BVB legend Hummels opens up about Germany exit | OneFootball

Legendary Borussia Dortmund player Mats Hummels initially did not want to celebrate his farewell from the national team. However, DFB sports director Rudi Völler convinced him to be officially honored.

Mats Hummels, World Champion of 2014, spoke in the podcast Copa TS for the first time in detail about his last years in the German national team and his official farewell in September. The 36-year-old explained that after 2018 he "actually didn't play for the national team anymore," except for the EURO 2021 and two friendly matches. This led to an "emotional alienation" for him.

At his farewell in Cologne before the World Cup qualifying match against Northern Ireland, Hummels initially felt out of place. "At my farewell, there were a lot of guys there that I don't really know, whom I've never talked to," said the BVB legend. He actually didn't want a public honor: "I was firmly convinced that I didn't need it anymore because it was too long ago."

Rudi Völler, the DFB sports director, was the decisive factor for his participation. "Rudi is just a great guy. Because he called, I said: 'I'm up for it.'"

Völler convinces BVB legend Hummels to an official farewell

So Hummels allowed himself to be celebrated. He described the fans' choreography and the interactions in the stands as particularly moving: "That was really nice, especially with the fans. Not just the choreography, but also those little interactions with the fans. That was awesome and made me really happy. It also triggered something emotional in me."

656 days after his last international match in November 2023, Hummels was officially honored. He received a framed collage with the inscription "Mr. Außenrist" from DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and Völler, while "Danke, Mats" was displayed in capital letters on the stadium screen.

After his farewell from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2024, Mats Hummels moved to AS Roma, where he ended his active career after the season. In total, he played 78 international matches for Germany and won five German championship titles with Borussia Dortmund (2011, 2012) and FC Bayern Munich (2017, 2018, 2019).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.