Was sehen Sie bei diesem Turnier, wenn Sie in die Augen Ihrer Mitspieler schauen?
Freude und große Motivation. Und sehr viel Zusammenhalt. Zusammenhalt auf dem Platz, aber auch neben dem Platz.
Sie sagten im November, dass Sie Ihren Mitspielern während eines Spiels ins Gesicht schauen. Weil Sie sehen wollen, wer selbstbewusst ist, wer den Ball wirklich will.
Ja. Und das merkt man jetzt in der Art und Weise, wie wir spielen. Dass es immer flüssiger wird, dass es immer mehr untereinander klickt. Je öfter man in der Konstellation zusammenspielt, desto komfortabler fühlt man sich auch auf dem Platz, weil man irgendwann gefühlt blind irgendwohin spielen kann und weiß: Okay, da steht ein Kollege, und er weiß etwas damit anzufangen. Das kann eine große Qualität von uns bei dieser EM werden.
Im November sah das noch ganz anders aus. Was ist seitdem passiert?
Das hat natürlich auch mit Ergebnissen zu tun, den Siegen im März gegen zwei richtig starke Gegner, und auch der Start ins Turnier hat geholfen, besser hätte es wirklich nicht laufen können. Aber ich persönlich spüre auch sehr viel Vertrauen vom Trainer, vom Trainerteam. Sie geben gewisse Freiheiten, und jeder zieht voll mit.
Selbst die Spieler, die so ein bisschen hintendran sind, freuen sich genauso sehr für die Jungs auf dem Platz, wie wenn sie selbst dort stehen würden. Es ist toll, Teil dieser Gruppe zu sein, dafür spielen wir Fußball, für solche gemeinsamen Momente. Und am Ende kann es den Unterschied ausmachen. Ich habe momentan das Gefühl, dass es mit so einer besonderen Atmosphäre sehr weit gehen kann.
Klingt, als wäre es ein spürbarer Unterschied zu früheren Turnieren.
Definitiv. Wenn wir das zusammenbringen mit schwierigeren Momenten, wie wir sie jetzt im Schweiz-Spiel erlebt haben, und daraus das Bestmögliche rausholen, dann ist das schon eine Kombination, die für viele andere gefährlich sein kann.
Zuerst mal müssen wir jetzt mit der Situation umgehen, dass jede 90 Minuten die letzten sein können. Das ist schon sehr viel Druck, da wird das Mentale eine große Rolle spielen. Wenn man sich Real Madrid anschaut, die erfolgreichste Klubmannschaft des letzten Jahrzehnts und auch noch länger: Wie die nie in Panik geraten sind und immer die Ruhe bewahrt haben – das ist bemerkenswert. Man muss auch erkennen: Wann ist das Momentum auf meiner Seite und wann muss ich den Gegner dann auch wirklich bestrafen. Sonst wirst ganz schnell du selbst bestraft.
Ich habe in meinem Leben viele K.o.-Spiele gehabt, in denen wir haushoher Favorit waren und dann rausgeflogen sind. Weil wir Fehler gemacht haben.
How do you, as a captain, ensure this doesn't happen?
I want to raise awareness that there are phases in which we are a little behind. This is quickly interpreted negatively from outside, but that is completely normal. We are already a team that possesses the ball. But we also have to tolerate an opponent having the ball for a minute, 15 or 20 passes, without getting nervous.
Sometimes we lose patience, we don't recognise the right moment to press, we arrive too late and we run after them even more, almost in a bit of panic. Staying calm and accepting that is a step you have to take mentally. At Manchester City it was a process that took one or two years.
Yeah! If anyone embodies that, it's Toni. Our experience will be important in these fifty-fifty matches. The nuances are usually the deciding factor; losing your head can be fatal. Sometimes that is more important than what happens on the field in terms of football.
You said after the Hungary game that you and Toni Kroos only need to look at each other for a millisecond to know what has to happen.
Yes, because he is a similar type of player. That's why I often know what he thinks and what he is doing. Where are the rivals, where is Toni positioned, where does the space arise? You already know that. The better you know a teammate's characteristics, the easier it will be to imagine what he can do next and what two options he would ideally consider. With a player of Toni's quality I know that he will surely do something, and I will try to cover one, while my teammates will have to cover the others.
