da luck： Antonio Rudiger sits down with GOAL to discuss his 'dream' move to the Bernabeu, the managers he's played under and much more

da pixbet： Antonio Rudiger has experienced a lot in his career – especially big name coaches. Whether Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel or Antonio Conte, the Germany star has had the privilege of playing under some of the game's most impressive managers in recent years. In an exclusive interview with GOAL, Rudiger, who has helped Real Madrid to the top of La Liga this season, talks about the tacticians who have shaped his career, how football offered him a 'way out' as a child, almost joining Paris Saint-Germain from Chelsea and plenty more.

Getty ImagesReal and Ronaldo

Rudiger:
To be honest, not really much. But what I always remember is the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen – that goal by Zinedine Zidane. That's always been in my head.

George Weah played a big role for me back then! Because he was the only African to win the Ballon d'Or. After that, around 2002, it was Ronaldo, "El Fénomeno". It's a shame, of course, that he beat Germany in that year's World Cup final. But Ronaldo was still an inspiration for me.

I thought it was outstanding at the time and I had it too…

Things improved in the sense that I had proper football boots from that point onwards, for example. In terms of money, things also got a bit better. But not everything changed back then. The sums that young professionals were paid were also different back then than they are today. But it was still tough for us as a family. My brother was still young back then, around 16/17 years old, and of course he couldn't immediately change things at home for the whole family. Only I was able to do that in the course of my career.

AdvertisementChildhood and a fresh start at Stuttgart

You are educated at home, and I was definitely educated well. But when you leave the door, it's just you and yourself out there. Sometimes it's difficult to say no to certain temptations and certain things in the place where you grew up. We don't need to fool anyone: We all need money. It's not the most important thing, but we need it. And at the time, we needed it a lot. You can easily go off the rails. Thank God for me: my way out was football.

The change was really tough. I also don't know whether this switch was made with my optimal development in mind. When I think about it today, it was of course perfect.

I left because I simply wanted to play in the Bundesliga in the short to medium term. I saw that more at Stuttgart than at Dortmund. BVB were champions at the time – it was difficult to get in as a very young player. There was simply a lot of talent, and not just Mario Götze. The 1991 squad, for example, included Daniel Ginzcek, Marco Stiepermann, Marc Hornschuh, Lasse Sobiech and so on. They were all good players, but none of them really made it. Only Götze managed to play in the Bundesliga for Dortmund. That's why I wanted to look for a different path and then chose Stuttgart.

Huub Stevens was a tough guy, but off the pitch he was a very good person. He was honest, he didn't lie, I liked that, I needed that. You learnt the hard way with him, especially that mentality.

It wasn't planned, it came out of the moment. We just cheered like that and that was that. Back then, things were taken out of context and we just made a monkey show out of it (laughs).

GettyTuchel, Conte and issues at Roma

I've definitely had a lot of good coaches. If I had to choose one now, it would be Thomas Tuchel. I got on particularly well with him. His honest manner simply suited me. Also, when I look at his tactical understanding: Wow!

I have to be honest and say that all Italians are very demanding. But Carlo (Ancelotti) is really very relaxed. Conte really needed a lot of discipline. Tactically, it was at a very high level – simply a really good coach. Luciano Spalletti is really great. When I see the work he did at Napoli: It's amazing.

There was definitely a lot of tension. The two of them had a history that I don't know. But in the end they both respected each other, Spalletti and Totti were simply two alpha animals.

Getty ImagesHighs and lows with Chelsea

To be honest, I still can't say exactly what happened back then. That's part of football. Maybe he had other ideas or saw other players better. But the good thing about football is that the answer is on the pitch and I think I gave the perfect one.

I really wanted to leave. I wanted to leave. I wanted to join Thomas Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain, that was my wish. But it didn't happen and six months later Tuchel came from PSG to Chelsea. We then won the Champions League together. It was probably meant to be.

I probably just fitted in better with his idea of football and he also really liked me as a guy.

That I can take the lead and lead the way.

Perhaps. But nothing like that has ever happened in my career. I even played under Lampard again at the end of his tenure. Let me put it this way: if it doesn't fit at some point, then it doesn't fit anymore. But no footballer in this world loses on purpose.