Neuhaus: "Take my chances"

Germany international Florian Neuhaus (photo: imago images/Schüler) spoke to the press in a DFB virtual conference about the following topics.

His personal development: I am happy to be here with the DFB – we’ve set ourselves big objectives for the next three qualifiers. I made my debut for the national team last year, which was very special for me. I also know not to take it for granted being here now. I want to take my chances to impress, both at training and during the games. That will show whether I can expect to be part of the setup in summer.

His role in the national team: I definitely see myself in central midfield. I can open up play from the back, but would also like to attack in the opposition penalty area and try and pose a goal threat. These are things that I have set out to do and things that the coach wants to see as well.

Competition within the Germany squad: Germany is a top nation and we can be happy to have so many good players at our disposal. Everyone here wants to bring their quality to the table and play to the best of their ability. I think I’ve been able to do that in the last year and I want to build on that. I’ve played three games for Germany now and have scored one goal in the process. I would really love to play a game or two during this international break and would also like to remain dangerous in front of goal. That feeling of scoring for Germany is something really unique. Nevertheless, squad competition is important for motivating each other to play at your best. At the end of the day it’s not my job, but the coach’s to put the best team out on the pitch.

The situation at Borussia: We managed to get a win in the bag away to Schalke just before breaking up for the internationals. Of course, the situation before that wasn’t nice, because we failed to win so many games in a row. So beating Schalke was very important. Now we’ve got a few days off at Borussia Mönchengladbach and then we want to go back and concentrate on the remaining league games. We’re not in Europe anymore, so we’ve got normal regular weeks ahead of us and can always prepare well for our next opponents. We’re still aiming high at Borussia.

The national team limelight: I do think there is a different sort of focus on you with the national team. It’s a unique experience, playing internationals. I think more people will be watching than during a normal Bundesliga game. Nevertheless, there is also focus on you at Borussia. When you play Bundesliga football you’re always in the limelight. I see it sometimes as well, that a lot of things are written and that there’s a lot of speculation. I don’t get involved with it though and it’s not a huge issue for me. I don’t see my future as unsettled as is being made out.

The busy schedule: It’s part of being a footballer: eating well, sleeping lots and looking after your body. I’m really glad I was able to stay fit during the busy schedule. I hope it stays like this and I can carry on playing lots more games.

The current situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic: We’re all going about it professionally and are very pleased that we can all meet up and play despite the circumstances. In my case, I think there are definitely worse things than having to spend ten days in the national team bubble.