Hansi Flick and his team were once again training hard at the DFB campus before attention turns to the game against Peru on Saturday (20:45 CET). Among them was Frankfurt attacker Mario Götze and Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. DFB.de spoke to the duo about the team’s path and the mood in the squad.
Marc-André ter Stegen on...
...his position as number 1 in Manuel Neuer’s absence: At the end of the day, it’s performance-related. I’m pleased to be here. I would like to take the first few, hopefully successful, steps towards the World Cup together with the national team. I want to play games, to be ready. My aims are clear and I will keep following them. I will do everything I can so that it comes down to that. With Manu’s injury the situation is how it is. I will try to take my opportunity. If the number one shirt really means anything? At the end of the day, it is your performance that counts, and I would like to show that.
... his contact with Neuer: We wrote a bit to each other back-and-forth at the beginning. That’s what you do as colleagues. You wish all the best and hope that their recovery goes well and is quick. I have already said it a couple of times: I hope that he comes back quickly and takes him time to come back 100% fit. I wish that for him as a colleague, friend and long-time fellow national team player.
…the first international break: We now have a good schedule with two good games. I think that the games this New Year will go differently. It is the first training camp of the New Year, that’s what the team is focussed on. We are trying to make sure everyone fit in well so that we can work as a team. We have to set up for our opponents with passion and desire. That is the path that we have to take. We are trying to push ourselves as a team and to move on from the errors of the past. We have the players to do that. The experienced players have gone out and given the team cover so that as a whole we can grow.
... his sense of calm: Being successful in football is about achieving the most you personally can. This is also my aim, otherwise these goals would not be reasonable. The number 1 shirt has always been my goal, but I don’t know if I will complete it. Family has the most importance. Football is very, very important but at the end of the day, health and above all family are above everything else. You can get strength from the peace that you get at home. When everything at home is well-balanced, you have found your routine and you have peace of mind, it is easier in the end to perform on the pitch. Family always gives you security – also in bad moments. They can lift you up. You have to evaluate what’s really important in life. Family is the most beautiful thing that there is in life.
…memories of his first time with the national team: My first international game was a highlight for me, regardless of the result. An international game is always something special. It was one of the most important milestones in my football career. It is not always the successes which help you grow. The first games were not always easy, which was perhaps down to my age and experience, but there were games that make you better, even if only on a personal level. In the last few years, my performances have been good and I’ll keep on at it. I would like to be successful with the national team.
…his development: It is about experience, situations that you come to recognise. You get a sense of calm and know what you have to do. Mistakes are a part of that, they happen to all of us. With goalkeepers, they are even more common. As a goalkeeper, you learn how to deal with different situations. You have to get over small errors, even if other mistakes then happen. You have to push mistakes to one side.
...the team changing to him as a goalkeeper: Every goalkeeper has their own style. Regardless of who plays, the defence has to change. I will play differently to Manu. For better or for worse – that is not my job to say. I will concentrate on my own style of play. I can bring elements that will do us good. I would describe myself as a goalkeeper that plays out from the back, that looks for overloads. The quality here is very high, so the players will find solutions. I will give my all so that we are in a better position at the end.
...training behind closed doors today: We worked on set pieces, have worked some good things out. We had fun; that was important. For moments like this you need peace and quiet, which we used well.
… goalkeeper coach Andreas Kronenberg: He has a completely different view on lots of things. He gives feedback from a neutral position, even when I am not with the national team. I am pleased that we always get new input. The training is fun, we are always well-prepared. He is an absolute asset to the coaching staff.
…Kevin Trapp: Our relationship is great, regardless of the fact that we have similar goals.
…his career plans: It is nice to know that you are healthy. I hope that it stays that way. Sometimes that’s down to luck, sometimes down to training in the right way. I don’t know what it will look like in a couple of months, in a year or in seven or eight years. As long as performances are good enough, there is nothing in the way of a long career.
