Emre Can: “We have to light a fire”

It is day two of preparations for the first two international games of the year on Saturday in Mainz against Peru and then on Thursday, 28th March in Cologne against Belgium. After an open recovery session on Monday, the first ‘proper’ training session on the DFB campus awaits the Germany players. The returning Emre Can and Florian Wirtz as well as World Cup participant Matthias Ginter spoke with DFB.de about their roles in the team and a home European Championship in 2024.

Emre Can on…

…his return and the first training session: It is nice to be back here again. We always have fun. The boys are keen, the tempo was extremely high. The intensity and the level of training was very good.

...the 2006 World Cup and home EURO 2024: The togetherness in Germany at the time was unbelievable. Our aim has to be to bring together the media and over 80 million people here in Germany. We have to light a fire – and then the boys on the pitch will feel it as well. If we managed to create that, then we could have a very, very successful Euros here at home in Germany.

...prominent names missing out on the squad: With a couple of names it was a surprise – not with those that are here, but with those that are still at home. The coach has an idea, and these players will definitely be back again in the future. But now, it is a chance for the new players to show what they can do – or, for those like Florian and me, to show what we can do again. But when the squad was announced we were all very surprised.

...Marius Wolf: I have always liked him. He has always worked so hard and done his thing. Marius has always had top quality. He has done brilliantly in the last few weeks. We can become an important player for the national team. It is no secret that no single player has held down that right-back position. Marius can take his chance and I believe in him doing that.

...his role in the team: That will become clear over time. Everyone knows the way I play football. I love giving everything for the team. That’s important to me. I want to prove myself, want to play football. That is always my aim and will always be my aim.

...BVB’s good form: It’s been going well since the beginning of the year. We are a really good team but have not always played at our best. But we have always shown a good mentality. We can take that with us into the national team. You saw that at the World Cup with teams like Morocco and Argentina – they were really teams. You can achieve a lot when you pull together as a team – you can be very, very successful.

Matthias Ginter on...

...the 2006 World Cup and home EURO 2024: That World Cup has crazy childhood memories. I was twelve. All the streets were full, everywhere was decorated in Germany flags, there were public viewings everywhere. The whole country was behind the national team. It was unbelievable for everyone. On the pitch, they were heroes. I know what it can do to a country. It is a huge aim of ours to create exactly that kind of happiness and togetherness.

...the public training session: That was obviously brilliant. It was nice to see so many people, children and young people there. We saw a lot of friendly faces, signed autographs and took selfies. It is important to be close to the fans and not so distanced. There are two sides to it: On one hand, the sports side. If you put in good performances and are successful, that’s a good way to get the fans on board. The second way is through things like the session on Monday. If you are not so distanced, it shows that you are on the same level as the supporters. These two aspects are very important to getting where we were five, six years ago.

…the team: Everyone here has put but in good performances for their clubs and earned the right to be here. Florian is an enormous talent, he has a crazy amount of potential. Emre as well. We know that not everything went perfectly in the last few games – if you can put it like that. But we are ready to work hard, show passion in what we’re doing and give something back to the fans, also off the pitch.

...his role in the team: It was often emphasised that nobody was really happy at the World Cup – if you were playing or not. But that’s in the past. I’ve been trying to work hard for my club to get myself into the best form possible. At the moment, it’s going well. When you are called up, you always want to give your absolute best. The coach decides everything else.

...the pecking order in defence: I have been with the national team for over nine years now with a few breaks. I think that in Toni Rüdiger and Niklas Süle we have two brilliant centre-backs who have also been performing well for their clubs. There are only friendlies up until the tournament. On the one hand, this is an opportunity for those that are new to the squad, but it’s also important that we deliver results that will create positive anticipation ahead of the tournament. It is a balancing act but the coach has to decide, as players we can just show what we’ve got to offer.

Florian Wirtz on...

...his return to the national team: It was fun to be back on the training pitch with the lads. My first training session was a bit more relaxed because I played on Sunday. It still felt great to be on the pitch with a number of great players. I’m looking forward to the next sessions.

…hopes being pinned on him: I’m not feeling any pressure. The important thing is that we play well as a team. I have to play my part in that. I need to find my place in the side and play to the best of my ability. We can play good football if we all perform well. I won’t let the pressure affect me. We’ve got a really good team here and I’m happy to be a part of it.

…the spine of the team: We’ve not trained much together, so it’s hard to say a lot about that right now. Everybody has to prove themselves in training. I don’t know if I’m part of the spine. I’m just trying to work hard in training and show what I’m capable of.

... his bad injury: I’m not in pain anymore. The knee has healed really well and rehab was good. My fitness was the problem initially. I had to get it back by playing games and that was tough. I still have a few minor things to work on so that I can get back to my best. I like working on myself and I will continue to do so over the coming weeks and months.

…his style of play: I’ve still got the same idea in my head of how I want to play football, I didn’t want to change anything. I like to make good forward passes, be dangerous in front of goal and be important for the team. I always try to play as well as I can, wherever I am.

…EURO 2024: I want to be involved, have a good tournament with the team and make Germany proud of our performances. We want to have something to celebrate together with our fans, it will be a great experience. Rudi Völler has told us that we can be excited. We want to prepare as best we can for the tournament. I want to have a good tournament for myself, contribute to the team and help us go far.

... Jamal Musiala: It’s a shame that Jamal can’t be here due to injury. I hope he will be fit again soon. I would have liked to have shared the pitch with him, it’s only happened for a few minutes so far. It would have been fun to see how we played together.

... Rudi Völler: It’s nice that he’s here. We get along well with one another. He’s always really honest and has plenty of experience too, which can help the team.

