If We Perform As A Unit And

The Realization That You're Not Always Standing Down There On The Field Merely To Win, To Be Successful, Was Very Liberating. One Can Be Successful By Helping The Team, The Other Players. All Of A Sudden I Felt The Kind Of Empathy For People That I Hadn't Felt Before.

A Germany Team Should Not Be Afraid Going Into A Tournament. History Shows That We Can Raise The Level Of Our Game When It Matters.

It Took Me A Long Time To Realize That Football Isn't Martyrdom, But A Game That's Enjoyable, And One In Which Getting Better At It Is Supposed To Be Fun. Perhaps It Would Have Been Better If I Had Understood This As A Young Man.

I Have Always Seen Myself As An Athlete. Of Course, I Made The Mistake Of Unintentionally Opening The Door To My Private Life By Just A Crack. I Wouldn't Do The Same Thing Again. It Has To Be Accepted That My Private Life Is Private, And If That Isn't The Case, I Have To Do Something About It.

Of Course, Success Is A Relative Term. It Can Be Something Completely Different From Winning The German Championship Eight Times Or Making Millions.