Mustafi: This year will be hard to beat

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Though still just 22, Shkodran Mustafi is certainly not short of domestic or international experience. Born in Germany to Albanian parents, at 17-years-old Mustafi left boyhood club Hamburg to continue his development in England at Everton's youth academy and, within three years, had completed a switch to Italy, where he helped Sampdoria gain promotion to the top flight in his very first season.

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However, this year has seen this member of Germany’s UEFA European U-17 Championship 2009-winning squad eclipse all of his previous achievements in the game. First of all, he established himself as a consistently strong top-flight performer in the Sampdoria defence, displays that caught the eye of Germany senior coach Joachim Low. 

Mustafi, who has represented Germany at every youth level from U-16 upwards, was subsequently rewarded with his first senior call-up in February, ahead of 5 March’s friendly with Chile, and made his debut for the Nationalmannschaft in May in a goalless friendly against Poland - in Hamburg of all places. And though there were doubts raised in the football media when his name was read out, Mustafi was included in Low's provisional 30-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. 

Failing to make the final 23-man squad for Brazil 2014, Mustafi’s benefited from a serious injury to Marco Reus to be drafted in for the global showpiece in South America and the rest, as they say, is history. Twice used as a substitute in the group phase, Mustafi started the Round of 16 win over Algeria and ended the competition with a World Cup-winners’ medal. 

Now on the books of ambitious La Liga outfit Valencia, where he is already a first-team regular, Mustafi took the time to speak exclusively to FIFA.com on what has been an extremely exciting and eventful year.

FIFA.com: How have you settled in to life at new club Valencia?
Shkodran Mustafi: Things are ok now, thanks. It wasn't all plain sailing to begin with, because I still had to recover from the injury I picked up at the World Cup, but everything's great now. I've settled in well and I feel happy here.

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A lot has happened to you in 2014. How do you assess the past year?
Whenever I think about everything that's happened, I come to the conclusion that I've experienced more in the space of one year than most players do during several years of their careers. In my case, one thing just seemed to keep happening after another. It was an unbelievable year, an unbelievably successful year. I've grown both as a person and as a player – this year will be difficult to beat.  

Have you also noticed any changes in yourself personally?
Experiences and titles like the ones I've picked up this year definitely change you, as you're suddenly exposed to a lot more media and public attention. Everyone wants a piece of you and it’s something I’ve needed to learn to cope with. That said, it's also helping me to become more mature.

How long did it take before your World Cup victory and your subsequent switch to Valencia to actually sink in?
I think I still need a bit more time! There have been so many things happening in quick succession that I haven't had any time to think about it. It's just been one thing after another and all so fast. I had two weeks off over the summer and then I had to think about my future a bit. I was still a Sampdoria player at the time and then I had a few others things I had to focus on, so I couldn't really let it all sink in. That's how things have been so far. And then there are games that I need to and want to concentrate on every weekend here, so I have to put our World Cup success to the back of my mind and focus on my job as a Valencia player. I think that it'll still be a while before I've really taken in everything that happened in Brazil.

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So, you must be looking forward to the upcoming Christmas break, when you'll have some time to think things over?
Yes, I'm going to go back home, spend some time with my family and do very little else. I think that's the best thing for me, and I think I need it too. It's very important to me.

How did you feel when you were initially left out of Germany's 23-man squad for the World Cup?
To tell you the truth, I never expected to be included in the provisional 30-man squad in the first place. Prior to the tournament build-up period I'd only been called up for the Chile match in March, and I thought to myself: “OK, well it's nice to have been involved and for the coaches to have taken notice of me. Now let's just see what the future has in store.” And then suddenly I was named in the 30-man list, which was unexpected, but of course I then started to think about the World Cup. If you make it that far, then you obviously want to be involved, though I always firmly kept in mind that, having received my first international call-up, I'd already achieved more than I'd expected to in 2014. My aim was to break through at Sampdoria and become a first-team regular, so the national team call-up vastly exceeded my expectations. Of course, you're sad when you come so close and don't quite make it, but I have a positive attitude and a great family who helped me out. That meant it wasn't overly difficult to deal with.

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If you had to pick out two highlights from the past year, what would they be?
The World Cup would definitely be No1 and becoming a regular starter at Sampdoria would be No2. It was when [Sinisa] Mihajlovic took over as coach that I made my breakthrough at Sampdoria, which in turn led to my involvement with the national team. 

Which World Cup moment made the greatest impact on you? Coming on against Portugal and Ghana, starting against Algeria or the Trophy presentation after the Final?
The greatest moment was when the Trophy was handed over to me and I lifted it into the air. I experienced so many emotions at that moment that it's hard to describe, and I think I still need more time before it really sinks in. That wasn't the only wonderful moment though: making my first substitute appearance and my first start were also brilliant experiences. Starting a World Cup Round of 16 match for Germany at the age of 22 is a big thing and it's something I'll never forget, but none of those things can be compared to the moment when I got my hands on the Trophy.

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