The 2022 World Cup is getting closer. After the many Qatar discussions, Germany’s captain Manuel Neuer now says in the tz interview that they will “show the flag”.
Frankfurt – On Monday, the German national team took off in Frankfurt to prepare for the Qatar World Cup in the direction of Oman. Of course, Captain Manuel Neuer was also on board. the tz spoke to the 36-year-old before departure.
Mr. Neuer, why is it important for the national team that the FC Bayern players, as league leaders, World Cup 2022 to Qatar to travel?
Manuel Neuer: Definitely for self-confidence. That documents the point of view: Where do I stand personally – and where do the players stand who now also play together in the DFB jersey. Let’s take the 2014 World Cup: our self-confidence as a Bayern block was high in the run-up. It is important to have a good feeling beforehand. Especially for me personally, because I’m coming from an injury.
Were there moments during this time when you thought: Oh, that could still be close with the World Cup?
Neuer: It wasn’t easy, especially at the beginning. For me, in my role as a patient, it meant: We take a day-to-day look. And that’s such a gross feeling. You’re waiting for it: When will it get better? When will this turning point finally come? In that sense, there was no real plan that said to me: Watch out, it will now take two weeks and then you can do this and that load in training again. It would have been easier for me and my head to orientate myself on it. Still, I had no self-doubt. I was sure that I would be ready for the World Cup and that I would still play games beforehand.
Your role as the undisputed number one during your injury was never questioned by the DFB side. Does that help?
Neuer: That was simply not an issue. The coaching team made it clear from the start that I’m the clear number one. We know we have world-class goalkeepers in our ranks. But the positioning has been clearly communicated to both Marc-André ter Stegen and Kevin Trapp. We all get along very well within our goalkeeping team. That’s why it went without saying that nothing else ever came from the goalkeeping colleagues.
Do you feel a special urge in the 95 generation around Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka to make them forget their previous tournament experiences with the national team with a sense of achievement?
Neuer: Yes, the will is great with them! But I wouldn’t just highlight these two. Take Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala – they are also ambitious players. With Leon and Jo you see more of the combative situations because of their position, and the other three are more responsible for the offensive actions. Leroy sprints after an opponent, for example, 50 meters behind and then grabs the ball away from him. We’re all very hungry and we know ourselves that we haven’t impressed at the tournaments recently. That’s why we will do everything we can to get as far as possible and take the chance to play this title.
Although Niklas Süle is now in Dortmund, he also belongs to this generation. How do you like him as a right-back?
Neuer: He definitely does that very well. Niki is a fast player, especially when he’s getting going. We’ve already experienced that here at FC Bayern. He’s a great option for us at the back right. We played in a similar way in 2014 with trained central defender Benedikt Höwedes as left-back. It is important to have a good defense. Standing firmly in a tournament from the start is almost half the battle. That’s why I trust Niki to hold this position.
The DFB in Qatar also has high hopes for the national coach: Why is Hansi Flick able to commit a team to tournaments so well?
Neuer: He’s so good at it because he knows people! Hansi knows how to tackle every single player. He is also very communicative and talks to the players a lo
t. And he has a clear goal. Let me take the 2020 Lisbon Champions League tournament as an example.
Gladly!
Neuer: It was important that we had a certain amount of preparation for this unprecedented tournament. It wasn’t like we galloped away from the front after the Corona break in the Bundesliga. Which one made us understand: we have to fight, work and focus on the competitions. I like to compare it to the Olympics.
In what way?
Neuer: In Lisbon we were able to focus on this one tournament. As athletes always do at the Olympic Games. They design their entire training over a long period of time to be successful in this moment. In a similar way, the national coach tries to swear us into the World Cup, which admittedly is a small experiment for all of us. Because nobody has any tournament experience in winter in the middle of the season.
The Champions League tournament in Lisbon was a similar unknown.
Neuer: Which ended positively for us, exactly. We Bayern players are all in a good mood now and back on track. At least that’s my feeling. We simply have to take this feeling with us to Qatar, carry it into the team and transfer it to the other players. I look forward to when we all meet.
The discussions about and about the controversial host country don’t stop shortly before the tournament starts – on the contrary. They are fueled by homophobic statements by World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman.
Neuer (shakes his head): This statement is simply unbelievable.
How do you manage to concentrate on the sporting events – and at the same time be a responsible national player?
Neuer: It’s definitely a balancing act for us. And that’s not easy either. There used to be topics at major events besides sport: the townships in South Africa, the favelas in Brazil, Russia, the Winter Olympics in Beijing. We’re getting closer and closer to the tournament, and then suddenly one of Qatar’s World Cup ambassadors is speaking in this absolutely unacceptable way. Of course, as footballers, we want to focus on sports – namely on a World Cup. This is the biggest thing you can play!
What does that mean specifically?
Neuer: We will fly the flag in Qatar! We will represent our values there. The question is: What are the consequences if we position ourselves very offensively there? You don’t know that either. Nobody can see into the future. That’s why I’m firmly assuming that we will position ourselves as the German national team and DFB. We’ve done that in the past too. But in what way it will be the case now, none of us know yet.
Does the remote location of the DFB team quarters help you to be able to concentrate more on sporting events?
Neuer: The situation was similar in South Africa: we were a bit further away from the action in Pretoria and we were on our own. It was the same in Campo Bahia. We weren’t among the people in Brazil. For us it is never a cultural trip. Of course you take something with you on the trips – in Doha you have the city – but the focus is, as always, on football.
How crucial is the first group game against Japan?
Neuer: We must be warned. For me personally, the first game in a tournament is always the most important. Japan are an uncomfortable team that play very disciplined. At the same time, she is unpredictable due to the skills of her individual players. We have a few Japanese players in the Bundesliga. I find it difficult to play against such teams. I prefer playing against teams like Spain – you know them. Then you know who is facing you. You can better prepare yourself for such opponents. Therefore it will be a difficult task for us. But after that we know where we stand.
When will the DFB team play at the 2022 World Cup? Of the Match schedule with all dates and kick-off times – and of course the German games at a glance.