FC Bayern München won their 27th league on matchday 31 following a 6-0 victory at VfL Wolfsburg. Mats Hummels spoke with DFB.de about what shape he is in after the busy schedule in recent weeks, the atmosphere in the team and his assessment of his first season with FCB.
Interviewer: Mr. Hummels, congratulations on winning the German championship! How happy are you with this title?
Mats Hummels: Unfortunately I haven’t won a title in some time, so this feels even better. I was very happy to know before the game, that we had the chance to win the championship today after Leipzig were held to a 0-0 draw by Ingolstadt.
Interviewer: How are you doing physically?
Hummels: I’m running on very little in the tank. On Wednesday I had already reached my limits. I was a bit surprised to find out that I would start the game in Wolfsburg. I will now make sure to regenerate as much as possible. My body has several issues that need to be dealt with. We’ll have to wait and see how much impact I can still have for the remainder of the season.
Interviewer: How did coach Carlo Ancelotti convince you to play then? Did you have to play because Jerome Boateng was sidelined?
Hummels: He wanted to win the title at all cost. Our coach only made three changes from the team that started against Dortmund, so he didn’t rotate a lot at all. It’s also a sign of the trust he has in me, especially since he wanted me to be on the pitch. So I just gave it a try and I noticed fairly quickly that I could manage it. But to be honest, I haven’t been able to make a sprint in our last two games. I probably would have injured myself if I had tried. You then have to try and avoid making a sprint and you can do that, as long as you know how to.
Interviewer: How did you celebrate in the changing room?
Hummels: Rafinha was our DJ and a lot of Spanish and Portuguese music was played. I also contributed two or three songs. We Germany internationals have to request more German or English music in the next few weeks (laughs). Unfortunately the volume wasn’t quite as loud as we had hoped for. We’ll need to find better equipment for next time.
Interviewer: How difficult was it to overcome the disappointment from recent weeks and enjoy yourself winning the title?
Hummels: Not difficult at all. I’m glad that we were able to win this thing right away. When we realised that we were able to win the title this weekend, it gave us a huge boost. After Wednesday, the championship was our big goal this season. We are now just really happy to have won the title so early on.
Interviewer: Some will say that Bayern “only” won the league title this season. Does that add pressure to next year’s campaign?
Hummels: Pressure will start to build in July no matter what. We are just going to enjoy having won the title, as this was our goal from the start of the season. It’s a tough competition and therefore it’s not a given that we would win it. I’m not a fan of talking down an achievement. But there is no denying the fact that we would’ve liked to be successful in the other two competitions as well. Nonetheless, I’m really happy and proud on winning this title.
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FC Bayern München won their 27th league on matchday 31 following a 6-0 victory at VfL Wolfsburg. Mats Hummels spoke with DFB.de about what shape he is in after the busy schedule in recent weeks, the atmosphere in the team and his assessment of his first season with FCB.
Interviewer: Mr. Hummels, congratulations on winning the German championship! How happy are you with this title?
Mats Hummels: Unfortunately I haven’t won a title in some time, so this feels even better. I was very happy to know before the game, that we had the chance to win the championship today after Leipzig were held to a 0-0 draw by Ingolstadt.
Interviewer: How are you doing physically?
Hummels: I’m running on very little in the tank. On Wednesday I had already reached my limits. I was a bit surprised to find out that I would start the game in Wolfsburg. I will now make sure to regenerate as much as possible. My body has several issues that need to be dealt with. We’ll have to wait and see how much impact I can still have for the remainder of the season.
Interviewer: How did coach Carlo Ancelotti convince you to play then? Did you have to play because Jerome Boateng was sidelined?
Hummels: He wanted to win the title at all cost. Our coach only made three changes from the team that started against Dortmund, so he didn’t rotate a lot at all. It’s also a sign of the trust he has in me, especially since he wanted me to be on the pitch. So I just gave it a try and I noticed fairly quickly that I could manage it. But to be honest, I haven’t been able to make a sprint in our last two games. I probably would have injured myself if I had tried. You then have to try and avoid making a sprint and you can do that, as long as you know how to.
Interviewer: How did you celebrate in the changing room?
Hummels: Rafinha was our DJ and a lot of Spanish and Portuguese music was played. I also contributed two or three songs. We Germany internationals have to request more German or English music in the next few weeks (laughs). Unfortunately the volume wasn’t quite as loud as we had hoped for. We’ll need to find better equipment for next time.
Interviewer: How difficult was it to overcome the disappointment from recent weeks and enjoy yourself winning the title?
Hummels: Not difficult at all. I’m glad that we were able to win this thing right away. When we realised that we were able to win the title this weekend, it gave us a huge boost. After Wednesday, the championship was our big goal this season. We are now just really happy to have won the title so early on.
Interviewer: Some will say that Bayern “only” won the league title this season. Does that add pressure to next year’s campaign?
Hummels: Pressure will start to build in July no matter what. We are just going to enjoy having won the title, as this was our goal from the start of the season. It’s a tough competition and therefore it’s not a given that we would win it. I’m not a fan of talking down an achievement. But there is no denying the fact that we would’ve liked to be successful in the other two competitions as well. Nonetheless, I’m really happy and proud on winning this title.
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