Mats Hummels is not in Julian Nagelsmann’s European Championship squad. The defender still gets attention on his private outings – stress tests included.
Proximity to fans is always an issue in professional football. The German national team used to travel to the European Championship quarters, the “home base” in Herzogenaurach, mainly by train, but now they mostly travel by team bus. For the round of 16 match against Denmark, the DFB entourage is flying as an exception.
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Mats Hummels, who is not part of national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s squad, has to go one step further when it comes to his choice of transport and takes: the bicycle.
As the former BVB player revealed in the podcast “Alone is hard” with his brother Jonas Hummels, he had to do something before recording: “I had a small technical issue, I rode my bike to the electronics store because I needed something for the recording.” But then the mishap happened: “My bike broke and then I had to go downtown.”
There would certainly have been a craftsman within the DFB who would have brought the seasoned Bundesliga professional a spare part or repaired his bike. But the 35-year-old had to do it himself.
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Hummels in Munich: “It was a real gauntlet for me”
In the context of the European Championships at home, however, it is a problem for a well-known football player to be out and about in public, and to do so as inconspicuously as possible: “There is a bit going on in Munich city centre because of the European Championships. It was a real gauntlet for me and my stress level was high when I got home. I don’t usually get stressed so easily, but just now it was at the absolute maximum.”
How would Hummels have ultimately moved through the crowd of fans, some of whom were asking for photos and autographs? “I put my head down, put on tunnel vision and tried to maneuver through the crowd without any accidents,” said the professional, who still lives in Munich.
Ultimately, however, Hummels found his way home – and nothing stood in the way of recording the podcast.
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How his career will continue is still an open question. Shortly after parting ways with coach Edin Terzic, BVB also declared the end of Hummels’ second chapter. According to media reports, various European clubs are vying for the services of the central defender.
2024-06-28 15:09:35
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