'Germany hoping for another summer fairytale'

Two days to go! The person we get to Euro 2024, nan much excited I go – and location is truthful overmuch to look guardant to.

All nan talk and anticipation successful Germany is astir nan anticipation of a 2nd 'summer fairytale', aliases 'Sommermarchen', which is what nan World Cup became known arsenic erstwhile we hosted it successful 2006.

It was a typical time, and I americium hoping to acquisition thing similar, successful full, astatine this tournament.

In 2006, I was truthful happy to beryllium progressive successful nan Germany squad, but past I hardly played. It was still a large privilege to beryllium successful nan campy and I understood what was going connected astir it, but I did not get to return it successful afloat and sometimes it made maine sad not being capable to observe pinch everyone else, erstwhile they were having nan clip of their lives.

This time, I tin bask it decently from nan start, and I really want to make nan astir of each day. I americium going to beryllium travelling astir nan state a lot, moving arsenic a pundit astatine games for German broadcaster ARD and BBC Sport, and almost each time I will beryllium successful a different city.

There will beryllium group from each complete Europe coming to Germany to bask nan football, and bask nan country, and I expect to meet group who are having a awesome time, are looking guardant to nan games and are successful bully spirits.

I want to drawback those memorable moments and seizure those powerful emotions. We ever talk astir why shot is truthful important and I want to acquisition it first-hand, arsenic a instrumentality arsenic good arsenic a pundit, because I emotion nan crippled and I cognize what it tin do to people.

At first, my position successful 2006 was only arsenic a subordinate – my first interest was getting successful nan squad – but past nan World Cup started and we knowledgeable this astonishing broadside of our state that we had not really seen before.

Up until then, large shows of nationalist pridefulness were problematic successful Germany, because of our past. We person a very difficult narration pinch our flag, fixed our history, but abruptly location were flags and look overgarment everyplace you looked: nan black, reddish and gold.

We had not really watched games together successful large groups earlier either, but we moreover created a caller word for it. 'Public viewing', arsenic it was known, became truthful popular. The astonishing Fan Mile by nan Brandenburg Gate successful Berlin and nan wide viewing zones successful nan different cities, each of that, it was each caller too.

We sewage fortunate pinch nan upwind arsenic well. In 2006, we had nan benignant of glorious summertime you don't often get successful Germany. There was sunshine almost each day, which we don't usually have.

You were near reasoning that this was truthful crazy, wherever did it moreover travel from? Everyone loved it, and I deliberation it almost happened organically – it wasn't a lawsuit wherever everyone tried truthful hard, aliases thought 'how tin we make this nan champion tourney location has ever been?'.

Now successful Germany, group are saying they want a repetition of nan 'Sommermarchen', and we are moving difficult to replicate it, but you cannot really unit thing for illustration that - location are truthful galore elements that are required if it is going to hap again.

I conscionable deliberation you person to fto go. Let nan shot return attraction of things, fto group meet and expect them to bring retired nan champion successful others.

You request rules successful definite areas, of course, but shot brings group together and if they are fixed state past thing astonishing will happen.

Every shot instrumentality successful Germany wants to person a bully summertime together, but they request a squad that nan fans tin place with. At nan infinitesimal that is simply a spot for illustration nan upwind - we don't cognize if that will hap again either.

After our 2 friends wins complete France and nan Netherlands successful March, group were saying we are backmost wherever we request to be, playing bully football. But we person conscionable had nan 2 friendlies against Ukraine and Greece which did not spell rather truthful good and now they are saying 'we don't cognize wherever this is going'.

So, we really request a bully opener against Scotland connected Friday, conscionable to get that relationship again.

The Germany squad has been criticised for nan past fewer years now, but nan World Cup successful 2022 was astir apt nan worst experience, wherever anticipation from nan fans was not met by nan team, and vice versa.

That was a large contention but I consciousness for illustration we person recovered from that and put it down us.

There are immoderate parallels present pinch 2006 too. I played successful a batch of nan friendlies earlier that World Cup and we did not do brilliantly successful astir of those games. Some of them were good, but we surely weren't going into nan tourney reasoning we were going to smash it.

It really conscionable came down to nan opening game, erstwhile Philipp Lahm's extremity aft six minutes against Costa Rica felt for illustration immoderate benignant of detonation and gave america a emotion that was not foreseeable for america beforehand and we ended up reaching nan semi-finals.

It is nan aforesaid now, erstwhile I look astatine this Germany team. I don't deliberation we are underdogs, but we are not nan definite large favourites, and things could spell 2 ways.

Either nan unit of playing successful a location tourney weighs excessively overmuch connected nan squad, aliases it really elevates them for illustration it did pinch america – I don't deliberation location is thing successful between.

We cannot disregard what is happening disconnected nan transportation either, but nan backdrop to this full tourney is very different to nan Qatar World Cup successful 2022.

There was a difficult statement erstwhile Russia were hosts successful 2018 arsenic good and past we had nan Covid-hit European Championship successful 2021, truthful it is bully to beryllium capable to attraction much connected nan shot again.

Some of those conversations person not gone away, of course. The full ambiance alteration statement is besides portion of this tourney and I cognize nan organisers person said they want these to beryllium nan astir sustainable Euros location has been.

No caller stadiums person had to beryllium built, which is simply a large plus, while fans are encouraged to recreation from metropolis to metropolis by train, and teams person been placed successful clusters truthful they only play successful definite parts of nan state successful nan group stages and recreation times are reduced.

There has besides been a declaration by Uefa, nan German Football Association and nan German authorities to protect quality authorities during nan tournament. We person a work to do that, arsenic portion of nan measurement we want to represent our state to nan world.

That was a large portion of what made 2006 truthful special, erstwhile we showed everyone that our personality arsenic a federation was to beryllium friends and welcoming.

We want to do nan aforesaid point again, to coming ourselves successful nan champion imaginable way, and show that you tin travel present to sojourn and we are awesome hosts.

But Euro 2024 will travel successful its ain format, pinch different experiences and particularly pinch nan caller pictures and videos that we will see. Having societal media now intends we will get truthful galore broadside stories that different would ne'er person been told.

I don't cognize yet what this tourney will look for illustration aliases what it will beryllium remembered for, but I can't hold for it to get started.

I dream we tin make it astir fans from 23 different countries gathering successful Germany, making caller friends and having a awesome clip together complete nan adjacent 4 weeks. Let nan statement begin!

Thomas Hitzlsperger was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.