Spain, France favourites, but you never know with Germany: Benedikt Howedes

NEW DELHI: Howedes is an unsung hero even in Germany and he likes it that way. One who played every minute in Germany’s famous World Cup triumph in 2014, Howedes prefers to stay under the radar even after a decade.

Not quite possible though for those who were fortunate to watch him keep Argentina’s right flank rather quiet at the Maracana in that 2014 final. He could have been the toast of the world just before half-time when his thunderous header came to grief off the Argentina post from a Toni Kroos corner.

“Of course, I remember that situation. But you won’t believe me, but I’m not unhappy with it because I’ve seen what happened afterwards with Mario Goetze (who scored the lone goal that day) and I’m not that guy who wants to be in the spotlight.

Nowadays I can say I played every single minute,” he tells TOI in an exclusive interaction.

“I want to work and I can go through the city without being recognized by everyone and that makes it quite comfortable for me, to be honest,” says the German defender who has traded raucous fame for normalcy and reliability, a necessary state of mind for a multi-functional defender.

“Especially now, when I have three kids at home and it’s easier for my kids to get a normal life.

Instead of just being the kid of Mr. Howedes who starred in the World Cup final,” he points out.

“I was a different type when I played football. I’m always a team player. One of my strengths is that I can easily adapt to different positions on the pitch. I always put the team in front of my personal situation. So I’ll put all the effort in the team,” says the Schalke 04 legend.

With the World Cup 2026 less than 100 days to kick-off, Howedes shares his assessment of the German national team under Julian Nagelsmann. “I think the German team always had a strength in terms of mentality and we create a special spirit during a tournament. The last tournament, we were different. We didn’t have many good players in the last few years.

“That has changed a little bit now,” he adds, “We have (Jamal) Musiala and (Florian) Wirtz, (Nico) Schlotterbeck and (Joshua) Kimmich, who are playing an outstanding role in the national team. In my opinion, we are not the top favourites for winning the World Cup. For me it’s Spain or France. But you never know what happens during a tournament when you are creating something really special. If they can create this special team spirit, then everything is possible.”

Recalling that unforgettable 7-1 win over hosts Brazil, Howedes revealed the dressing-room atmosphere during the break when Germany were 5-0 ahead. “To be honest it was not that we were going crazy and everybody was laughing and shouting and celebrating,” he reminds us.

“It was totally the opposite because we knew that one year or so before that game we had a World Cup qualifier against Sweden. We were leading 4-0 until the 60th min and after the final whistle, it was a 4-4 draw. We had this in our mind and we had to stay focused. We didn’t want to make jokes with the Brazil players. We played very straight and we scored two more goals in the second session,” he says.

(SONY SPORTS NETWORK IS THE OFFICIAL BROADCASTER OF BUNDESLIGA IN INDIA)