News

Emre Can: “I have matured”

Can: It took a little bit of time, but eventually I got over it. We wanted to be champions of Europe, but we didn't manage it. In the semi against Portugal we had a miserable day, but nothing can change that. The only thing that you can do is learn from an experience like that and I think I have done so. You must always give it your all. When you're at only 80 or 90 percent there, you have already lost. We are annoyed at having been punished, but I can safely say that something like that will not happen to me again.

DFB.de: What are your first impressions having trained with the national team for a day?

Can: I was very much welcomed here, everyone is friendly and helpful. I already know a lot of people from my time at Bayern and Leverkusen. Otherwise, everything is much bigger. It's just on a different scale to what I was used to with the U21s. Everything is professional, there's a lot more staff. There are fans at the hotel wanting autographs and photos. You really notice that you are in the presence of World Cup winners in many ways.

DFB.de: How difficult is it for you to come into something new from the higher position you held with the youth teams?

Can: It is natural and I didn't find it difficult. I know my place and I don't have a problem with being in the background. There are a lot of players here that I feel I can learn a lot from on and off the pitch, for example Bastian Schweinsteiger, Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil and Thomas Müller. They are all great players and personalities. Toni Kroos too. His ball retention and passing game is amazing. I intend to learn lots from my experience here.

DFB.de: Many of your teammates have skills outside the world of football. Thomas Müller is a keen golfer and Manuel Neuer likes to play tennis. Do you have any comparable skills?

Can: Nothing like that! I'm a chilled out sort of a person. I like to have a coffee with my friends and relax. I am not completely talentless outside football, but there is nothing in particular that I am good at.

DFB.de: What do you expect from this week where you will play Poland and Scotland?



Emre Can, the new kid on the block. The Germany national team meet Poland in Frankfurt (Friday 2nd 20:45 CEST) in their EURO qualifier at the Commerzbank-Arena . For Emre Can, this is a double home game. Can was born in Frankfurt and grew up there, and has now made the jump to the senior national squad after featuring for Bayern München, Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool. Read what the 21-year-old had to say to DFB.de about his career and his first experience of being in the midst of World Cup winners.

DFB.de: Mr Can, you are now part of the national team. How did this come about? Usually the manager or an assistant phones the player?

Emre Can: My call up to the national team has been imminent for a few months now, even since before the European U21 Championship. Back then, he said that I had a roll to play in his team. Then about a week ago I got a text that said I would be named in the squad.

DFB.de: How did you react?

Can: Of course I was very happy but I was also very proud. I was also remembering everything it took for me to get here.

DFB.de: Last Monday, Joachim Löw and Thomas Schneider were in London to watch the game between Arsenal and Liverpool. Did you know about that?

Can: Yes, I was told about that.

DFB.de: Does it make a difference when you know that the head coach is sitting in the stands?

Can: No, not really. I was happy that he was there, but I tried to just play normally. I wasn't nervous either.

DFB.de: One week on, has that changed? Are you still relaxed having joined the national team?

Can: I was excited, that's clear. For me, it is special because we are in my hometown of Frankfurt.

DFB.de: Do you remember the first time you played for a Germany youth team?

Can: Of course. You don't forget that kind of thing. It was on 10th June 2009. We played Poland and won 3-0 I think. I still remember how excited I was. There were a good 3,000 people in the stadium, something I wasn't used to. I wanted to impress everyone, and so after the warm-up, I was exhausted. It was a good game nonetheless, and a great start to my Germany career.

DFB.de: Not a bad omen for the game on Friday then. In the last six years you have become a lot more experienced and you have developed physically. What would you say is your greatest achievement in the last six years?

Can: I have become much more mature. I have experienced a lot as a footballer and also as a person. When I look at how I've developed in the last six years it's fantastic! I have achieved almost everything that I could have hoped to. I have played in the Bundesliga and now play in the Premier League, I have gone through all the youth national teams, and now here I am in the actual Germany squad. It's madness really.

DFB.de: Not long ago you were still with the U21s. How far away does that European Championship and the 5-0 loss to Portugal you suffered in the semi-final feel? And what did you learn from that experience?

Can: It took a little bit of time, but eventually I got over it. We wanted to be champions of Europe, but we didn't manage it. In the semi against Portugal we had a miserable day, but nothing can change that. The only thing that you can do is learn from an experience like that and I think I have done so. You must always give it your all. When you're at only 80 or 90 percent there, you have already lost. We are annoyed at having been punished, but I can safely say that something like that will not happen to me again.

DFB.de: What are your first impressions having trained with the national team for a day?

Can: I was very much welcomed here, everyone is friendly and helpful. I already know a lot of people from my time at Bayern and Leverkusen. Otherwise, everything is much bigger. It's just on a different scale to what I was used to with the U21s. Everything is professional, there's a lot more staff. There are fans at the hotel wanting autographs and photos. You really notice that you are in the presence of World Cup winners in many ways.

DFB.de: How difficult is it for you to come into something new from the higher position you held with the youth teams?

Can: It is natural and I didn't find it difficult. I know my place and I don't have a problem with being in the background. There are a lot of players here that I feel I can learn a lot from on and off the pitch, for example Bastian Schweinsteiger, Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil and Thomas Müller. They are all great players and personalities. Toni Kroos too. His ball retention and passing game is amazing. I intend to learn lots from my experience here.

DFB.de: Many of your teammates have skills outside the world of football. Thomas Müller is a keen golfer and Manuel Neuer likes to play tennis. Do you have any comparable skills?

Can: Nothing like that! I'm a chilled out sort of a person. I like to have a coffee with my friends and relax. I am not completely talentless outside football, but there is nothing in particular that I am good at.

DFB.de: What do you expect from this week where you will play Poland and Scotland?

Can: Two wins, six points and a big step towards France. That is what we want and we know we have the quality to produce. Personally, I really hope that I can make my senior international debut for Germany.