“When I was a player there, we had 800 supporters on rainy Saturday afternoons, and if we died, no one would notice or come to our funeral. But we loved the club, and we have this same feeling at Dortmund.”

Without being the most confident person in the world, I think I am the right person for Liverpool.

I have no problem if someone wants to hug me – if I know him!

Football is a game you cannot play without making mistakes.

I am not a dreamer. I am a football romantic.

Each doctor makes a much, much more important job than I do, but at the end, nobody talks about him. We all know about it, but we don’t really think about it.

Just like every person who works for Dortmund is a fan of the club, it was the same at Mainz.

Fighting football, not serenity football – that is what I like.

The more players I have, the more difficult choices there are for me, but the better it is for LFC.

Coaches will say that it’s not important for their team to run more, and they prefer to make games the right way.

What is Champions League level? I saw a lot of rubbish games at Champions League level.

The challenge is to stay cool enough to handle the pressure in the moment so that you can succeed in the future.

I’d be at home watching the games just on a normal TV, watching what I could and trying to figure out what we would be facing a few weeks later.

When I left Dortmund, I said it’s not important what people think when you come in but what they think when you leave.

I don’t feel too much pressure. I only see an opportunity.

That’s what you live for as a sportsman. You have to put up a fight.

Anyone can have a good day, but you have to be able to perform on a bad day.