FIFA.com: From 1982 to 1998, you played in five FIFA World Cups. Germany finished runners-up in 1982 and 1986, and won the FIFA World Cup once. What general memories do you have of the tournament?
Lothar Matthaus: I think playing at the World Cup is the greatest possible achievement for a footballer. I was fortunate enough to play in five World Cups. Each tournament was different of course. We were very successful in some and were knocked out early in others. When I was young, I was just happy to be there. It was still a great experience even if I didn't get to play much. Later, I naturally had different goals. But the best teams in the world meet there and I reckon my personal record with Germany in those five tournaments was a pretty successful one, winning once, taking second place twice and reaching the quarter-finals twice.
In Germany, people tend to regard it as a failure if we don't get through to the Final. They write it off as a failed World Cup campaign. But that isn't always right. Just look at the greatest footballing nations. So many of them have been eliminated in the first round. In those 16 years, Germany always made it at least as far as the quarter-finals and we were in the Final three times. Those were the moments of success that make up a great football career.

Leaving the 1990 FIFA World Cup aside for the moment, what was your best experience at the World Cup?
Well, I was really only an also-ran in 1982. I was a hanger-on, right at the bottom of the pecking order. I was still a very young player and only played in two matches. I was 21 and didn't have any clout within the team. There was a Cologne mafia, a Munich mafia and a Hamburg mafia. At the time, I was playing for a smaller club, Borussia Monchengladbach. However well I played, I still had no chance. You just had to accept it - there are unwritten laws.

My international breakthrough came in 1986, at the World Cup in Mexico. I was a regular from the start, scored some important goals, played some good games, and we reached the Final with a team that was basically average in terms of footballing skill. If we hadn't been our own worst enemies after coming back to 2-2 against Argentina, we would probably have won the World Cup.

Then there was the 1990 World Cup in Italy, my greatest tournament. I have nothing but positive things to say about it. In 1994, we went to the USA as favourites. Our team was almost the same as in 1990, perhaps stronger because of Stefan Effenberg and Matthias Sammer. We had two new players who improved our quality, but the team spirit wasn't right. The roles were not as clear as four years before and I think we tripped ourselves up in 1994.

It wasn't just that we lost to Bulgaria in the quarter-finals. We really should have beaten them. The team spirit just wasn't right any more and that's why we were eliminated so early. We were knocked out in the quarter-finals, much the same as in 1998, when we were favourites to beat Croatia but lost in the quarter-finals. But the pecking order in the team wasn't properly defined. There were no clear leaders any more, the sort who attract followers. Everyone just fought for his own position. The team spirit suffered and in all probability so did the results.

You played against Diego Maradona in the 1986 Final.
There's more to it than that, as I played against Maradona a lot. 1986 wasn't just Argentina's World Cup, it was Diego Armando Maradona's. I think he was the best player of all during my two decades as a professional footballer, not only at international level but also for his club. Obviously, Franz Beckenbauer as a coach had a great deal of respect for Maradona, and he knew I'd had some very good games against him, so he decided to change our system around.

As a result, Maradona didn't really get into the game, but we were also a bit weaker going forward. We soon found ourselves 2-0 down, so we decided to make a few changes. The defenders played in front of me and I was a midfield player. I really had the No8 role, with Felix Magath as number 10 and Hans-Peter Briegel or Andreas Brehme playing a more defensive role in midfield.

In the first 60 minutes, our attacking game just didn't function. After going 2-0 down, we switched things around and I took a more attacking role. We stepped up the pressure and we got lucky at two set pieces. The adrenaline was surging, we tried to play offside against a diagonal ball, but one player lost the plot. I think we'd have won the match if it had gone to extra time.

But there's no point reflecting on what might have been. I think Argentina deserved to win the World Cup based on their performances throughout the tournament and especially thanks to Diego Maradona's unique skills. We were happy enough with the runners-up spot. If someone had told us before the tournament we were going to come second, we wouldn't have believed them. We knew we didn't really have that great a team. We also had a lot of injuries: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was never really fit throughout the tournament and Rudi Voller and Klaus Allofs were carrying knocks, so that was our entire forward line. That's why I think we really were satisfied with second place in what was our first major tournament under Franz Beckenbauer as coach.

