“Even now, I’d love to win the Champions League or the World Cup again tomorrow. It becomes addictive.”View Entire Post ›
What do you think of the new Champions League format? How do you think it worked?
In the beginning, people struggled with it, but I must say that now after the first time, I really liked it. ‘Smaller’ teams like Brest or Aston Villa played a big role. You get big matches earlier in the season — not just in the quarters or semis. It’s interesting. And there are two more matchdays, which adds to the excitement.
There are more teams involved in the competition now, do you think that’s a positive thing?
I think so. To get the smaller team on that stage is huge. Facing big teams and playing in iconic stadiums such as the Santiago Bernabéu — it’s a first for many, and it’s very positive.
Some current players and managers are concerned about the congested schedule, what do you think?
It’s important to think about players’ health. Adjusting the schedule is very important. Of course, players prefer games over training. I was always happy with a Saturday-Wednesday rhythm. But breaks are important, especially for the long term. Other sports like basketball have many more games, but we still need to be careful.
You said players want to play every game. What’s the most you’ve pushed yourself just to play?
Probably during injury. Sometimes the club or national team needs you, but your body may have some pain in the knee or something, but you find a way to play the match. For me, the 2014 World Cup was the toughest in terms of playing football with the pain. I was injured before the team was selected, but the coach still took me. I was able to play on the second matchday, and then it was just about preparing for the matches.
Back to the Champions League. You won it in 2013 with Bayern. How would that team do in this year’s tournament?
Pretty well. That team we had, in my eyes, was unbeatable. The only problem was that we didn’t stick together for that long afterwards. We lost to Chelsea in 2012, and stuck together for the next season, but this team should have been together for two or three years longer, but unfortunately it wasn’t.
