsseldorf. I don’t see why there should be any barriers between us.
DFB.de: There were marketing commitments to take care of on your first day with the Germany squad, and you only got onto the pitch last Tuesday. Even with all your experience, did you get nervous before your first training session with the national team?
Weidenfeller: Nervous isn’t the right word. I was looking forward to it, and I was curious too, of course. Different coaches have different approaches to training. Everyone has their own ideas, and Andreas Köpke is no different. I had to get used to it, but as I said, it was really good fun. I get the impression that I’ll feel more confident each day. The national team trains at a high level, and I love to train at a high level. Everyone here has to prove themselves afresh every day, and that increases the quality a little more too.
DFB.de: You were on the bench for the match against Italy – an unfamiliar situation for you given that you are first-choice for your club. Are you a patient sub or did you get restless?
Weidenfeller: It was just interesting for me to experience what happens at an international match. When you’re there for the first time, there are so many new impressions and so many situations that you can take something from. I would have been so happy for the team if they had managed to win the match. Unfortunately, we didn’t take our chance to go 2-1 up at the end of the match. Also, from a personal point of view, I would have loved to have been part of a win on my first match with the squad, but we can definitely settle for a 1-1 draw in Italy.
DFB.de: Manuel Neuer flew back to Munich from Milan. Be honest – how hopeful are you that you’ll get to play against England?
Weidenfeller: I haven’t yet had any signals from the coaches, so I’ll wait and see what happens.
DFB.de: After the England match, BVB have a home match against Bayern in the Bundesliga. Would it be fair to say that you’ve never given less thought to a match against Bayern five days before playing them as you are this week?
Weidenfeller: That’s absolutely right. (laughs) Right now, I’m completely focused on what I’m doing for the DFB and in the national team. I’ll only start thinking about the Bundesliga again when we’re back in Dortmund.
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Everything takes a little longer in London. The national team were stuck in traffic on their way back to the hotel after yesterday’s training and arrived fairly late. In this situation, some may wish to draw parallels with the career of Roman Weidenfeller, who at 33 has had to wait quite some time for his first call up to the Germany squad.
In
DFB.de’s
Interview of the Week with reporter
Steffen Lüdeke, the Dortmund keeper discusses his first few days with the national team, the rivalry amongst the squad’s goalkeepers and the international friendly against England on Tuesday (live on ARD from 21:00 CET), where Weidenfeller could finally make his debut.
DFB.de: Mr Weidenfeller, there are only two goalkeepers in the national team squad – you and René Adler. Is there much greater pressure on you in training than when you were third behind Adler and Manuel Neuer?
Roman Weidenfeller: No, yesterday was the second day after the Italy match, so it’s usual to take it a little easier, but of course we have worked very meticulously. Today was much like the few days previously. It’s fun to work with Andreas Köpke and my goalkeeping colleagues; it’s a special challenge for me and I love training with this squad.
DFB.de: You previously said that it would be your dream to play for the national team, even once. Has your dream already been fully realised or will it only be fulfilled when you win your first Germany cap?
Weidenfeller: Much of my dream has come true simply by being called up. I got a great welcome and feel right at home here. I wanted to experience what it’s like to be part of this squad and experience the national team set-up, and I’m doing that now. This already means so much to me; we’ll have to wait and see about the rest.
DFB.de: It’s not your first call up to a DFB squad, though…
Weidenfeller: That’s right. I was in every squad from U-15 through to the Team 2006 development squad, but none of that compares to this, just because it’s all on a much bigger scale. Ultimately, we’re talking about the Germany A team.
DFB.de: Would you say that the highlight of your DFB career before now was the U-17 World Cup in Egypt? You were voted the best goalkeeper there. How well do you remember that tournament?
Weidenfeller: That whole tournament was a great experience. When you’re 17, you don’t know for sure if you’ll ever become a professional, so everyone there wanted to savour the moment as much as possible. In the group stages, we played the hosts, Egypt, in front of 100,000 spectators in Cairo; I’ll always remember that.
DFB.de: You’ve been a member of the Germany national team squad for a week now, but first things first: how did your journey to join up with the squad start?
Weidenfeller: We BVB players met up in Dortmund and travelled together in a car to Düsseldorf airport. Unfortunately, it was a bit stressful as we got stuck in traffic for a while.
DFB.de: Good training for London…
Weidenfeller: Absolutely. But we managed to catch the plane and flew to Munich. Once we got there, I stuck with my Dortmund colleagues for a while. I had to get to know how everything worked and they helped me out a lot.
DFB.de: At your club, you’re the one who uses your experience to help young and new players settle in. Is it strange not to be in the same role here?
Weidenfeller: It’s not a problem for me. I think I can use my experience here too, but of course, as a newcomer, I’ve got to – and want to – get to know the ropes first.
DFB.de: How well did you know the Bayern players before this?
Weidenfeller: I know them well from the Bundesliga, and now we’re getting to know each other as team-mates. I’m a very open person; I like to interact with my team-mates. There aren’t problems with any other players just because they play for another team. I’ve been really warmly welcomed by everyone. We’re here for the national team, so the clubs we play for are irrelevant.
DFB.de: Is the same true of Manuel Neuer and René Adler? What’s your experience of the rivalry between the goalkeepers?
Weidenfeller: Completely positive. I met Manu in the fitness area straight away on the first day and trained with him. That was fun, as were the general training sessions out on the pitch. It’s the same with René Adler, and I also know him personally from Cologne and Düsseldorf. I don’t see why there should be any barriers between us.
DFB.de: There were marketing commitments to take care of on your first day with the Germany squad, and you only got onto the pitch last Tuesday. Even with all your experience, did you get nervous before your first training session with the national team?
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Weidenfeller: Nervous isn’t the right word. I was looking forward to it, and I was curious too, of course. Different coaches have different approaches to training. Everyone has their own ideas, and Andreas Köpke is no different. I had to get used to it, but as I said, it was really good fun. I get the impression that I’ll feel more confident each day. The national team trains at a high level, and I love to train at a high level. Everyone here has to prove themselves afresh every day, and that increases the quality a little more too.
DFB.de: You were on the bench for the match against Italy – an unfamiliar situation for you given that you are first-choice for your club. Are you a patient sub or did you get restless?
Weidenfeller: It was just interesting for me to experience what happens at an international match. When you’re there for the first time, there are so many new impressions and so many situations that you can take something from. I would have been so happy for the team if they had managed to win the match. Unfortunately, we didn’t take our chance to go 2-1 up at the end of the match. Also, from a personal point of view, I would have loved to have been part of a win on my first match with the squad, but we can definitely settle for a 1-1 draw in Italy.
DFB.de: Manuel Neuer flew back to Munich from Milan. Be honest – how hopeful are you that you’ll get to play against England?
Weidenfeller: I haven’t yet had any signals from the coaches, so I’ll wait and see what happens.
DFB.de: After the England match, BVB have a home match against Bayern in the Bundesliga. Would it be fair to say that you’ve never given less thought to a match against Bayern five days before playing them as you are this week?
Weidenfeller: That’s absolutely right. (laughs) Right now, I’m completely focused on what I’m doing for the DFB and in the national team. I’ll only start thinking about the Bundesliga again when we’re back in Dortmund.
