Hard work is a part of my life.
I don't do it for my coaches, I don't do it for my family
I do it for myself.
It was a unique experience and also something new for me to train with all the talented and young players.
I think the concept is really great, it's a magnificent concept.
It's players who haven't had the chance to play with professional teams yet
and that's why I think it's great. It's super and I'm really glad to be here
and I've had a lot of fun training with the boys both in the gym and on the pitch.
I think it was similar like here in the Nike Academy - the complete package.
This means technical training, ball handling, passing and of course athletism.
Sprints, strength, how do I move around... I think it's essential to have the whole package.
But also how do I behave on the pitch,
how do I connect with my teammates and behave in front of my opponents.
That's also very important, it's a part of the education. It's not only about the physical side, what happens in your head is important aswell.
I think you can always improve your strenghts but also eliminate your weaknesses step by step.
Everyone has weaknesses, and I think if you work on the whole package from the beginning and pick out the things you want to get better at
then I believe you're on the right path.
The excitement is always there, but I think...
I once talked with a very successful guy who did extreme sports and he told me:
"I never really feel 100% fit."
And neither am I. I'm not getting up every morning saying:
"I don't have any problems, no pain at all, I feel like I'm in top form."
In reality, when you have 70 games in a season you only feel great maybe after 2 or 3 of them.
But I still want to maintain the art of saying:
"No, these are not complaints. Even if it hurts here and there, I want to be professional about it."
Because if you do that, you develop new limits and can reach new phases in your own professionalism
and I think it's very important to keep working hard even if you don't feel so well.
Today it was cold, it was windy and it almost started to rain
but still - it was fun to play football and you have to tell that to yourself all the time.
When you are fit, you should do sports every day
and work a lot on your own skills - as in this case your football skills.
It's actually very simple.
Earlier I spoke about this inner drive that says "I want to improve every day."
It's great to win a title, especially when you've won the biggest ones like the Champions League and World Cup
It fills you with pride - but if you say to yourself "Now I'm satisfied"
then you might aswell just end your football career today
because if you don't have this constant desire to keep proving yourself to others,
to yourself, your teammates, the coaches or the fans
the desire to prove that you can play on a certain level... Then you've already lost.
I think it's relatively easy to get to the top
but the hard part is to stay there and keep your position at the top
and that's the main reason that drives me every day.
The level that I play in, I get to play with one of the best teams in the world
with the best players in the world - also on the national team
and it motivates me to stay there and be a part of that.
And it's actually pretty easy because it's so much fun and I don't want to downgrade a level or two just yet.
I still want to play at the top level.
A part of this job is to sometimes deal with such difficult phases.
I see it as work and I need to stay professional about it. You get paid to get back at your top level.
But for me it was like
I had a goal in front of me which was the World Cup 2014
and because of that, I was given a clear way of reaching it
and I basically just wanted to achieve that goal
and as long as it was possible, I worked very hard to achieve my goal.
I think it's just a part of this job and you have to develop some kind of "fun" into it.
You have to stay professional about it
eventhough it's not nearly as fun as playing with 20 other players on the pitch.
It basically sat some drive in me
and I had fun during it. I wanted to get fit again, eventhough it was a hard job to get through it.
But I think it somehow showed me that I could achieve things which at first seemed impossible.
It challenges me and I have a lot of fun developing these difficult situations into something positive
I've never had it any other way - hard work is a part of my life.
Work hard, stay true to yourself,
Have fun and don't be forced to doing anything
and really say to yourself:
"I want to achieve this for myself."
I think it's essential to think and say "I do everything for myself."
You can cheat everyone, lie to everyone
but to yourself... You can't.
Then the reflection of yourself will always stay the same.
I think if you're persistent of your goal, have fun during it and combine it with hard work
then you will definitely acheive your goal.
There are lots of talented players and players who get coached at the top level.
They have the perfect education.
Those are the basic things you need - but to get to the very top they need to want it themselves.
Just like the boys here in the Nike Academy, the 20 boys on the field today...
Education wise, there are no better places out there.
Now they need to get the most out of it and grab the chance themselves.
No one else besides themselves can help them achieve their goals.