PZPN

How does it feel to be a world champion?

Very good, thanks. We experienced some magical moments in Brazil, moments that will be remembered forever. We all enjoyed the tournament and our incredible welcome home. We’re very proud of what we achieved, but now it’s important to look forward once more and turn our attention to new targets. I’ve already said that we want to go to Paris, where the EURO 2016 final will be held in two years. It’ll be a rocky road and nobody will be rolling out the red carpet for us – quite the opposite in fact. As world champions, we’re now the hunted, and every team wants to trip us up. We’ve already seen that in our opening European Championship qualifier against Scotland. The Scots pushed us to our limit and it took hard work to make sure we sealed that narrow win in the end.

In Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker, three important players brought their international careers to an end after the World Cup. How did that affect you?

As a coach, you’ve got to accept and respect that decision. I would have loved to keep working with those three; their attitude and fantastic sporting performances did so much for the team and for German football as a whole. But their retirements will now give young players an opportunity to establish themselves in the side.

After Lahm’s retirement, you named Bastian Schweinsteiger as Germany’s new captain. What brought you to that decision?

Bastian is a total leader; he has always taken responsibility for our team both on and off the pitch. I have great confidence in him, as do our entire sporting management team. More than anything else, however, he gets all the players behind him, no matter how old they are or which club they play for. I know that Bastian is always there when we need him. He’ll be a great and deserving captain of our national team.

You’ve already mentioned that your side began their EURO 2016 qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win over Scotland. What’s your verdict on that match?

I’m pleased that we managed to get the three points, as that was our aim. I knew it would be a difficult game and that the Scots would defend well. We absolutely dominated the match in the first half, gave them hardly any chances and could have scored one or two more goals ourselves. After that we lost a little control and conceded the equaliser. But it was good to see the team react so quickly to put us back in front.

Thomas Mueller’s two goals made him the match winner against Scotland, and he also scored five times at the World Cup. Does he still surprise you?

No, he can’t surprise me anymore (laughs). We’ve seen too much from him now; after all, he’s been in the national team for four-and-a-half years already. At the start I was definitely very impressed by his cool finishing and his hunger for goals. Whenever we pose an attacking threat, Thomas is there. It’s great to have him in our team.

Was the match against Scotland a kind of foretaste of what awaits you in the rest of your European Championship qualifying matches?

Yes. That game in Dortmund against Scotland was only the beginning. It really won’t be an easy group for us; there are some very tricky opponents in there. But it won’t stop us still aiming to finish the campaign as group winners.

You next face Poland in Warsaw. Will this match set the tone for the rest of Germany’s qualifying campaign?

We want to win in Poland; that has to be the aim. If we can do that, we’ll have three points more than one of our biggest rivals in the group. But of course I also know that we’re only at the start of a long journey; nobody has qualified yet after just two matches. What’s more, I’ve got nothing but respect for the Polish team and know we have a tough task ahead of us in Warsaw. Our first qualifier against Scotland showed just what challenging opponents we have in our group, and the same applies to the Irish. We certainly won’t make the mistake of underestimating any of our opponents.

What do you think makes Poland such a threat?

They’ve got a lot of individual quality, plenty of experience and clear team spirit in their team. Robert Lewandowski is an exceptional footballer; for me he’s one of the best strikers in the world. His body control is remarkable and few players can pressure the ball better than him. He is cool in front of goal and unbelievably technically gifted – he really is a complete player. But Poland aren’t about Lewandowski alone, so just marking him out of the game won’t be enough. We’ve got to be aware of a few other players too.

Who are you thinking of?

Jakub Blaszczykowski is unfortunately on Dortmund’s injury list at the moment, otherwise he would be one of the key figures. Of course, there’s Lukasz Piszczek too. But if you look at the Polish squad you can see that it isn’t just the two Dortmund players and Lewandowski who play for major clubs. Adam Nawalka’s players are scattered across the entire continent, from the Premier League and the Primera Division to Serie A.

Germany last played Poland in Hamburg at the end of May, shortly before the World Cup began. That match ended 0-0. What conclusions can you draw from that game in Warsaw?

That game was somewhat different, as Bayern and Dortmund were in the DFB Cup final so their players weren’t available. For me, that match was one for the future; we were able to call up and get to know many players we saw as national team prospects, and the same was true for Poland. It was a good and useful encounter for us, but it doesn’t tell us anything about our European Championship qualifier. Poland will take an entirely different approach this time around.