Germany produced EURO 2024’s biggest-ever opening day victory at Friday’s opening ceremony, defeating Scotland by a decisive 5-1 margin.
As Die Mannschaft look forward to their second match of the campaign against Hungary, Emre Can spoke to the media to discuss his late inclusion in Julian Nagelsmann’s squad, as well as the shock departure of his club manager.
Can, who scored one of Germany’s five goals in Munich, was not called up to the Germany squad until Aleksandr Pavlovic fell ill with tonsillitis.
“On Wednesday I was in Dortmund with my wife, we were just about to have breakfast. Then I got a call from Julian. I said yes straight away,” he recounted. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to be substituted on Friday… and then I scored the goal. That doesn’t happen very often. It’s indescribable.”
He continued: “I was disappointed that Julian didn’t call me. But he also said something nice, that he would rather call to confirm than to reject. I haven’t been here long, but I’m grateful. I’m not saying that I want to be in the starting eleven on Wednesday. But my mentality is always that I want to play – that’s why I’ve come this far. I’ll do my best for the team.”
Embed from Getty ImagesCan went on to report that the mood in the Germany camp is high, which is unsurprising considering their near-perfect start to the tournament.
“There is a very good energy in the team. You always get this energy from successes, that’s human,” he said. “There is a good atmosphere… The team always comes first, that’s how we want to be. In football, it must always be the case that you want to play. And when we’re not playing, we’re there for the team.”
Looking ahead to the Hungary matchup, Can claims that he did not watch the Trikolor’s 3-1 defeat to Switzerland on Saturday, though he admits that “Hungary is always a difficult opponent,” and that the team will prepare well for the game.
He went on to say that “it will be a difficult task. If we take the energy from the first game with us, it will be difficult to beat us. If we bring our quality onto the pitch, we can beat anyone.”
Though Can is fully focused on Germany’s summer campaign, there is turmoil at his home club, Borussia Dortmund, where head coach Edin Terzic’s shock decision to part ways with the club was announced on Friday. His replacement will be Nuri Sahin, Terzic’s assistant and Bundesliga champion as a Dortmund player. Can welcomed Sahin to the team, and bid farewell to Terzic, who this year took Dortmund to the Champions League final.
“I’m very happy for Nuri. I have a good relationship with him,” said Can. “He is an incredibly good coach and he will take us further. At this point I would also like to thank our former coach, Edin. He made me the captain of this team. But up to now I’m not involved with BVB. I’m with the national team.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Champions League final defeat has weighed heavy on Can’s conscience, and the midfielder took some time out following the season to process the result.
“It was an extremely hard blow not to win the game against Real. We deserved it, but that’s football. I can’t say exactly how many days it took before I could honestly laugh again. We all wanted that so much, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.”
Can, now 30 years old, also shouldered some of the blame for Dortmund’s underwhelming domestic season, which saw them finish just fifth in the Bundesliga.
“It was a season with ups and downs. Things didn’t go that way in the Bundesliga. I became captain and put too much pressure on myself. But I’m maturing because of it, I have high expectations of myself. That’s how I’ve always been and that’s how I’ll stay.”
Can made a ten-minute cameo against Scotland in Germany’s opening game, scoring in the 93rd minute with a well-placed shot into the bottom right corner. It was just his second senior Germany goal in 44 appearances.
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