I think Neuer changed the game of goalkeeping in the World Cup.

I would never have thought I was capable of sitting on the bench as the number two man. And it showed me that you can really achieve everything in life, even the unthinkable, as long as you're willing to work on yourself a little bit.

If we perform as a unit and if every single player gives it his very best, everything can happen.

It's part of my game to occasionally send a message, one that may be unpopular to the outside world, but can be important for the team.

The realization that you're not always standing down there on the field merely to win, to be successful, was very liberating. One can be successful by helping the team, the other players. All of a sudden I felt the kind of empathy for people that I hadn't felt before.

I was so obsessed with football that you could say I was taking the goal home with me at night. And then one day the system fell apart.

Of course, success is a relative term. It can be something completely different from winning the German championship eight times or making millions.