…the evening with the team on Wednesday: As a team, we want to use the time together to get stronger as a group. It was important to go out together as a team.
…his standing in the press: I think that players abroad are not in the focus of the German media as extremely. It is more difficult for people to follow football there. But, I think that the focus on me has got bigger and bigger over that the last few years.
Mario Götze on...
...friendlies on the way to the European Championships: It is not so bad just having friendlies. This way you can find opponents to focus working on certain things. It is important that we take it step-by-step, grow together as a team and take on challenges together. It is a journey as a team and a journey towards the tournament. It is really not that important if they are just friendlies or qualification games.
...lessons learnt from setbacks: Not so good times are also there for you to grow and to learn from. If we draw the right conclusions from the World Cup, then we will be on the right track, and that’s the way we’re going. We are looking towards the future. You have to always take the best from your experiences. I have always done that in the past and I will continue to do so in the future.
...the national team’s development: My first international was a first highlight. I was 18, it was sensational. We now have a European Championship at home in front of us. The most important thing is taking it step-by-step, in working on things in training and in how we play our football.
...his experience: I am trying to help where I can with my experience as a person and as a player that I have collected with the national team and at club-level. I want to give my best, especially with the young players, and to be there with help and advice. I am a friend of leading by example and leading from the front.
…new players in the team: We also made our debuts young. It is important that we have a particular structure, age structure to develop strength. That is good for the team. It is a positive path.
…a system with two strikers: It is important to be able to play certain systems so that you have different approaches to occupy space. I see myself as a player through the middle off the striker, I am not a target man. With two strikers my strengths come into the game.
…comparing Manuel Neuer and Marc ter Stegen: I have seen both. They are both world-class goalkeepers. I have had really good experiences with both. It is difficult to compare them. They are different goalkeepers, but despite that both are world-class.
…the World Cup in 2006: It was a brilliant experience for us. We were still young, were playing for the youth national team. I look back at it fondly. It was a very, very positive experience for us, so we are looking forward to the Euros as well.
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Hansi Flick and his team were once again training hard at the DFB campus before attention turns to the game against Peru on Saturday (20:45 CET). Among them was Frankfurt attacker Mario Götze and Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. DFB.de spoke to the duo about the team’s path and the mood in the squad.
Marc-André ter Stegen on...
...his position as number 1 in Manuel Neuer’s absence: At the end of the day, it’s performance-related. I’m pleased to be here. I would like to take the first few, hopefully successful, steps towards the World Cup together with the national team. I want to play games, to be ready. My aims are clear and I will keep following them. I will do everything I can so that it comes down to that. With Manu’s injury the situation is how it is. I will try to take my opportunity. If the number one shirt really means anything? At the end of the day, it is your performance that counts, and I would like to show that.
... his contact with Neuer: We wrote a bit to each other back-and-forth at the beginning. That’s what you do as colleagues. You wish all the best and hope that their recovery goes well and is quick. I have already said it a couple of times: I hope that he comes back quickly and takes him time to come back 100% fit. I wish that for him as a colleague, friend and long-time fellow national team player.
…the first international break: We now have a good schedule with two good games. I think that the games this New Year will go differently. It is the first training camp of the New Year, that’s what the team is focussed on. We are trying to make sure everyone fit in well so that we can work as a team. We have to set up for our opponents with passion and desire. That is the path that we have to take. We are trying to push ourselves as a team and to move on from the errors of the past. We have the players to do that. The experienced players have gone out and given the team cover so that as a whole we can grow.
... his sense of calm: Being successful in football is about achieving the most you personally can. This is also my aim, otherwise these goals would not be reasonable. The number 1 shirt has always been my goal, but I don’t know if I will complete it. Family has the most importance. Football is very, very important but at the end of the day, health and above all family are above everything else. You can get strength from the peace that you get at home. When everything at home is well-balanced, you have found your routine and you have peace of mind, it is easier in the end to perform on the pitch. Family always gives you security – also in bad moments. They can lift you up. You have to evaluate what’s really important in life. Family is the most beautiful thing that there is in life.
