Lukas, thank you for your time. What does it feel like to represent your country at the World Cup?
"Yeah. First of all, thank you. And, this was always special for me. Doesn't matter if it was a World Cup game or a friendly game, it was always a big pleasure to play for Germany and, you know, as a kid you have a dream to play maybe in the Bundesliga. Then you start a couple of games in the Bundesliga, and then you become a national team player, and you continue that for, for over 10 years.
"And as I say, it was always a pleasure to play... When you think about it, just 23 players can be invited for the camp, and then for the squad. And I always was nearly a part of that, and it was always a pleasure.
"And I gave always everything that I had on the pitch, and especially off the pitch, because you represent your country when you are in the dressing room, when you are on the bus, when you are in the hotel and everything. And everyone recognises us as a national team, it was always important for me and for us to behave with big respect to all of them. And, that's why, again, it was always a pleasure to play for that shirt."
At the 2006 World Cup, you won the Best Young Player award. What did that award mean to you, and what advice can you give young players about that?
"Of course, I won that trophy, but football is for me more than just trophies. Especially the 2006 World Cup was something amazing, it was the best World Cup for me so far. For the whole tournament, Germany got new stadiums. The atmosphere was amazing. We had nearly every day sunshine, 30 degrees.
"In 2004, we were out in the group stage of the Euros. Nobody believed in us. We changed the coach. New players coming, young players coming. And I think with the World Cup 2006, the new generation started. And with that third place, you know, we started something, like a journey. We started something amazing, and I was a part of that for 10 years.
"And, again, for me, football is not just one trophy, one goal, or my first game. For me, this is, like, okay, but for me, the whole history with the German national team, I will never forget. Nobody can take it away from me. And with 130 caps for Germany, nobody can take that away. And that's why I don't like to talk just about special moments, like a trophy, or a game, or like... a quarter-final, or the penalty in 2006 against Argentina. This is a part of sport... but I think football is more than just 90 minutes."
But there was one extraordinary game against Brazil, the 7-1. How do you feel about that? That must have been one of the weirdest games you played, right?
"Yeah. It happened maybe once and never again. But for us, you know, if we lost the final, nobody would talk about that game now. So, in a World Cup or in a tournament, it's important to have a target, and we had a target to stay till the end. And for me, it doesn't matter if you win 1-0 after penalties or how we did 7-1, you still have the final to play, and this is important.
"But, of course, the whole history after the game, and especially after the tournament, I think this game is something unreal. And everyone remembers it, and people will talk about it in 50 years still. Great game. Even in the country where the World Cup was, in Brazil, to win against the home team - this gave it something... something extra.
"But again, it was a semi-final, and in the semi-final, you have the target to win. Sometimes in tournaments, it's about luck, about something extra or some different things can happen... but we did it in a fantastic way. And yeah, 7-1, and we went through."
That was amazing. When you're looking at the Germany team, what's an important factor for a World Cup?
"We always have this team spirit, since I am in the national team. Of course, we have always great players, but we were also just more than one or two star players. We always want the star to be the team, always. We had a great atmosphere, great coaching staff.... a great bus driver, physios, and everybody. The whole staff was always a part of us. And I think, since I was in the national team, this is what gave us something more.
"Some other countries have this target player - when he has a good day, he will win this game. But we were like, you know, we had a keeper, we had good defenders, we had good midfield players, we have good strikers. I think we don't have these amazing, amazing players... but our star was the team. And from that, as we start from 2006, I remember my journey, we always stayed till the end. We always won something, second place, third place.
"We always stayed till the end in a tournament. You can reach it with a good football, but without a good team spirit and atmosphere, I think, this distance you cannot reach."
We know it's not an individual sport, so this is very important, to be a team, right?
"Sometimes we have moments in finals. You have the key players. We also had the key players, but I think, again, our star was always the team. And team spirit with the coaching staff, with the people around, and this gave us something special."
Julian Nagelsmann is still a young coach, but the national team coach. What do you like about his approach? And what is the hardest part of being the coach of the German national team?
"It's hard to say because he was never my coach, so I don't like to talk about people I don't know or people who I don't work with...
"Being the coach of the German national team is something special, but it's also different to coaching a (regular) team... Because in a team, you have daily business, you have daily training. You prepare for 50 or 40 games. In the national team, you have periods where you prepare this team for one, two games. And of course, then you have the long preparation for a tournament, which is always for a country like Germany, and for all countries, something special.
"And this is the key for the coach of a national team - to prepare the team right for this one moment. And as I said before, you can't squeeze out everything from just one player. You have to manage 23 players to have a good atmosphere. You have to be also a little bit lucky in a tournament. And that's why I think it's different."
Miroslav Klose is the top goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with 16 goals. Behind him is Lionel Messi with 13. How was it to play alongside Klose?
"Yeah, great. He not only scored goals, he was important for us, and also as a teammate, he was always calm. His behaviour off the pitch, his experience and also his story were important. He didn't grow up as a talent as a 16 or 17-year-old because his career started really late. And what he achieved, especially with the national team, is amazing.
"And to be his partner up front, our combination, especially the German-Polish combination, was something special. He was also a very clever footballer. He played intelligently on the pitch. And we understood each other very well. And so, you know, I miss those times, because playing with him and the other players we had was something amazing."
You did understand each other very well, that's true. Do you think that Messi is going to beat that record at this World Cup?
"It's something extra. I think it's possible... It will be great to see him on the biggest stage again, because this player gives always something extra. And you don't find players like that anymore."
And finally, if you were the German national team coach, would you take the youngster Lennart Karl to the World Cup to get experience?
"We always had in Germany this extra player that we always take to the national team. And I think he is on the list. So why not?
"I always say in interviews or in general, it doesn't matter if you're 17, 18, or 28, it's about quality. It's about what a player gives you extra, and also how he is as a character... I was 18 or 19 when I joined the national team, so why not the same for Karl?
"For me, talking about age, let's talk about him, what kind of quality he has. And if he brings the quality, if the national team needs his position, when you already have, like, three, four players in his position... maybe you don't need him. But, if you need him, and he performs like he has performed in the last months, why not? I would take him."