As of: March 25, 2024, 4:52 a.m
By: Alexander Kaindl
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Germany was a guest at the European Championship endurance test in France.
We summarize the voices surrounding the game.
Lyon – Two real heavyweights of world football met on Saturday evening in Lyon: Germany triumphed 2-0 in France and mastered the first big endurance test before the 2024 European Championship. We summarize the voices surrounding the international match here.
Julian Nagelsmann after the game on ZDF about ...
... Rudi Völler:
“I really get along extremely well with Rudi on a human level.
Of course, he is also someone with whom I talk about football and who has a lot of experience.
He often has a different perspective.
He is a very, very good conversationalist and always has a good story to tell.
He also always contributes to the amusement of the group.
That’s valuable too.”
... the victory:
“Big compliment to the team, that was very, very good.
The first 25 minutes were very, very good.
Maybe we can score one more goal.
The kick-off was planned that way, was excellently prepared by standard coach Mads Buttgereit and then executed well.
Of course, Flo does it very, very well, the way he processes it.
An outstanding shot.
Sure, this goal is not an everyday occurrence.
But in general the option was considered.
But also an important, good start.
Similar to September against France.
It was the fourth minute.
A little faster today.
Marc then saved Mbappé's one well and did it really well.
We improved again in the second half.
We've already had three or four really good chances.
Even when we changed.
Deniz Undav and Maxi Mittelstädt had two great chances again.
Both parried very, very well indeed.
In the end I’m very, very satisfied.”
... Toni Kroos:
“Incredible, to be honest.
With the ball, what he can do.
We all know that he is an extraordinary player.
But also how he got involved in duels.
The areas that he has been denied in the past.
He worked incredibly hard.
Defensively very stable.
With ball and clock.
What I like is that you can't tell that he's so successful.
Quite normal, he integrates into the group.
You don't notice a big difference.
That’s very good.”
... Kroos' role:
“Basically, that's what he's been doing at Real for years.
That he is a good connection player between offensive and defensive.
Of course we also need him on defense.
That he is now not someone who constantly gives speeches to the group.
But of course there is one where players need footballing confidence.
That they can play him and always play him.
That he demands every ball.
Rudi Völler said he's been peeing ice cubes since he was 18.
It's probably something like that.
You can always play it.
He just has a good calm.
This also gives the other players around security.
That they know when there is stress or pressure, the ball is usually in good hands with Toni.”
Rudi Völler after the game on ZDF about...
... the victory:
“After just a few seconds it was of course incredibly fun.
Especially the first quarter of an hour, the first 20 minutes.
That was definitely the best we've played in recent years.
After that, the French gained momentum and also had chances on the fast flanks.
We were a bit lucky in some cases.
But it's a deserved victory.
We wanted to ignite euphoria in the last few games.
I think it can be achieved with a game like this.”
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... Kroos:
“The return was of course important.
The discussion has been big in the last few weeks.
He has impressively proven that he can deliver a great performance not only at Real Madrid, but also for us.
I don't know how many touches he had with the ball in the first quarter of an hour.
But also the others.
Florian Wirtz scores a dream goal.
Kai Havertz.
But also on defense.
I could name almost all of them.
Of course, you can't defend everything against a French team like this, who will definitely be favorites going into the European Championship.
It was to be expected that you always have to allow opportunities.
But of course we also have a defense that can prevent that.
A good goalkeeper who made a wonderful save today.
I think we deserve it.
And of course, the game was good.”
... his future:
“We have changed a bit.
Getting a few new faces.
There were also a few setbacks.
But that's just how it is in football.
But I do believe that we have put the DFB, and the team in general, the national team, including the U-teams, on a good footing.
Also in training.
Yes, it's fun so far.
Not just because we really played a great game here today.
But it’s fun, let’s wait and see.”
Kai Havertz after the game on ZDF about...
... the game:
“It was a lot of fun today.
I think we controlled the game well, especially in the second half.
We had one or two good chances to score and are of course happy to win against such an opponent.”
... the roles in the team:
“So shortly before the tournament it is extremely important that every player knows where they are.
We have discussed this in the last few days.
Every player now pretty much knows their role.
That is of course extremely important, especially in a team like this with so many players.”
... the style of play:
“I think we played really well with the ball.
Nobody was hiding.
Everyone dared to get the ball.
I think that made it extremely easy for us to play between the lines.”
... his goal:
“Scoring here was good for me.
And I'm just happy to be able to play football with the boys.
We have so much quality.
When you see what's standing behind me, it's outstanding.
And then of course it becomes more and more fun.”
Toni Kroos after the game on ZDF about...
... the victory:
“We can of course be very satisfied.
I think that we have taken a good step forward, an important step forward.
That was actually clear to us because it's the last, yes, slowly the last steps towards the European Championships, to get a bit of a feeling and yes, we'll take that with us.
