Interview with former soccer star Marcel Jansen

Marcell Jansen - The media call him the "smartest professional in Germany". For eleven years, he played successfully in the Bundesliga and helped Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Bayern Munich, and Hamburger SV achieve several victories. At the age of 29, despite numerous offers, he ended his career with the words: "I also want to use my head and realize projects on my own." - The starting signal for his new life as an entrepreneur. After all these years, he looks back on his career and answers all questions about current football events, his future, and his new projects from an expert's perspective. Mr. Jansen, FIFA has just decided to expand to 48 participants starting from the 2026 World Cup, a campaign promise by the new president Infantino. Do you think football will benefit if about a quarter of the member associations compete in the final round? Of course, there is a risk that with even more games, attractiveness and support may suffer. But football is for everyone. That's why I don't think it's bad that now even small countries have the opportunity to participate in such a tournament. This is a huge deal for these teams. And in the Euros, for example, Wales showed that the supposedly smaller teams can be a lot of fun. During the last year's Euros, criticism arose that an expanded group stage would result in unattractive football, with many "minnows" doing nothing but defending. Do you believe that fast-paced matches of the favorite teams are more appealing to viewers than small football fairy tales like that of the Icelanders? I believe that the small football nations can play football, just like the Welsh did. Furthermore, in the new format from the round of 16, there are knockout games. Things will get serious quickly then. Football is coming closer together overall. You have worn the national jersey 46 times, how do you rate the team's chances of defending their title next year in Russia? Looking back at the tournaments of recent years, the national team has always been among the favorites. This will be the case in Russia as well. And the chance is there. Your position as left-back has long been considered a "problem area" for the national team. Who do you think we will see playing there at the 2018 finals? Certainly, there will be one or two highly talented young players coming up. There is not exactly an abundance of personalities worldwide in the full-back positions. I think Jonas Hector will play there, rightfully so, as he plays very well in my opinion. The tournament will take place without the big names of the Löw era following the retirements of Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Lukas Podolski. Among the "young guard," whether it's a Kimmich, a Weigl, or a Tah, who do you think will shine in the spotlight? We should not forget Julian Brandt, in my opinion a really good young player. We have some very good young people who can take the next step in the national team. But for them, it must also be about asserting themselves, making the next step there. Just wanting to be there is not enough. Regarding Hamburger Sportverein. How do you assess the current development of your HSV? Can the club, with Heribert Bruchhagen as the new CEO, return to the glory of its past days? The second half of the season is approaching, and the last games of the first half have shown that Markus Gisdol's considerations have paid off. The team is alive, competitive. At the end of the season, Heribert Bruchhagen will have been in office for only half a year. Even then, it is still too early to assess his work. He needs more time to make a difference.