Hummels on Roma spell: “It hasn’t been a dream ending.” | OneFootball

Mats Hummels spoke to ZDF in a deep dive into his career.

With only a few days remaining until his retirement, Hummels discussed the decision to join Roma as a free agent and the subsequent highs and lows in the Italian capital.

“I really wanted to live in a city where it was nice. And also to know another culture, it was something that I found very interesting. I had never lived abroad in my life. It’s something different.”

“I had already made the move from Dortmund to Bayern, which was already quite controversial, and in the end I felt like we were really united again. So to think about playing in the Bundesliga again with another shirt… I didn’t want to, to be honest. It just seemed wrong.”

“If Juric hadn’t been sacked after the match against Bologna, I probably would have left the following week, yes. Yes, I really think so. I would have given up. I’d rather play badly than not play at all. Being pushed into insignificance by Juric… it was brutal. It really got me down. It wasn’t easy to deal with him.”

“t was clear to me that if there wasn’t a change on the bench, I would have to leave, because otherwise I would have exploded sooner or later. I try to handle it professionally, I don’t say anything publicly. And I don’t think I’ve ever done that, not even when I wasn’t playing. But inside, obviously, everything is boiling. I mean, to the point of having bad games even when you finally play a few minutes. I have to accept it as it is now, but inside I also think: “Hey, I didn’t deserve it”.

What bothered me was that, in a press conference, I think he said something like: “I don’t look at resumes or what someone has achieved”. But my thought was: “we’re not playing well, the situation is not good, we’re not getting results”. How come you don’t at least try to let me play? I mean, if we win every game, even without playing well, if everything works, if we always win and often keep clean sheets, then I understand. In that case, I also put myself there and think: “yes, I would do it as a coach too”. But I was there thinking: “you know I know how to defend, that I know how football works. At least let me get on the pitch and give me a chance”. Yes, in the end he gave it to me, just once.”

On the disastrous performance vs Fiorentina, “Honestly, mentally I wasn’t ready to play at all. Not at all. When I stepped onto the pitch, it was a completely foreign feeling. First header cleared, second header in my own net, and there I said to myself: “Maybe it’s not meant to be.”

On the mistake vs Atletico, “It really hurt me, the fact that I took away from the team and the fans – regardless of the elimination – but also from myself, the possibility of winning another international title. And that hurts, obviously.”

“But the thought you just mentioned, that it could be the last European match of my career, accompanied me the whole day before the match. Before the kick-off. Even before the match I felt blocked. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so bad on the pitch in my entire life, as in those ten minutes – unfortunately only ten – in Bilbao.”

“My legs felt so heavy. I had no clarity, really. I felt terrible. And that’s where the mistake came from. I remember that I received the ball and initially I wanted to throw it long. Then I thought: “No, at this moment I absolutely don’t have the right touch to do that”. Better to keep it simple, maintain possession.”

“We had already been forced to chase so much. I look to the right, I want to pass it to Mancini, I see the Bilbao striker and I remember perfectly that in my head I think: “It’s too risky. Too risky, better not”. And suddenly the ball was already gone. It was already on its way. I don’t even know. It bothered me that I couldn’t mentally put myself in another state, in another “scheme”, so to speak. That my whole day was conditioned by that thought: “Maybe today is the last international match of my career”. I’d rather lose a speed duel against a twenty-two-year-old who runs at 36 km/h. OK. Or even at 33 km/h, which is still enough to lose a duel these days. But not like this. Not in that way.”

“I want the team to get there – to play in the Champions League – it doesn’t matter if I’m on the pitch or not. It’s simply my wish: I want the guys I’ve lived with this year to be in the Champions League next year. I know I’ve also given my contribution. And for me, but also for the team, it would be nice to have the feeling that the time spent together has served for something positive. I would really like that.”

“The personal experience was very interesting, and that’s exactly why I did it. Of course, I also wanted to be successful in sport, I wanted to do the best I could and, in the best case, maybe win something. Then, of course, especially my personal performance after the start was complicated. Actually, I’m very satisfied especially with the matches I played in Serie A and the four Europa League matches before Bilbao. But that match against Bilbao spoils the overall impression a bit. So that’s fine, but it wasn’t, let’s say, a dream ending.”