Tah: 'I'd like to take on even more responsibility'

Jona, you've been preparing intensively for the new season since last Friday in Salzburger Land. What's your assessment of the team and the work on the ground?
Tah: Training camps are designed to internalise the style of play prescribed by the coach and also to grow together as a team. We've had a great time so far. There's loads of fun spending time with the lads. There are a few still missing but they should enjoy their holidays first. They've earned it.

The pitch at the Alois Latini Stadium was underwater for a time due to the heavy rainfall and on Sunday you had to change to an individual session at the hotel at short notice. How did the players deal with that?
Tah: We take every situation as it comes. By the coronavirus pandemic at the latest, we should all have learned that you can't always plan everything. We have to be flexible. And we were able to use the Sunday for recovery. The sessions before were very intensive so it fitted in well. Now we're fresh again and we can really get stuck in.

Head coach Gerardo Seoane makes a painstaking and demanding impression. What effect has he had on you since you've been in Austria?
Tah: Gerardo Seoane is a coach who works very precisely and has exact ideas of the way we should play football. He demands 100 per cent in every situation and he communicates that clearly so that everyone can understand it. His personality and his philosophy suit our team well.

This year there are seven players here who could play for the U19 team for another year. How are the lads getting on?
Tah: They're all really getting stuck in. A training camp like this is a new situation for young players – and many of them are perhaps somewhat nervous at that age. But overall, I'm sure they really feel at home with us – we've given them a good reception.

Last year it wasn't possible to have a real holiday or a longer summer break due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the summer before that you were the captain of the U21 team at the European Championship finals. How good was it to have a holiday this year and to what extent was the time off a plus for your personal preparation for the new season?
Tah: I definitely notice a difference this year compared with the years before. It's actually four or five years ago since I've had several weeks off in succession and was able to rest and recover. I really enjoyed the time and used it for things that aren't normally possible to the same extent – that includes travelling or just spending time with family and friends.

On the first day of the training camp, Gerardo Seoane declared that you're at an age where you can now develop into a leader on the pitch. He says you should be able to fill the space left by the departure of Lars and Sven Bender. How do you define your role in the team this season and to what extent has the role changed through players leaving?
Tah: I've seen myself in a sort of leadership role before this season. Of course, Lars and Sven as well as Drago (Aleksandar Dragovic, ed.) took on a lot of responsibility on and off the pitch in the past few years. We all have to fill the resulting gap as a team but also as individual players – I definitely count myself amongst them. I want to take on more responsibility – on the pitch but also in the dressing room.

The European Championship saw a discussion of the question of a back three or back four. Which system do you prefer and what differences do the two formations make for a central defender?
Tah: I prefer the recently used system where we were winning. (He laughs) I'm fundamentally more a fan of a back four. It's a different game for a central defender and you get into completely different situations. And the situations I like mostly happen with a back four.

Nadiem Amiri and Paulinho are beginning the football tournament at the Olympic Games this week and Germany and Brazil face each other at the start. Who are you crossing your fingers for in the opening match?
Tah: We’ll definitely watch the match in the hotel and root for both lads. As a German, I’m obviously more behind Germany – that's clear. Nevertheless: we also wish the best for Paulinho. May both of them have a good tournament and, above all, remain free of injury.