... his return and the success that came with it:
“A lot has changed.
I think it was a bit of a question as to whether the changes we've made can bear fruit so quickly.
We had a really good week of training, but you've often heard that the training week before the game was good and then it didn't work out that way.
But we were able to take that with us into the game.
I think when I see Maxi Middelstedt, for example, playing in his first international match, how calm he played today is absolutely worth highlighting.
And yes, I think we can be very, very satisfied with that.”
Toni Kroos gave interesting insights into Florian Wirtz's lightning goal after the game.
© Screenshot ZDF / Eibner / Imago
... Wirtz's incredible goal after eight seconds:
"The standard trainers have had enough time, four months, to think it all out and, you could say, it was actually planned."
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf before the game on ZDF about ...
.
.. the change of supplier:
“I was very surprised about the last few days and about some of the statements, especially from politics.
I was a bit stunned by what was said.
Actually, without knowledge of the facts, without knowledge of the background, to make such a statement.”
... the background to the change:
“The background was simply as we explained it.
We had an offer that was far above that of other competitors.
In this respect, the decision was almost made for us.
We clearly had to make a decision here.
I won't apologize for that because our aim is not to damage the association.
We would certainly have done that if we hadn’t accepted this offer.”
... the criticism from Economics Minister Habeck:
“I have to say, I find the statements, especially from politicians and also from the Economics Minister, especially him, very strange.
This is about competition, this is about a market economy.
I would certainly be happy to be at the minister's disposal to explain the background again.
But it is definitely very remarkable what took place.
Again: We are a non-profit association and this money helps us extremely, even when it comes to developing our amateurs and football, promoting talent and promoting young talent.
That's what it's all about.
And that’s what we don’t have to apologize for.”
... the future of Julian Nagelsmann:
“First of all, this is what we have always emphasized and all sides do: We feel very comfortable in this constellation, including with Rudi Völler, with Julian Nagelsmann Andreas Rettig.
Overall, we are a good team, we get along really well, we exchange ideas very intensively, we often have the same views and the coach has now clearly expressed his wish to create clarity, if possible before the European Championships.
I have already said that we will not ignore this wish.
... a possible continued employment of Nagelsmann:
“I think we will look for discussions as soon as possible after the two international matches.
We talk to each other regularly, but we'll just see what the perspective is.
But from our side it is absolutely desirable, very harmonious, as I said.
And yes, I don’t think there would be anything against that from our side, but of course, we have to talk to each other and I’m very confident that we’ll come to a conclusion quickly.”
National coach Julian Nagelsmann before the game on ZDF about ...
... the question of how much courage he has on a scale of one to ten:
“That’s for others to judge.
But if I had to judge myself, I would definitely take a higher number than a five.
I think we made a brave squad decision again and today, I think, a brave decision right from the start.
That’s what I also said: that I also demand courage.”
... the upcoming game:
“I’m very, very excited.
I don't think I'm quite as excited as you are because I already had a good impression of the training.
Of course it's a small advantage that I've already seen the boys.
Even in the hotel, how they treat each other.
You also get feedback from the team about how the composition is on a human basis, but also in terms of content and football and the feedback was only positive.
So I’m excited, but also in good spirits.”
... Kai Havertz as a striker:
“For me, Kai brings in a component that we don’t have much of otherwise.
That's just speed in depth.
With the three tens behind us, we tend to have players who all want the ball at their feet.
Even if Leroy is back, he's also someone who likes to have the ball at his feet.
These are not players who constantly make deep runs.
They do, but not so much.
They have other strengths.
And Kai is someone who embodies both.
He can play well with his back to the goal and can secure balls.
He's scored a lot recently in Arsenal.
He often played central striker.
But he also has the ability to run deep.
He does that very, very well.
He just has very good pace.
And we need this component when the opponent defends deeper.
Just an additional player who can also run behind the chain.”
National coach Julian Nagelsmann before the France game.
© Christian Charisius / dpa
... Kroos and Andrich:
“I think Toni showed extremely good tackling skills recently in Madrid.
He does it very, very well.
Unusual with age.
He has become more stable.
He does it really well.
And Rob is someone who plays football well.
No one who just cuts wood.
But in terms of physical presence, he is someone we also need.”
... Marc-André ter Stegen's reaction to the news that he will be number two:
“With good acceptance, that's the most important thing.
Very professional, he took it in a very mature way.
Of course he was disappointed and sad, I think everyone can imagine that.
It was one of the most unpleasant conversations I've ever had, because in general he deserved to be in goal, right from the start, like he's doing now.
He didn't seem surprised, but of course he would have preferred to get a different message, I think that's normal.
He knows that he should always be there because there is a certain injury history for both players, which can lead to one of them being out.
That's the case with Manuel and Marc has to be there, we told him that in the conversation.
He has two outstanding games now and has a lot of meaning for us, even if he got the message the way he got it.”
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