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After a sometimes complicated half year at Bayern Munich, Yann Sommer could hardly imagine a better restart. With his outstanding performances and 19 league clean sheets, the Nati goalkeeper became one of the most important pillars of Inter Milan’s 20th title. As part of the Nati gathering before the European Cup, he reflected on a successful season in an interview with SRF, explaining the pressure from great predecessors and the unique atmosphere of San Siro.
SRF Sport: Yann Sommer, I’ll give you some numbers and you tell me what’s on your mind: 29 April 2024, 350,000 Inter fans, 20th title.
Jan Sommer: I immediately got goosebumps again. It was very emotional and euphoric. A cool championship celebration with a lot of people. I really enjoyed it.
In Italy, football is almost a religion. What do you think of this?
The fans love the club and they show it in every home game and every away game. You can feel this huge joy every moment. It’s one of the most beautiful things for a football player. The championship parade – you can’t believe it. It took us 7.5 hours to walk 2.5 kilometers. There were so many people, little girls, little boys, it was beautiful.
Does this also make you feel a sense of responsibility towards your fans?
Indeed. We try to achieve good results on the pitch and give you that joy again. Of course there is pressure, people want the title, the second star on the jersey. As fans, they invest a lot.
They were partly responsible for making it work. They kept 25 clean sheets, including 19 in the league. Is that a goalkeeper’s currency?
In any situation. But it is also the currency of the team. Under Lucien Favre, we were already very good defensively at Gladbach. The same thing happened at Inter, where we had a very good structure on the pitch. As a result, we conceded very few goals. For me as a goalkeeper, it was an absolute dream.
What is it like for a goalie to be on a team that even celebrates defending?
That’s the beauty of it. If you have the ball and can attack, that’s worth celebrating. But it’s also cool when you can celebrate as a team and celebrate defending your goal. We’ve had a lot of situations where shots have been blocked or players have high-fived each other after a save. That’s been the secret to our success this year.
At Gladbach you followed Marc-Andre ter Stegen and at Inter you followed Andre Onana – both highly respected goalkeepers. Did that experience help you?
Of course it helps, even at Gladbach it was a challenge for me. My goal was always to not be a copy of another goalkeeper. I, Jan Sommer, wanted to be a good goalkeeper for the new club. I have always done well not to compare myself but to bring my game, my ideas and creativity to the pitch.
A few months later, you were also highly praised by the Italian media. Did that make your life easier?
I didn’t feel too much pressure at Inter. Maybe it was because I didn’t understand everything that was written at the beginning (laughs). I was very happy to come to Inter and the fans. I felt welcome from the first day. That made things easier.
You’ve had a successful but also complicated six months at Bayern Munich. Is there any difference in the level of appreciation among fans in southern countries?
It’s hard to say. When I came to Gladbach, nobody in Germany knew me. People were unsure: Ter Stegen had an unknown Swiss goalkeeper – would that be a good thing? This time I came from Bavaria and had experience in Europe. That’s a big difference, the fans already knew what kind of goalkeeper they were going to get. They probably valued something else here. The style of football was different. The first year was absolutely wonderful for me.
Was there anything that made you realize: This is Italy, I have to adapt?
“Ritiro.” This means: you sleep on the training ground before the game. Everything is more emotional – both within the team, how the staff work with us. Apart from that, this job has a lot of similarities to the Bundesliga.
How was your family’s first year in Italy?
It’s always a new challenge. We redesigned everything in Munich and almost six months later we left again and had to rebuild everything in Milan. We handled it very well. Thanks also to my wife, who did a lot of work behind the scenes and gave me a lot of support.
They’ve been in business for a long time, and now the titles are becoming more and more similar. Is this a kind of satisfaction?
It’s beautiful for me. I’ve invested a lot in my career and this is how it comes out. To have the opportunity to play at a club like this. These recent changes have given my career a new boost.
Do you sometimes think you should have pushed this a little earlier?
No. The thing is: you can’t force it. The goalkeeper market is not easy. I felt comfortable at Gladbach. I considered some offers at the time, but they were not suitable. Then Bayern came asking and I knew I really wanted to do it and I needed a new challenge.
At Inter, do you still have the feeling that you are in a different world of football?
The first few months at Inter were particularly special. Throughout my career I have been lucky to play in great stadiums and in front of great fans. San Siro even more so. All of them said the same thing: loud, hot, “caldo”, emotional, euphoric. I often got goosebumps.
Have you internalized the Italian jungle?
I haven’t sworn that many times yet (laughs). But I’m totally immersed in the language every day. I’m trying to learn Italian well so I can really have a say. I love the attitude that Italians give you in life. They’re very friendly, they enjoy themselves, they like to talk loudly and gesture. It’s just a pleasure to spend time with them. I always talk loudly on the pitch anyway.
The interview was conducted by Jeff Baltermia.
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