As goalkeeping coach of the Germany national team, Andreas Köpke has a problem that some might call a quite the luxury. The quality of German goalkeepers is, as always, extremely high. Even with Manuel Neuer absent, the 1996 European Championship winner and head coach Joachim Löw still have an abundance of class to draw upon. In an interview with DFB.de, Köpke speaks about the upcoming World Cup qualifier against San Marino in Nuremberg (20:45 CEST), the current situation with Germany’s goalkeepers and his connections to Nuremberg.
DFB.de: Mr Köpke, captain Neuer is missing from the squad due to injury. Will there be a clear number one out of Marc-André ter Stegen, Bernd Leno and Kevin Trapp?
Andreas Köpke: Our aim is to have a successful Confed Cup. If we do that, we’ll have five games in Russia. We need to use that opportunity to give all three goalkeepers a chance.
DFB.de: Why is that so important?
Köpke: All three goalkeepers have the potential to gain more caps. Neuer will always play, he’s the captain. That’s a good thing, but also means that the other keepers have fewer chances. For that reason, the Confed Cup is a good chance for all three to gather experience at an international tournament, with something big to play for, despite any reservations people have.
DFB.de: How fixed are your ideas about your goalkeepers for next year’s World Cup? After ter Stegen, Leno and Trapp, are there other candidate for a spot behind Neuer?
Köpke: The door is always open. We all know how quickly things can change: injuries, dips in form, it can all happen. But of course, we have our faith in these four goalkeepers. They have all played in the Champions League and proven their class at the highest level.
DFB.de: So they have a slight advantage.
As goalkeeping coach of the Germany national team, Andreas Köpke has a problem that some might call a quite the luxury. The quality of German goalkeepers is, as always, extremely high. Even with Manuel Neuer absent, the 1996 European Championship winner and head coach Joachim Löw still have an abundance of class to draw upon. In an interview with DFB.de, Köpke speaks about the upcoming World Cup qualifier against San Marino in Nuremberg (20:45 CEST), the current situation with Germany’s goalkeepers and his connections to Nuremberg.
DFB.de: Mr Köpke, captain Neuer is missing from the squad due to injury. Will there be a clear number one out of Marc-André ter Stegen, Bernd Leno and Kevin Trapp?
Andreas Köpke: Our aim is to have a successful Confed Cup. If we do that, we’ll have five games in Russia. We need to use that opportunity to give all three goalkeepers a chance.
DFB.de: Why is that so important?
Köpke: All three goalkeepers have the potential to gain more caps. Neuer will always play, he’s the captain. That’s a good thing, but also means that the other keepers have fewer chances. For that reason, the Confed Cup is a good chance for all three to gather experience at an international tournament, with something big to play for, despite any reservations people have.
DFB.de: How fixed are your ideas about your goalkeepers for next year’s World Cup? After ter Stegen, Leno and Trapp, are there other candidate for a spot behind Neuer?
Köpke: The door is always open. We all know how quickly things can change: injuries, dips in form, it can all happen. But of course, we have our faith in these four goalkeepers. They have all played in the Champions League and proven their class at the highest level.
DFB.de: So they have a slight advantage.
Köpke: As the captain, I’ll exclude Manu here. But the other three have all given themselves the edge, hence why we selected them. However, there is still so much quality beyond those three. Timo Horn picked up a silver medal at the Olympics in Rio. Ralf Fährmann, who has played at a high level with Schalke 04. Oliver Baumann, who has qualified for the Champions League with Hoffenheim. In addition, you have Ron-Robert Zieler and Loris Karius, who have had difficult seasons, but have also still shown their qualities in recent years. Who knows how the situation will look in a year. Therefore, it’s not worth trying to make a final decision right now.
DFB.de: The upcoming match against San Marino is taking place in Nuremberg, which makes it a double home tie for you, having come from the city. Do you know the name of the last 1. FC Nürnberg player to play for the Germany national team?
Köpke: The club hasn’t had so many Germany internationals, at least in recent years. I’m not sure… it could be Dieter Eckstein. No, that was before my time. Perhaps it was me.
DFB.de: Bullseye. You were involved in the match against UAE on 27th April 1994 – since then there have been no other players from the club.
Köpke: That’s almost two-and-a-half decades ago. Definitely not a good sign for the club, unfortunately.
