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.

First and foremost, we have to focus on what we're doing and not worry about what Bayern - or any other clubs - are doing.

I always set myself new goals. I always want to do better than I did in the past. I always want to achieve things I never achieved before.

Most of all I hope the tournament [The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations] will help unite our people [in Gabon]. My wish is to celebrate a big party all together.

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.

I was always sure the Bundesliga was the right choice for me. My first season was solid, if unspectacular, so maybe I would have preferred it not to be so hard at the beginning, but I've worked very hard to get to this point and want to get even better now.

Only Bayern Munich really have some sort of a guarantee to win if they only catch a good day. All the others need really good days to win. I like that.