My game for my country!
Born in a small town in western Münsterland, raised in the iconic Carnival city of Cologne, and refining his football skills in the youth divisions of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Benjamin Henrichs (27) had already experienced living in different places during his childhood.
After having made his move from AS Monaco to the Red Bulls permanent, back in July 2021, he has taken part in at least one final per season, where he has secured the German Cup twice, as well as one Supercup.
In this video, Benny explains how was his upbringing, who he thinks will be the best player in the tournament, and what is specially fulfilling about the Euro for him.
“We used to play on dirt”
Benny, as a player, is it more pressure or anticipation what you feel before the Euros kick off in your home country?
- “It’s a bit of both, to be honest. The pressure is always there when you’re hosting a major tournament, because there is a euphoric feeling. I was only nine the last time Germany hosted a tournament, back in 2006, so I can’t really recall what it felt like.
I was a young kid that heard “‘Schland” everywhere and that felt Germany united as one. It didn’t matter where you were: Everybody was talking about the tournament. That feeling was contagious. Now, with 27 years, I have the opportunity to experience to live what a tournament such as this one feels like in Germany.
But the anticipation is huge, because I know this is something that I’ll probably experience as a footballer only once. Plenty of others may never have the opportunity to play such an important tournament in their own country. That’s why I talk about an extreme anticipation and I hope it’ll be a good Euro.”
How much of a dream is it to be able to wear the Germany jersey as a host nation of the Euros?
- “It’s definitely a dream of mine. A dream I have worked hard for and invested plenty into. Just after missing the World Cup. I was a part of all the teal call-ups before the World Cup, even when I didn’t get to play much. But to have not made the final cut was a huge setback for me.
It took me some time to process it, since I assumed I was going to make it. Nowadays I say to myself: “I’ll give it all I have to be there the next time so I can say in the end, even if it doesn’t go as I would like, that I did everything in my power.”
How do you think Germany will fare in the Euro 2024?
- “On paper, I think well. It’s an easy group and we should finish in the first position no matter what. But I believe things don’t usually go as you would think in football. You can recall how things have gone for Germany these past years, when things didn’t go as you would expect for them. Regardless, I think we aspire to finish first and make it to the next round in any case, since we have the quality to do so.
We just beat top teams like France and the Netherlands, but also lost against Austria and Turkey just before that. We used the time before the Euros to fit better as players and internalize Julian Nagelsmann’s system entirely. Now we have a bit more time in the team concentration to work on tactical aspects.”