Last season I scored 27 goals but still lost out against Robert Lewandowski. This season has started very well for me, but again I have some tough opponents, most notably with Anthony Modeste from FC Koln. I texted him the other day: "Keep calm, my friend." I am happy for him to be so successful. And in a certain way it even helps me. The better the other strikers are, the more I have to work to be to be ahead of them.

Achieving Champions League football is the minimum requirement and always the most important thing for [Dortmund Borussia] club. Beyond that, we want to win a trophy. Maybe the German Cup, because we've reached the last three finals, but haven't won one, so that's a big motivation for us.

My mother used to have a shop in which she offered very colorful clothes. I liked that from my early days on.

In football you never know, but generally speaking, I feel more than comfortable here [in Borussia Dortmund]. There' s no place on earth I'd rather be.

Last season I scored 27 goals but still lost out against Robert Lewandowski. This season has started very well for me, but again I have some tough opponents, most notably with Anthony Modeste from FC Koln. I texted him the other day: "Keep calm, my friend." I am happy for him to be so successful. And in a certain way it even helps me. The better the other strikers are, the more I have to work to be to be ahead of them.

The moment my name was called [Africa's Footballer of the Year] was truly overwhelming and I was about to scream with joy.

I've played in France. There, in many matches everybody is already happy if he can secure a point. Here, in Germany? Forget it! Everybody wants to win. The last-placed team in the standings would take any match with the ambition to win it. That makes it so hard, even for the best teams in the league.