Antonio Rudiger admits he plays on the edge but has questioned his reputation as a liability.
The Real Madrid and Germany defender is set for a big few months with his club side still going for a La Liga and Champions League double before he turns his attention to the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Rudiger is now 33 and concedes he has had moments when he has lost his cool – he received a six-match ban for his conduct during the Copa del Rey final defeat to Barcelona last season while he hit the headlines earlier this month for a wild challenge on Getafe’s Diego Rico.
He says he is not immune to the criticism and knows he has a responsibility to keep his head.
He told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper: “Of course I realise. When, as an international, you are criticised so much, it makes you think. If the criticism is raised in a serious and objective way, of course I take it seriously, because I myself know that I have had moments that clearly crossed the line.
“That also influences me to try to be even more focused. I don’t want to be a focus of problems, but to provide stability and security. I have a responsibility and know that in some moments I have not been up to the task.”
Being aggressive is what got me to Real Madrid – Rudiger
While he is aware of his flaws, he also says his aggression is a key part of his game, adding: “Being a tough defender is part of my DNA. If you want to be a one-on-one specialist at this level, you can’t be a friendly companion. You have to tell the striker: ‘Today is going to be a nasty day for you.’ It’s a matter of mentality.
“If I leave out that intensity, that delivery, that going to the limit, I’m worth only half. That edge is exactly what brought me to Real Madrid. In Madrid they value and celebrate precisely that. Without it I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have won the Champions League twice nor would I have played so many games for my country.
“That’s the point that many don’t understand: I play with intensity, but I’m definitely not a risk to my teams. I know perfectly well what minute we are at and what is at stake. Nine years without a red card on the field is no coincidence – the last one was in 2017, still with Roma. Even my yellow card number is much lower than many believe. In recent years I averaged about five per league season.”
Rudiger is now fully fit and played 90 minutes in both legs of the Champions League round-of-16 win over Manchester City and the weekend defeat of Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
“I feel really good and I’m relieved that my medical treatments are starting to bear fruit,” he said. “From, practically, August-September 2024 there was always some problem. Now I can finally play entire games again without having any kind of physical discomfort. Last season, I could only play – and even train – if I took painkillers. In January of this year I got worse again and then I knew: now you have to stop, especially also thinking about the World Cup. But now yes, I’m back at 100%.”
Rudiger wants Germany to improve mental approach
Germany will cross the Atlantic as one of the outsiders to win the World Cup. Rudiger believes they have the ability but need to work on an improved mental approach.
“We have to return to being a team that is extremely uncomfortable to face,” he said. “We have a lot of talent and technique, everyone knows that. But talent doesn’t win World Cups alone. We have to recover that mentality – in a good way.
“We have to be so difficult to play that the opponent doesn’t even feel like leaving the tunnel. If we run to the mental limit and each one is willing to do the dirty work for the other, then we will be extremely difficult to beat.”
Germany were drawn in Group E, alongside Curacao, Ecuador and the Ivory Coast.
