At their first press conference since the World Cup, national team manager Oliver Bierhoff and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer reflected briefly on Germany’s triumph in Brazil before looking ahead to Wednesday’s friendly against Argentina (live on ZDF from 20:45 CET) and the opening EURO 2016 qualifier against Scotland on Sunday (live on RTL from 20:45 CET).
OLIVER BIERHOFF ON...
... the Argentina match in Düsseldorf: We’re happy to have such a good first game and an open training session that gives fans, particularly the kids, a chance to see their favourite players.
... Mesut Özil’s injury: We’re working on getting him fit for Sunday’s match against Scotland, but it doesn’t look good for Argentina on Wednesday. As he has picked up this injury he’ll remain in London for the time being.
... the retirements of Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker: During this summer’s tournament I could tell that this was likely to happen, and the players deserve the utmost respect for their decisions. Nevertheless, we’ve always managed to get back on track quickly after major tournaments. Those three players will be there on Wednesday, as there’ll be a photo shoot for new autograph cards of the world champions. There’ll also be a medal ceremony, but of course that’ll be for the other World Cup winners as well.
... the new assistant coach: We’re in a good position, but there won’t be a new coach joining us or travelling with us over these next few days. Joachim Löw will lead training together with Andreas Köpke and Yann-Benjamin Kugel.
... the new captain: Joachim Löw will talk to the team again this evening and will certainly bring up this issue. I’ve been able to follow the captaincy issue closely, but I think the role is somewhat overvalued. Sure, the captain is a key point of contact for the coach, but times have changed slightly. What’s most important is that the skipper is a strong character who can discuss sporting developments with the coaching team.
... returning players: Although continuity is certainly important, I’m glad that players like Mario Gomez and Marco Reus are back with us.
At their first press conference since the World Cup, national team manager Oliver Bierhoff and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer reflected briefly on Germany’s triumph in Brazil before looking ahead to Wednesday’s friendly against Argentina (live on ZDF from 20:45 CET) and the opening EURO 2016 qualifier against Scotland on Sunday (live on RTL from 20:45 CET).
OLIVER BIERHOFF ON...
... the Argentina match in Düsseldorf: We’re happy to have such a good first game and an open training session that gives fans, particularly the kids, a chance to see their favourite players.
... Mesut Özil’s injury: We’re working on getting him fit for Sunday’s match against Scotland, but it doesn’t look good for Argentina on Wednesday. As he has picked up this injury he’ll remain in London for the time being.
... the retirements of Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker: During this summer’s tournament I could tell that this was likely to happen, and the players deserve the utmost respect for their decisions. Nevertheless, we’ve always managed to get back on track quickly after major tournaments. Those three players will be there on Wednesday, as there’ll be a photo shoot for new autograph cards of the world champions. There’ll also be a medal ceremony, but of course that’ll be for the other World Cup winners as well.
... the new assistant coach: We’re in a good position, but there won’t be a new coach joining us or travelling with us over these next few days. Joachim Löw will lead training together with Andreas Köpke and Yann-Benjamin Kugel.
... the new captain: Joachim Löw will talk to the team again this evening and will certainly bring up this issue. I’ve been able to follow the captaincy issue closely, but I think the role is somewhat overvalued. Sure, the captain is a key point of contact for the coach, but times have changed slightly. What’s most important is that the skipper is a strong character who can discuss sporting developments with the coaching team.
... returning players: Although continuity is certainly important, I’m glad that players like Mario Gomez and Marco Reus are back with us.
... post-World Cup honours: I’ve stayed out of all that. After scoring the golden goal [in the Euro 1996 final] I got to sign my name in Essen’s Golden Book, but this time I deliberately stepped back. I enjoyed observing it all and was happy to have some peace and quiet.
... the situation in German football after the World Cup: Those ten weeks in Brazil and South Tyrol were intense, so everyone needed some space to process it. As well as achieving sporting success, our team also sent out a message that you can fight while still playing attractive football; you can be individual and yet present a united front. This success certainly wasn’t achieved overnight; from the very first day in South Tyrol you could feel that everyone was focused and concentrating on the same goal. Every single player was prepared to fight their individual battles, particularly Manuel Neuer, who wasn’t even certain to play ahead of the first match.
... receiving congratulations from the rest of the world: We’ve received many letters from the footballing world and from fans. Even the Brazilians praised our team, so of course that makes me particularly proud. We’ve shown that our players are good guys as well as talented footballers. It was the fourth star everyone was hoping for, and we want to continue generating and sustaining that enthusiasm.
MANUEL NEUER ON...
... the upcoming matches against Argentina and Scotland: It’ll certainly be difficult, particularly after what we’ve just experienced. Of course, it’s very special to be playing against Argentina again, and naturally we want to win against Scotland to start our qualifying campaign with three points. These games will push us to our limits; we’ll need to hit the ground running and be totally focused, preferably from the first match against Argentina.
... the captaincy: We have many players who have already been entrusted with responsibility, particularly those from the team committee, and after such a successful tournament, there are also other players capable of taking on this role. With Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Müller and me in the squad, we’re certainly well equipped when it comes to this issue. Personally it doesn’t matter what role I take on – I shoulder responsibility in any case.
... the open training session: I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait to see what it’ll be like. There’s no doubt it’s something special. I know from experience that our coach will need to have a whistle handy because the noise levels will be quite a bit higher than usual.
