Thomas Müller: There is a comfortable gap between us and the other teams, but we have to make sure that it at least stays this way. Wolfsburg gave us a hard time during the Bundesliga opener and it was a close one. I’d say I’d happily take the same result again, although we want to play better football this time round. However, football life’s no picnic. We have to work hard for our success.
Sources: Bild.de, Sport1, Schalke.de, Westdeutsche Zeitung, Bundesliga.de, Goal.com
[mmc/ap]
Big words from big names: DFB.de has gathered quotes from the Germany internationals speaking about the second half of the season. Today’s edition includes the World Champions Müller, Schweinsteiger, Zieler, Hummels, Kramer and Bellarabi.
Mats Hummels: I’m really excited about the trip to Leverkusen and the rest of the season. I’m trying to ignore our current league position and all those rumours about me leaving Dortmund. Our goal is to climb a few positions up the table as soon as possible. We’ve got big plans for the second half of the season.
Bastian Schweinsteiger: We need to focus on the things that matter and try claim the Championship as soon as possible. We have to try eliminating our recurring mistakes in training, especially in light of the upcoming Champions League fixtures against top teams. We really have to give it our all in training in order to improve and play a good second half of the season.
Christoph Kramer: We need to show that the results from the first half of the season were well-deserved. We’ve got three fixtures scheduled for the first week. If we play well in those matches we’ll be able to boost our self-confidence and prove that our previous results were no coincidence. That would be a great way to bid Gladbach farewell. I’m sure that the fans will have my back until the end.
Karim Bellarabi: Our most important goal is the qualification for the Champions League. We want to repeat our good results from the first half of the season, while further improving on several aspects. Personally, I’m working hard to get my fitness levels up and to increase my pace. Furthermore, I want to be a regular on the national team and travel to the major tournaments with them. This is why I have to show what I’ve got for the remainder of the season.
Benedikt Höwedes: We’ve done a good job on improving our fitness levels and tactical skills, but we still have more things to work on in training before the Bundesliga returns. We will focus on eliminating our flaws in order to ensure a successful few weeks ahead.
Ron Robert Zieler: We have mostly been working on our basic fitness for the second half of the season. We have also focused on tactics. We need to continue our solid defensive work. Our goal is to finish the season in the top half of the table. However, our long-term aim is playing international football.
Kevin Volland: We have to become more consistent in our results and make sure that we decide narrow matches in our favour. We have to make better use of our pressing game. On a personal level, it is important that I continue to improve over the second half of the season and become a better player. Then, I’ll wait and see what the summer has in store for me.
Thomas Müller: There is a comfortable gap between us and the other teams, but we have to make sure that it at least stays this way. Wolfsburg gave us a hard time during the Bundesliga opener and it was a close one. I’d say I’d happily take the same result again, although we want to play better football this time round. However, football life’s no picnic. We have to work hard for our success.
Sources: Bild.de, Sport1, Schalke.de, Westdeutsche Zeitung, Bundesliga.de, Goal.com