…memories of his first time with the national team: My first international game was a highlight for me, regardless of the result. An international game is always something special. It was one of the most important milestones in my football career. It is not always the successes which help you grow. The first games were not always easy, which was perhaps down to my age and experience, but there were games that make you better, even if only on a personal level. In the last few years, my performances have been good and I’ll keep on at it. I would like to be successful with the national team.
…his development: It is about experience, situations that you come to recognise. You get a sense of calm and know what you have to do. Mistakes are a part of that, they happen to all of us. With goalkeepers, they are even more common. As a goalkeeper, you learn how to deal with different situations. You have to get over small errors, even if other mistakes then happen. You have to push mistakes to one side.
...the team changing to him as a goalkeeper: Every goalkeeper has their own style. Regardless of who plays, the defence has to change. I will play differently to Manu. For better or for worse – that is not my job to say. I will concentrate on my own style of play. I can bring elements that will do us good. I would describe myself as a goalkeeper that plays out from the back, that looks for overloads. The quality here is very high, so the players will find solutions. I will give my all so that we are in a better position at the end.
...training behind closed doors today: We worked on set pieces, have worked some good things out. We had fun; that was important. For moments like this you need peace and quiet, which we used well.
… goalkeeper coach Andreas Kronenberg: He has a completely different view on lots of things. He gives feedback from a neutral position, even when I am not with the national team. I am pleased that we always get new input. The training is fun, we are always well-prepared. He is an absolute asset to the coaching staff.
…Kevin Trapp: Our relationship is great, regardless of the fact that we have similar goals.
…his career plans: It is nice to know that you are healthy. I hope that it stays that way. Sometimes that’s down to luck, sometimes down to training in the right way. I don’t know what it will look like in a couple of months, in a year or in seven or eight years. As long as performances are good enough, there is nothing in the way of a long career.
…the evening with the team on Wednesday: As a team, we want to use the time together to get stronger as a group. It was important to go out together as a team.
…his standing in the press: I think that players abroad are not in the focus of the German media as extremely. It is more difficult for people to follow football there. But, I think that the focus on me has got bigger and bigger over that the last few years.
Mario Götze on...
...friendlies on the way to the European Championships: It is not so bad just having friendlies. This way you can find opponents to focus working on certain things. It is important that we take it step-by-step, grow together as a team and take on challenges together. It is a journey as a team and a journey towards the tournament. It is really not that important if they are just friendlies or qualification games.
...lessons learnt from setbacks: Not so good times are also there for you to grow and to learn from. If we draw the right conclusions from the World Cup, then we will be on the right track, and that’s the way we’re going. We are looking towards the future. You have to always take the best from your experiences. I have always done that in the past and I will continue to do so in the future.
...the national team’s development: My first international was a first highlight. I was 18, it was sensational. We now have a European Championship at home in front of us. The most important thing is taking it step-by-step, in working on things in training and in how we play our football.
...his experience: I am trying to help where I can with my experience as a person and as a player that I have collected with the national team and at club-level. I want to give my best, especially with the young players, and to be there with help and advice. I am a friend of leading by example and leading from the front.
…new players in the team: We also made our debuts young. It is important that we have a particular structure, age structure to develop strength. That is good for the team. It is a positive path.
…a system with two strikers: It is important to be able to play certain systems so that you have different approaches to occupy space. I see myself as a player through the middle off the striker, I am not a target man. With two strikers my strengths come into the game.
…comparing Manuel Neuer and Marc ter Stegen: I have seen both. They are both world-class goalkeepers. I have had really good experiences with both. It is difficult to compare them. They are different goalkeepers, but despite that both are world-class.
…the World Cup in 2006: It was a brilliant experience for us. We were still young, were playing for the youth national team. I look back at it fondly. It was a very, very positive experience for us, so we are looking forward to the Euros as well.