But you don't really talk to each other much, do you?
Let's put it this way: we're so experienced at recognizing game situations now that we don't have to talk to each other all the time.
I don't feel like we need someone on the team who is yelling all the time. You have to know each person's personality and be able to deal with it. In the end it has to be authentic.
First of all, it's the same role because nothing changes in my position. I still want to occupy the space between the players in the opposition midfield and try to create space there. For me, for my colleagues. Otherwise, everyone will have to take a little more responsibility.
Toni has the qualities to break free from cover at times, and even if it is just for a second or two, he can do something with that. But of course it doesn't last more than 90 minutes. Then we will have to call on the rest of us, in the six positions, on the defenders in the build-up play and of course on myself as well. I am happy to be able to do that, as I did in the last ten minutes against Switzerland, when I dropped back a position.
In German football we consider you the risk manager. Can you do something with the term?
I think not only me, but all of us always have to weigh up the risks. The most important thing is to recognise the right moment to take risks. As a winger, you should not send a cross when there is only one striker and five defenders in the box. These are small things that you have to weigh up in a very short time. And these small things make the difference.
But not only do I have to weigh the risks, I also have to be prepared for what happens if things go wrong, if we lose the ball. Then we have to have good coordination and start winning the ball together. Otherwise we will be countered, as happened once or twice in the first half against Hungary. Then we had to go back 50 or 60 meters. That costs energy. And saving this energy is also risk management.
I have to take risks myself. But when I notice that we tried to make a risky pass three or four times in a row and it didn't work out, I try to be the one who keeps the balance.
Do you need to watch Musiala and Wirtz a little longer to know what they're up to?
Yes, maybe a little more. There are other types of players: artists, magicians. They do unexpected things, not only for the opponent, but sometimes for their own team as well. They have this ability to make the difference with their decisions in a matter of seconds. They have already shown this in this tournament and have scored goals. Jamal has just added this back to his game.
They called him their “adopted son.”
Yes. We get along well, very well in fact. We spend a lot of time together, we laugh together. I am very close to Leroy (Sané, editor's note), and Jamal is also very close to Leroy because they both play in Munich. That's why things happened quickly for us. For me it's even better that we are very close to each other on the pitch and that we can combine and play together. He is a great footballer, the best we have. And perhaps the most important.
Do you feel particularly lucky to be able to play in this tournament after your previous experience with the national team and the many disappointments in Germany, in this form?
That was the goal. And right now it's a great joy. Now the tournament really starts. We want to continue to be successful. Because we want to make people happy. But also because we want to live up to our standards. And because I want to live up to my standards.
It is said that Germans finally understand how İlkay Gündoğan plays football. Does that mean anything to you?
Of course it is good. I think those who were with me at the club already knew that. I am not the only one responsible for the success of the national team. And I was not the only one responsible for the failure. But I was an essential part of the team. But I am not a Messi who can carry an entire team alone. We don't have one like that. That's why it only works through the collective. And the collective is better than it has been for a long time.
Do you hope that Germany will recognise something more in you, in your role and in your biography, something that can help to keep society together?
To be honest, I'm not thinking much about it right now. We are here to be successful in sports. But if we continue to play like this, I think it will have an effect on the country, on the people of the country, on how we live together. Although it was a long time ago, I still think about the feelings after the 2006 World Cup. Connecting people: football has always had this quality.
One thing is the great atmosphere at the European Championship, but another is everyday life and things that make you uncomfortable. You too?
Turn to the right, intolerance, xenophobia.
If it was something that didn't exist before, then yes. But in the world I know this has always happened in certain phases: sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker. And I guess unfortunately it will always be like that. Consequently, it is not so easy to fight against it. And it's not our job now.
We should think about sport first and not the other way around. That hasn't helped us in the past. If things go well in terms of sports, we can think about how we can use it for everything else. Until then, maybe our football can make people a little happier. And I hope this has an impact on how we live together.
What face do you see when you look at Germany in the summer of 2024?
One of his best in a long time. I only become aware of what happens on the streets through social networks, through photos and videos. But the day after the Scotland game my friends wrote to me and called me. They said: Hey, we watched the game on the street with big screens, the atmosphere was crazy, keep it up! This is what we wanted and want. Preferably before July 14. We will do our best for that.