Germany is preparing to face its debut in the home European Championship. Tonight Nagelsmann’s team will face Scotland and will also be among the protagonists captain Gundogan; the Barcelona midfielder recounted his emotions to Sports Bild: “With tonight’s kick-off at 9pm, more than one dream will come true for me: leading my national team on the pitch as captain in a home tournament, just the thought gives me goosebumps.
Our path as a team has been tortuous and full of defeats in recent years, like mine. I feel able to lead a special team because it is influenced by many different cultures and countries. These are exactly the factors that will make our national team strong in 2024: diversity and the influence of different cultures. What we have learned is that football has the power to bring people together. We live in times where there are wars and people no longer listen to each other. There is a divide in our society; This is why we want to unite our country over the next four weeks, to help restore greater cohesion. We want people to be proud of the German national team and welcome other fans to our beautiful country in the coming weeks with openness, respect and friendliness.
We want to become European champions. But even if we don’t win the title in the end, we hope it will still be a good tournament. Just like in 2006, when I was 15 and celebrated a summer fairytale, even if in the end we only came in third place.
We have to say it clearly: there are better teams but with the fantastic support of our fans we can go far. We can win on many levels in this home European Championship. As good hosts, as a cosmopolitan society. And, hopefully, on the field at the end.”
