The DFB-Team will be looking to end their year as World Champions positively on Tuesday when they take on Spain in Vigo (20:45 CET). Germany manager Joachim Löw and Toni Kroos took part in a press conference today and DFB.de has summarised the most important quotes.
Joachim Löw on…
…the game against Spain: On the one hand, I’m excited that we have come to Spain because we’re going to be playing against a technically gifted team. But on the other hand, it’s unfortunate that some good players will be missing for both teams for this prestigious game. It’s also the chance to find out a few more things that we can take into next year. I expect a good performance and the players to be ready mentally as I will be judging every single one of them.
…players that will come into the line-up for tomorrow: I assume that everyone is able to play. I’ll decide who’ll start tonight. I can say that Kevin Volland will start tomorrow and Antonio Rüdiger will also make an appearance.
…the captaincy: Sami Khedira will lead the team out tomorrow. I haven’t decided who will start in goal.
…Vigo as the venue: Of course, it would be nice to play in Barcelona or Madrid. I think that Spain choose to play in smaller cities more often than not and that’s completely fine.
…tactics: I don’t think that we’ll have more of the possession tomorrow. I expect us to be compact and solid against a well organised team. We’ll have players such as Toni Kroos, Benedkit Höwedes and Thomas Müller, who all have experience and can lead the team.
…the influence of Spain’s game: To be honest, when I started, I had watched a lot of Spanish football, with Jürgen Klinsmann too. I shadowed a club manager in Spain and I found it impressive that you could almost lay a stencil over the pitch and there was a disciplined approach. We have definitely been influenced by Spain’s game, but we have also tried to apply our own style.
…a possible defeat against Spain: Obviously, it wouldn’t be good to end the year with a loss. But it certainly won’t play a role next year or in at the EUROs in 2016. If you draw 2-2 with Cameroon in May, it doesn’t affect the team for weeks. I hope that we can have a good preparation for the tournament in 2015, qualify and the players can remain injury free.
Toni Kroos on…
...the game against Spain: I’m looking forward to it. I said from the start that I felt comfortable in Spain and it’s nice to be able to play here. I haven’t played in Vigo, but it’s good because I only have a short trip home. We come here as World Champions and therefore we go into every game with the intention of winning, which is something we’ll try to do tomorrow.
...the significance of the game between the World Champions and the European Champions: Two big teams will come up against each other in Vigo and it’s a prestigious game. If you arrange a friendly like this, then you obviously want to win. I’m sure that Spain will want to win too.
...the past few games: Obviously we've been missing a few players. It’s normal to compare our football now with how we were playing at the World Cup and it’s clear that we are missing some players, even though there’s still a lot of quality in the squad. I didn’t think we were as bad against Poland and Ireland as people in Germany are making out. I was happy with the team’s performance against Poland. But we haven’t picked up all the points available and we aren’t 100% happy with our position in the group. I’m not worried, as I think we will qualify for the EUROs in France.
...the game against his Real teammates: We’re excited to play against each other. We’ve already spoken about it a little bit.
...Real teammate Isco: He’s a great player and he deserves his call-up to the side. We’re happy to have him at Real Madrid.
…the performances of Spain: That’s hard for me to judge. I didn’t see their last game because I was spending time with my family. Some players retired in their squad too after the World Cup. It’s clear that they have a few problems but we are in a similar situation as we have to make up for the loss of some players.
…his place in the DFB-Team: I know that the manager expects me to be dominant and have some responsibility. It’s definitely more than before and especially now as we are missing some players through injury.
[mmc/fs]
The DFB-Team will be looking to end their year as World Champions positively on Tuesday when they take on Spain in Vigo (20:45 CET). Germany manager Joachim Löw and Toni Kroos took part in a press conference today and DFB.de has summarised the most important quotes.
Joachim Löw on…
…the game against Spain: On the one hand, I’m excited that we have come to Spain because we’re going to be playing against a technically gifted team. But on the other hand, it’s unfortunate that some good players will be missing for both teams for this prestigious game. It’s also the chance to find out a few more things that we can take into next year. I expect a good performance and the players to be ready mentally as I will be judging every single one of them.
…players that will come into the line-up for tomorrow: I assume that everyone is able to play. I’ll decide who’ll start tonight. I can say that Kevin Volland will start tomorrow and Antonio Rüdiger will also make an appearance.
…the captaincy: Sami Khedira will lead the team out tomorrow. I haven’t decided who will start in goal.
…Vigo as the venue: Of course, it would be nice to play in Barcelona or Madrid. I think that Spain choose to play in smaller cities more often than not and that’s completely fine.
…tactics: I don’t think that we’ll have more of the possession tomorrow. I expect us to be compact and solid against a well organised team. We’ll have players such as Toni Kroos, Benedkit Höwedes and Thomas Müller, who all have experience and can lead the team.
…the influence of Spain’s game: To be honest, when I started, I had watched a lot of Spanish football, with Jürgen Klinsmann too. I shadowed a club manager in Spain and I found it impressive that you could almost lay a stencil over the pitch and there was a disciplined approach. We have definitely been influenced by Spain’s game, but we have also tried to apply our own style.
…a possible defeat against Spain: Obviously, it wouldn’t be good to end the year with a loss. But it certainly won’t play a role next year or in at the EUROs in 2016. If you draw 2-2 with Cameroon in May, it doesn’t affect the team for weeks. I hope that we can have a good preparation for the tournament in 2015, qualify and the players can remain injury free.
Toni Kroos on…
...the game against Spain: I’m looking forward to it. I said from the start that I felt comfortable in Spain and it’s nice to be able to play here. I haven’t played in Vigo, but it’s good because I only have a short trip home. We come here as World Champions and therefore we go into every game with the intention of winning, which is something we’ll try to do tomorrow.
...the significance of the game between the World Champions and the European Champions: Two big teams will come up against each other in Vigo and it’s a prestigious game. If you arrange a friendly like this, then you obviously want to win. I’m sure that Spain will want to win too.
...the past few games: Obviously we've been missing a few players. It’s normal to compare our football now with how we were playing at the World Cup and it’s clear that we are missing some players, even though there’s still a lot of quality in the squad. I didn’t think we were as bad against Poland and Ireland as people in Germany are making out. I was happy with the team’s performance against Poland. But we haven’t picked up all the points available and we aren’t 100% happy with our position in the group. I’m not worried, as I think we will qualify for the EUROs in France.
...the game against his Real teammates: We’re excited to play against each other. We’ve already spoken about it a little bit.
...Real teammate Isco: He’s a great player and he deserves his call-up to the side. We’re happy to have him at Real Madrid.
…the performances of Spain: That’s hard for me to judge. I didn’t see their last game because I was spending time with my family. Some players retired in their squad too after the World Cup. It’s clear that they have a few problems but we are in a similar situation as we have to make up for the loss of some players.
…his place in the DFB-Team: I know that the manager expects me to be dominant and have some responsibility. It’s definitely more than before and especially now as we are missing some players through injury.
