Franck Ribéry played for FC Bayern for twelve years. Munich became the second home for the Frenchman during that time. On his visit to Säbener Straße last week, we spoke to the 38-year-old about the European Championship and, of course, the clash between Germany and France in Munich on Tuesday.
Servus, Franck! Your mother country France and your second home Germany meet each other in the first Euro group match on Tuesday. How do you expect the game to turn out?
Ribéry: "There will be a good game between two big teams with big players. A game like that is always special and there’s a lot of pressure. It's an important game for both of them."
Who are you crossing your fingers for?
"I have lots of friends who play for Germany. I’ve got a soft spot for Germany. But I'm French and it is my country. I hope it will be a great game. I'll be happy if France win but I will also be happy if Germany win."
Bei der Partie könnte insgesamt ein ganzes Dutzend Bayern-Profis aus den beiden Kadern auflaufen. Was bedeutet das für das Spiel?
A dozen Bayern players could play for the two teams in the game. What would that mean for the match?
"There are a lot of French players at Bayern. They can talk in German on the pitch. But in the moment when you're playing for your country, you forget everything and you want to win. The match is at the Allianz Arena in Munich and that's obviously very good for the players from Bayern."
In addition to Germany and France, the titleholders Portugal plus Hungary are in the 'Group of Death F'. Who do you think are favourites to go through?
"France have a lot of players of high quality. They get forward very quickly. But Germany also have good potential – tactically with good organisation. Portugal have a good team but I think France and Germany are better."
We also spoke to Franck Ribéry about David Alaba and his time in Florence:
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