Coach

Intelligent players are receptive and capable of implementation.

Roy Hodgson is a fantastic coach. I first knew him when I was playing in Switzerland and he was national team coach. It was under him that Switzerland revolutionised their player formation system.

People always think that somehow they know everything, can do everything.

It's important to have players like Schweinsteiger and Khedira, the connectors, the symmetry-makers in the game. They can take the tempo out of the game or pick it up.

I am coach of the Germany national team and there are not many jobs in the world which are better than this.

When we play with three at the back, we need active players, who tie up the opposition and play passes forward.

For us, for me as national coach, the Nations League is a good invention.

Ozil is a great distributor and does a lot of running.

You have to be careful that you do not overdo things with too many games, because the quality must not suffer. Fans would then also turn away and the interest would subside.

I strongly favour attractive football.

I had the idea to bring an experimental squad to the Confederations Cup in 2014.

German virtues are now about technically good players playing attacking football.

There has never been even a hint of an expression of racism in the national team.

The high demands on teams in national leagues and of course the Champions League - it's too much.

There are things you can learn about certain players while watching them in action in a friendly.

Pep Guardiola was very good for the Bundesliga.

I tell my team: if we win the ball, I want to see the ball in the goal in eight seconds. That's my philosophy.

I don't think we should compare club teams with international teams because they are different cups of tea.

Even before the World Cup in 2010 I had said that there were no world champions who aim to stifle the opposition's play and somehow hope to win. These teams do not go far.