Niels Giffey says goodbye to Germany: “It was a great honour for me”
Niels Giffey retires from the national team: he made 118 appearances for Germany during his career.
Bayern Munich’s Niels Giffey has announced his retirement from the German national team, with whom he has made 118 career appearances. The announcement was made by the player in an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, below are his words.
Giffey’s words: “I decided after the Olympics that this would be my last summer with the national team and now I am making it official. It has always been a great honour for me to play for the national team. I completely identified with the shirt and always put my heart and soul into it. The national team was like a family to me, and it was never a difficult decision to come and play for Germany. The last four years in particular have been super exciting: the first Olympic qualification, the European Championship on home soil, the World Cup, then the Olympics again… It has been a fantastic time. I made this decision because I want to spend more time with my family and have different summers. I spoke to almost all my team-mates before I made the decision”.