[mmc/al/dr]

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It is day two of preparations for the first two international games of the year on Saturday in Mainz against Peru and then on Thursday, 28th March in Cologne against Belgium. After an open recovery session on Monday, the first ‘proper’ training session on the DFB campus awaits the Germany players. The returning Emre Can and Florian Wirtz as well as World Cup participant Matthias Ginter spoke with DFB.de about their roles in the team and a home European Championship in 2024.

Emre Can on…

…his return and the first training session: It is nice to be back here again. We always have fun. The boys are keen, the tempo was extremely high. The intensity and the level of training was very good.

...the 2006 World Cup and home EURO 2024: The togetherness in Germany at the time was unbelievable. Our aim has to be to bring together the media and over 80 million people here in Germany. We have to light a fire – and then the boys on the pitch will feel it as well. If we managed to create that, then we could have a very, very successful Euros here at home in Germany.

...prominent names missing out on the squad: With a couple of names it was a surprise – not with those that are here, but with those that are still at home. The coach has an idea, and these players will definitely be back again in the future. But now, it is a chance for the new players to show what they can do – or, for those like Florian and me, to show what we can do again. But when the squad was announced we were all very surprised.

...Marius Wolf: I have always liked him. He has always worked so hard and done his thing. Marius has always had top quality. He has done brilliantly in the last few weeks. We can become an important player for the national team. It is no secret that no single player has held down that right-back position. Marius can take his chance and I believe in him doing that.

...his role in the team: That will become clear over time. Everyone knows the way I play football. I love giving everything for the team. That’s important to me. I want to prove myself, want to play football. That is always my aim and will always be my aim.

...BVB’s good form: It’s been going well since the beginning of the year. We are a really good team but have not always played at our best. But we have always shown a good mentality. We can take that with us into the national team. You saw that at the World Cup with teams like Morocco and Argentina – they were really teams. You can achieve a lot when you pull together as a team – you can be very, very successful.

Matthias Ginter on...

...the 2006 World Cup and home EURO 2024: That World Cup has crazy childhood memories. I was twelve. All the streets were full, everywhere was decorated in Germany flags, there were public viewings everywhere. The whole country was behind the national team. It was unbelievable for everyone. On the pitch, they were heroes. I know what it can do to a country. It is a huge aim of ours to create exactly that kind of happiness and togetherness.

...the public training session: That was obviously brilliant. It was nice to see so many people, children and young people there. We saw a lot of friendly faces, signed autographs and took selfies. It is important to be close to the fans and not so distanced. There are two sides to it: On one hand, the sports side. If you put in good performances and are successful, that’s a good way to get the fans on board. The second way is through things like the session on Monday. If you are not so distanced, it shows that you are on the same level as the supporters. These two aspects are very important to getting where we were five, six years ago.

…the team: Everyone here has put but in good performances for their clubs and earned the right to be here. Florian is an enormous talent, he has a crazy amount of potential. Emre as well. We know that not everything went perfectly in the last few games – if you can put it like that. But we are ready to work hard, show passion in what we’re doing and give something back to the fans, also off the pitch.

...his role in the team: It was often emphasised that nobody was really happy at the World Cup – if you were playing or not. But that’s in the past. I’ve been trying to work hard for my club to get myself into the best form possible. At the moment, it’s going well. When you are called up, you always want to give your absolute best. The coach decides everything else.

...the pecking order in defence: I have been with the national team for over nine years now with a few breaks. I think that in Toni Rüdiger and Niklas Süle we have two brilliant centre-backs who have also been performing well for their clubs. There are only friendlies up until the tournament. On the one hand, this is an opportunity for those that are new to the squad, but it’s also important that we deliver results that will create positive anticipation ahead of the tournament. It is a balancing act but the coach has to decide, as players we can just show what we’ve got to offer.

Florian Wirtz on...

...his return to the national team: It was fun to be back on the training pitch with the lads. My first training session was a bit more relaxed because I played on Sunday. It still felt great to be on the pitch with a number of great players. I’m looking forward to the next sessions.

…hopes being pinned on him: I’m not feeling any pressure. The important thing is that we play well as a team. I have to play my part in that. I need to find my place in the side and play to the best of my ability. We can play good football if we all perform well. I won’t let the pressure affect me. We’ve got a really good team here and I’m happy to be a part of it.

…the spine of the team: We’ve not trained much together, so it’s hard to say a lot about that right now. Everybody has to prove themselves in training. I don’t know if I’m part of the spine. I’m just trying to work hard in training and show what I’m capable of.

... his bad injury: I’m not in pain anymore. The knee has healed really well and rehab was good. My fitness was the problem initially. I had to get it back by playing games and that was tough. I still have a few minor things to work on so that I can get back to my best. I like working on myself and I will continue to do so over the coming weeks and months.

…his style of play: I’ve still got the same idea in my head of how I want to play football, I didn’t want to change anything. I like to make good forward passes, be dangerous in front of goal and be important for the team. I always try to play as well as I can, wherever I am.

…EURO 2024: I want to be involved, have a good tournament with the team and make Germany proud of our performances. We want to have something to celebrate together with our fans, it will be a great experience. Rudi Völler has told us that we can be excited. We want to prepare as best we can for the tournament. I want to have a good tournament for myself, contribute to the team and help us go far.

... Jamal Musiala: It’s a shame that Jamal can’t be here due to injury. I hope he will be fit again soon. I would have liked to have shared the pitch with him, it’s only happened for a few minutes so far. It would have been fun to see how we played together.

... Rudi Völler: It’s nice that he’s here. We get along well with one another. He’s always really honest and has plenty of experience too, which can help the team.