If I play, I try to concentrate on producing my best.

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 am firmly convinced that you shouldn't necessarily emphasize hedonism, especially at the beginning of a career, but should instead focus entirely on performance.

If I play, I try to concentrate on producing my best.

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

I have always seen myself as an athlete. Of course, I made the mistake of unintentionally opening the door to my private life by just a crack. I wouldn't do the same thing again. It has to be accepted that my private life is private, and if that isn't the case, I have to do something about it.

I want to successfully make the transition from a life in professional sports to another life, without running into major upheavals.