News (engl.)

Following the 4-0 win over Finland and a 2-1 victory in their final pre-tournament friendly against the United States, Germany have been busy preparing for their opening group stage match in Winston-Salem. Ahead of the clash with Curaçao, national team sporting director Rudi Völler spoke about the mood within the team, the base camp and their preparations for the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. 

Rudi Völler on...

…the welcome to Winston-Salem: The warm welcome we received from everyone, both young and old, was clearly seen and felt. I know that there was only space for 3,000 people, but we could have easily sold nearly three or four times as many tickets, that’s how many people wanted to attend. You could really feel that warmth. We’re staying at a wonderful resort with the university, the surroundings and facilities that we’re now able to use here. So far, it’s all been great. All the players have trained and everyone is fit, which is the most important thing at a major tournament. 

…the base camp: It’s no luxury resort, but it’s very nice. We have our privacy and have organised several activities for the players so that they have things to do when they aren’t at training. Regardless of how far we go, we will never have to apologise for not having good enough training facilities.

…the aims for this World Cup: We want to win our group and then progress in the knockout rounds. We’re going to be a tough team to beat – and that’s quite a statement. As we’ve seen at the last World Cups that the longer a tournament goes, that things don’t always go the way that the pundits have predicted beforehand. 

…the opening game of the World Cup: In my opinion, the Estadio Azteca is the most beautiful stadium in the entire world, and I’m looking forward to being there the day after tomorrow. 

…preparations ahead of the first group stage match: We won both our games and have gelled as a team. Sometimes, it’s not so bad when a couple things don’t go so well yet, as it’s a good warning sign before the first game. We saw that against Finland and it was then a tougher gam against the USA. It was a deserved win, but you could see that we gave up too many chances and didn’t press them enough. We can improve on that. This is an important week of training for us. We are eagerly awaiting the first game. You can sense it at breakfast and dinner that everyone just wants to get underway already. 

…the pitch and the conditions: It’s not only us that need water, but the pitch as well. It’s great to see everyone helping out. The pitch could be a bit harder or drier, depending on the day, but the conditions –  as we’ve seen twice now in training – have been really good

... Joshua Kimmich: Joshua is the captain, and I also like to call him the standard-bearer, as he certainly lives up to that role. He’s the voice of the team. I have a very close relationship with Julian, but so does Jo. They often discuss all sorts of things, and we involve him in many decisions. 

... Manuel Neuer: He knows the majority of the players from Bayern München. Nothing fazes him, which is exactly the impression that you get from him. He always seems calm, but he’s also full focused – that’s important, otherwise he wouldn’t have come back. Everything’s going well, and it won’t be a disadvantage that he’s only just starting to train with the team again. 

... Jamal Musiala: It will be a while before he’s ready to play the full 90 minutes again, but that’s not a problem. Julian and the athletic coaches are doing a great job of getting him back to full fitness. Although things haven’t been the same as before he got injured, he’s extremely close to recapturing his previous level and I’m optimistic that he will be able to make a full return by the next game. 

... Kai Havertz: I had the great fortune of enticing him to come to Leverkusen as a 12-year-old. He has undergone a tremendous development, not only as a player but as a person as well. He’s a fantastic player. We all watched the final together and were cheering for him. To be honest, I was glad that he didn’t feature in extra-time, because we were worried that he might injury himself. 

... Nick Woltemade: Unlike other tournaments, it will be very hot here and so there will be more substitutions made. I expect that many coaches will use every player they have available to them. He hasn’t had an easy go of it lately, but he’s an exceptional footballer who is always able to help us when he enters the pitch. He’s incredibly important when it comes to winning back possession and pushing the others on.

…cabin fever and comparisons to his playing days: There are a lot of things that are the same, but there is one big difference: We didn’t have the Internet, or cell phones and there were no German TV channels either. The kind of cabin fever that we experienced back then just doesn’t exist anymore. You’re always connected to home and busy with your phone and iPad. 

…ticket prices: There’s no doubt about it: The total cost of flights, hotels and tickets is incredibly expensive, to the point where it’s difficult to justify it. FIFA will have their reasons for demanding such costs. We are trying to help, for example, at the game in New York. But you’re right, it’s far too expensive. 

…the Egidius Braun Foundation: We’ll be visiting two facilities tomorrow and will be presenting cheques, including some from the Egidius Braun Foundation. Exactly 40 years ago, during my first World Cup as a player, we visited an orphanage during training camp. Egidius Braun was the driving force behind it and that has remained the same over the years and decades since. I’m delighted that, together with Bernd Neuendorf and Holger Blask, I’ll be able to look back on these last 40 years once again.