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ofJan Christian Müller
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shut down
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Matthias Ginter experienced World Cup highs in 2014 and World Cup lows in 2018, what does he think of the 2021 European Championship?
When he won the title in 2014, Matthias Ginter was the youngest player in the German World Cup squad. The 38-time national player was not used in his second World Cup in 2018 either. But the 27-year-old is Olympic runner-up and Confederation Cup winner. Someone like that knows what he’s talking about.
Mr. Ginter, you attended both the 2014 World Cup, which was successful from a German perspective, and the 2018 World Cup that failed. Which experiences from both tournaments can be helpful for the European Championship?
In 2018 the spirit of the tournament was not there, in 2014 it was outstanding. Our goal is to become a conspiratorial community again this time.
Did you feel what it would be like during the preparation in 2014 and 2018?
The glue that holds a team together only really comes into being when you are successful. Of course, that didn’t work out in 2018 with the opening defeat against Mexico. In 2014 we won 4-0 against Portugal. Basically you develop a feeling.
And what does your intuition tell you this time?
It’s very positive. We have top characters with us and we have incredible ambitions in the team. When one cog fits into the other, an incredible amount is possible. I am relatively optimistic.
Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller have returned. What do you make of it? Hummels is also a direct competitor to you.
They both played a very good season. So it is totally deserved that you are there. Of course, it also makes sense for both of them to play – without wanting to issue them a free ticket.
Where are the strengths of the team – and the weaknesses?
Defensively, we have to be compact and more stable. Offensive it is about better exploitation of chances. In addition, our standards can be upgraded – offensively and defensively. Our strength is definitely positional play. We can hurt any opponent if we fight against all odds. We have that in our blood.
Interview: Jan Christian Müller
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