German defender Schlotterbeck attended the national team training camp press conference and looked forward to the upcoming FIFA World Cup. This article covers the first part of the press conference.
It's great that you are here. As part of the team, you two (Tah attended the press conference with Schlotterbeck) are the most reliable support in front of the goal. Can you evaluate each other's performance in cooperation? What are each other's characteristics? What can you rely on each other for? What are his strengths?
I must also say that Tah has made huge strides in the past three or four years. He finished his first season at Bayern Munich, and I think he played very well, very outstandingly. He is an incredible defensive player, especially in defending the penalty area and protecting the goal. I think everyone saw his performance in one-on-one defense against the United States, so I'm glad he's standing next to me. We really benefit a lot from each other; we have different strengths, which is very good for both of us. I believe, or rather I know, that if both of us can perform to our full potential at the FIFA World Cup, we will become a very good pair in Europe and even in the world.
I'd like to ask about the recovery training. How do you do it? What do you do? Also, regarding the opponent Curacao, what else do you know besides that those guys can dance well?
Yes, actually not much. Most of the time is spent in the gym. That is, our personal recovery plan, plus what the coach instructed. The movements were not very big. We rode bicycles for a while, and did some relaxation rolling, and then we went to the swimming pool for a while before coming here. Regarding Curacao, we had a meeting yesterday. They are a great team, with many players who have been trained in the Netherlands, so they should definitely not be underestimated. Nevertheless, I still think we are the favorites to win, and we will definitely win that game.
The possible FIFA World Cup songs have been discussed yesterday, and now AI also plays a certain role in it. Will you pay attention to those popular short videos or songs with your names in the lyrics? What do you think?
I've noticed this, and I think some are good, some are not so good, and one I think is okay. Yes, of course we notice it, but within the team, I don't think there's a specific FIFA World Cup song yet. We'll make a playlist, but I'm not in charge of that. I'll be happy to listen, focus on my game, and focus on preparing. So as long as there's good music playing, I'll be happy, and I think those guys actually did a pretty good job.
You had a recovery training today, which was not originally planned. Was the training intensity too high in the past few days?
Actually, I knew on Monday or Tuesday that the training volume would be smaller on Thursday. Yesterday's training was very long and very intense, so I think a day off would be very beneficial for me personally. I'm really happy because, as I just said, yesterday's training was good and long. We played a lot of games, did 11-on-11 drills, tried many things, and I think yesterday's training helped us take another step forward in our growth.
In an interview before the 2022 FIFA World Cup, you said that you would give up everything for football in the next few weeks because you were always worried about injuries. Before this tournament, combined with last year's experience – when you missed the club's final match – plus Lennart-Karl's injury, have injuries become a concern for you again? Did you "play with restraint" or "with a handbrake" in training? Or is that simply not possible?
No, not at all. Because I have to say, since my knee surgery, which lasted about 6 months, my knee has never had any problems, and it has never ached. Before the match against Bayern, I had a small muscle problem for a short time, but other than that, I felt very good all year.
I haven't deliberately "sacrificed everything" in the past few weeks, because I know the year after surgery will be very difficult. I went directly from a long injury into the new season, only trained two or three times, and then had to play all the games directly. I also wanted to play, and the head coach gave me confidence. So I am very satisfied with the progress of this season, and my knee held up. I feel really good now, physically healthy, and mentally well. Now I'm looking forward to Sunday's opening game and looking forward to showing everyone how strong we are.
Mr. Schlotterbeck, you recently mentioned that if the tournament does not go well, the psychological pressure afterwards will be very high. I would like to know, our impression is that the current team atmosphere is very good and you get along very well. What does this mean for the team's psychological quality?
Yes, I have to say, I was only twenty-two or twenty-three during the Qatar FIFA World Cup, and I wasn't really sure what that tournament meant. Of course, I knew the FIFA World Cup was big, but I wasn't fully aware of its psychological and football impact. But now I see many very talented players in this team who don't worry about how big the FIFA World Cup is. Many players are in their prime, and two or three or four players are playing in their last FIFA World Cup.
So there is a very balanced age structure in the team, which is extremely important and very good. They are all incredible players, and as I've come to know these guys, observing their mental state going into the tournament, everyone feels incredibly excited. There's no pressure hanging over us; we just feel anticipation, knowing how good we are, because believing in our own ability is the most important thing. We start the game full of confidence, and as I just said, we want to prove for the first time on Sunday how good we are.
There have been rumors recently that Mourinho wants to take you to Real Madrid. Do you pay attention to these messages? How do you deal with them? Or do you just put them out of your mind?
Yes, of course, I notice such news through the media. But I basically said a few weeks ago that now all my energy is on the FIFA World Cup, on the first game. Because, as I said, we've already seen what can happen in the first game in Qatar. This is very important, so although I've heard about it, it's not in my mind at all.
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