I’m the German who doesn’t drink beer!
HUMMELS ON KLOPP, ROONEY AND THAT MOVE TO UNITED
IT IS during a debate about English football and the scrutiny on its footballers that Mats Hummels smiles and makes a surprise revelation. Hummels recently returned to Munich, his place of birth; the city that gave the world Oktoberfest. Drink forms such a part of local culture there is even a biergarten for fans at Bayern Munich’s training base. But the local produce, it seems, is lost on this particular resident.
‘I don’t like beer,’ he says. ‘I don’t like the taste. I tried it 15 times in my life. I grew up with Oktoberfest but I just didn’t like it. If I put that much beer (puts his finger and thumb close together) and that much lemonade (stretches his fingers apart) it still tastes like beer.
‘If I’m on a night out, I’ll maybe have a gin and tonic but it’s not like I drink five. I just drink lots of water, so I don’t ever get drunk. Most of the time, it is calm and we can go out here in the centre of Munich in peace.’
This disclosure comes on the back of a discussion about Wayne Rooney. Hummels is no stranger to being in the public eye, having swapped Borussia Dortmund for Bayern Munich in the summer, so understands the scrutiny that comes with playing for one of the world’s leading teams.
Rooney, though, is a topic that fascinates him. Hummels explains how close he came to becoming his teammate at Old Trafford but first he wants to talk about how the England captain has been projected.
‘I don’t like the scrutiny he has been getting,’ says Hummels. ‘I’m very aware of it. I am very interested in what is happening in England. How many years has he played for Manchester United now? 12? How many years has he been a top player for the English national team? 10? Maybe more? You can’t be at your best all the time.’ David Moyes considered signing Hummels for United in 2013 before Louis van Gaal pursued him relentlessly a year later. ‘Yes,’ he says, when asked how close a deal was. ‘Yes, very close. There were talks, several times in the last few years. I had offers from England or one of the three big Spanish clubs. But nothing got close like from England. Van Gaal wanted me but he wasn’t the only one. It is difficult for me to play in England now. I’m 28 next month and I’ve signed here for five years.’
The main reason Hummels never got to test himself in the Premier League was down to Jurgen Klopp. Klopp’s influence on him was huge. When news broke in April that Hummels was to join Bayern, one of the first text messages was from his old manager, offering him support and reassurance.
Without Klopp’s guidance, Hummels is not sure he would have reached such levels.
They had a close bond and the 27-year-old laughs at the memory of Klopp hurtling down the touchline in Hamburg to celebrate a last-minute equaliser, breaking his glasses in the process.
‘He has done that at Liverpool, too, hasn’t he!’ says Hummels, shaking his head. ‘We wouldn’t have had that success with another coach in Dortmund. He is very emotional. All the time. He can’t settle down.
‘How intense? Every day, 100 per cent! The important thing is that when he thinks he made a mistake, he can really apologise to a player — whether that is alone or in front of the whole team. If he says something inappropriate, he realises it afterwards. He doesn’t take things personally.
‘I can’t say I am a Liverpool fan, I don’t have a club in England. I just want Klopp to win. If he was coach of another team, I would