The ex-Nationalelf centre-back feels that media reports are wide of the mark, while adding that his long-time team-mate may have gone overboard
Former defender Per Mertesacker has played down reports of racial division amongst the German national team amid suggestions that Die Mannschaft were split into two camps during the 2018 World Cup.
Mertesacker's comments, of course, come in the wake of Mesut Ozil pulling out of the national fray after allegations of racism from within the DFB and the German media.
A recent report in Spiegel's print edition stated that the World Cup squad was split in two during their time in Russia with 'potatoes' – the stereotypically German players – on one side, and 'kanaken' – a derogatory German word for those with immigrant backgrounds – on the other.
Mertesacker, however, does not believe that there is any truth to the alleged division, especially during his own time working under Joachim Low.
“I never heard anything about 'potatoes' or 'kanaken' during my time in the national team,” Mertesacker told Bild. “However I have been called 'potato', too.
“It should be understood that it is just a bit of fun, however. There were separate groups within the team during my time, too.
“You simply have to be careful that this does not lead to division, like: 'you are one team, we are the other'.”
And while Mertesacker is saddened by his long-term team-mate's decision to pull out of the Germany squad, he feels that a return is possible – even if he thinks the playmaker's allegations were overstated.
“Everything is possible,” Mertesacker said. “I am curious as to how the DFB is going to approach the building of a new team.
“I never experienced racism or discrimination during my time, so I was surprised by Mesut's allegations and that they were so harsh.
“Mesut and I played together at Werder Bremen and Arsenal for so many years. There is no other player that I shared so much time with. We were important for each other.
“I'm sad about what happened. We had a special relationship, no matter how different we are.”
Germany, who have been accused of spectacularly missing Ozil's point, appear unwilling to reopen a dialogue from their side with the ostracised Arsenal star.
Angelnaby
26
He is also not very good with languages. His Spanish was awful and though he was born in Germany and even his German isn't that great.
reasonlife
26
Twitter went pretty nuts after the match. A lot of Wenger outs. It just shows every team has idiot fans who know nothing about the game. Tough result, but after all, the city is doing this to everyone at home (except for the mighty Hull Tigers that is.)
starryen
25
In every interview I watch with him he just answers like he's having a chat with one of his mates. He's one of the nicest guys I know of.
vamosl
23
"did Mertesacker make you write this" has about 3000 likes haha. But the comments saying Giroud needs to be offloaded... I am confused
GEMfans
19
He's definitely a shy and introverted guy. Which isn't a bad thing, as you said it can help deal with all the pressure he is put under.
pygmy
19
That was actually what I was trying to say. I didn't mean to portray him as this bright/clever person who tries to divert attention from himself by sticking to cliches; but instead, like you said, I think that he just doesn't have anything interesting to say about football, because he doesn't spend his time thinking about it.
Loulesis
18
Don't know how anyone could ever dislike Big Per. The guy is always professional and seems a genuinely nice guy.
Josephs
15
The thing with Özil is he genuinely does not care about football, or to be more precise, the surroundings in football, and he doesn't try to impress anyone. That doesn't mean that he doesn't like football, quite the contrary, he loves it, but his talent is instinctive, he doesn't think about what to do on a pitch, he just does it. Same goes with his outlook on anything football related, in interviews, he usually gives the most cliche answers possible and stays as far as possible from the intellectual/impressive answers. He just doesn't feel the pressure from the football community and that's one of the main reasons for him to keep his calm during high tension situations. At least, that's my humble opinion about him based on watching him for quite some time and knowing people like him around me/in the football industry.
Alaindelon
14
Maybe he usually has a wow raid to get home to after the matches. That minus DKP for being late could be horrible!
osoniouk
14
Sorry I didn't thank the fans at the end of the game! You have been brilliant to me and I know you had traveled a long way and spent your money to support us. I was upset with the result and know I should have come to you to say 'thank you' and I know it is a big Arsenal tradition win, lose or draw.
Oliverkiss
13
At the end of the day the lads did their best for 90 mins and with the 3 points, that's all that matters so hopefully we can push on in the league and give the fans what they deserve.
Beickham
13
I quite like Henning Wehn, but I've no idea if he's very well known in Germany