It's more difficult to achieve something with the national team because players from several clubs get together and less frequently.

You cannot compare warm-ups with World Cup games.

What's mostly left after a match? The scenes in front of the goal where the attackers are the highlights of the play. But doing the spectacular is not particularly important to me. I just want to play for my team.

Lewandowski is one of the world's best strikers.

I love playing football every day. I love working hard, I love training, I love the games; I love the challenge. As long as that still applies, I don't see any reason to call time on something that makes me so happy.

I generally don't think one's age is all that meaningful - there are 50-year-olds who still act and think like children.

It's a bitter thing to have one or more defenders missing.

I do everything I can for the team's success.

I try and help my team-mates as best I can, and I lead from the front, on and off the field.

Schalke are my club. I used to stand on the terraces as a fan, and I've realised my dream of making it as a pro right here at my club.

I think as long as I feel good and am able to perform on a high level, I will keep playing because I love football so much. After that, I have many options but haven't set any goals.

I've trained under a lot of coaches and always picked up elements that develop a player.

Every player has different skills.

It's difficult to say you can replace Franck Ribery one on one with another player.

I always want to play at the highest level; that's the Champions League.

In Germany, the football association is the best.

For me, the Bundesliga is a great league.

First of all, I am and I remain a goalkeeper, but I try to be involved as much as I can and to help the defenders. I try to read dangerous situations in advance.

Before important games, I don't change my preparation.

I am a professional player, and I will naturally do everything to be in goal.

It's obviously very tough for any team to lose on penalties.

Obviously, I couldn't imagine that my career would go so well. When I first started, I wanted to play out of goal. But there was no goalkeeper, and the coach put me in goal.

Many things are necessary if you want to win games.

In the past, goalies weren't even part of the team. They had their own dressing room. They didn't speak with the other team members. They were lone warriors.