Looking back over the years, is there one single FIFA World Cup match you'd single out as your best match?
I had a few good games, but the one that really stands out was our opener at the 1990 World Cup, when we laid the foundations for our winning campaign by beating Yugoslavia. We won 4-1 against a really strong Yugoslavia team who went on to the quarter-finals and only lost to Argentina on penalties. They were a tough team, and we beat them 4-1, with me getting two of the goals. It was my 75th cap and I think it was the best of the 150 matches I played for Germany over the years.

You scored the opening goal.
I scored twice. In the first half, I put us 1-0 up, and then in the second half, after the Yugoslavs had pulled it back to 2-1, I scored again to make it 3-1. It was a solo effort that took me half the length of the pitch. They were good goals but the most important thing for us was that we won that match clearly and convincingly. It helped to settle the dressing room. None of the players were unhappy, since everyone had their own role. There was the starting eleven and then the substitutes, and even the media left us in peace, as they saw they couldn't get to us. And of course the other teams probably showed us a bit more respect because of how well we'd played in that win. They must have thought to themselves: 'Germany are looking strong again. They were runners-up four years ago and here they are again, kicking off a big tournament with a victory like that.' That won us a lot of respect from our opponents.

How did you experience the 1990 FIFA World Cup, in terms of the mood and the entire tournament?
It was like playing at home for me of course. I'd played not just in Italy, but specifically in Milan, and when FIFA made the draw, we ended up playing our first five matches in Milan. It was an advantage for me and for the entire German team, as Jurgen Klinsmann and Andreas Brehme had also played there. We also had a bit of an advantage as the crowd were right behind us, not only the German fans but the Inter Milan fans too, since we were part of their team. There was always a fantastic atmosphere at the stadium.

Right from the start, we convincingly showed everyone we were determined to win the World Cup, not just in the first round but also in the last 16 against the Netherlands, which is always a special match. The Dutch had three guys playing for AC Milan and I think all the fans in the stadium were cheering for one team or the other. For the Italian fans, it wasn't Germany against the Netherlands but Inter versus AC Milan, while the Dutch and Germans in the crowd were obviously supporting their own countries.

No, those were simply fantastic matches in Milan in a tremendous atmosphere. The matches were good in themselves, not just because of our good results. Despite the average quality of the Final, I think we deserved to win the World Cup because we played well right through the tournament and progressed from round to round against good teams: the Dutch in the last 16, Czechoslovakia in the quarter-finals and an exciting match in Turin with a penalty shoot-out against England in the semi-finals. The Final was a re-run of 1986 against Argentina with a happier ending for the German team. Although our performance in the Final was hardly dazzling, the team that played the best football in the tournament as a whole ending up winning the Cup.

What was the key match that shaped the course of the tournament for you? Was it the game against Yugoslavia?
I think it was. The first match set us on the right track. Of course, we became even more confident after beating Holland. Back then, as always, the Dutch had a really strong team with a lot of very good individuals. And everyone knows about the rivalry between the Dutch and the Germans. Of course, matches like that really took it out of you, but they also built up confidence within the German team.

What are your memories of the Final in Rome?
The Final was like another home match, and not just because of Rudi Voller and Thomas Hassler, who were playing in Rome at the time. The Italians were supporting Germany, since Argentina had knocked Italy out in the semi-finals, and Diego Maradona wasn't exactly popular in Rome either. He played for Napoli, and if the Final had been in Naples, it would probably have been like a home match for Argentina.

The Final was in Rome though, and we were obviously happy we didn't have to play the host nation there. We knew Argentina were no longer the great team they had been four years earlier. They'd been a bit lucky along the way, with penalty shoot-outs and some poor results. They also got off to a bad start against Cameroon and they weren't looking as settled as before. In football, a lot of things happen that you can hardly believe when you look back on them. Yes, our winning goal was the result of a somewhat dubious penalty. But the Good Lord opted for justice and let the best team win.

Why didn't you take the penalty? After all, you were the captain.
In the first half, I was having some problems with my boots. The sole cracked and I had to play the second half with completely new boots which I'd never worn before. They were a completely new model. I always preferred well worn-in boots, but I didn't have a second pair with me. You don't think about things like that. Then the man from adidas came up to me and said: "This is the only pair we've got," so I said "OK" because all I wanted to do was get back out there and play.

So he gave me the boots, but I just didn't feel right in them. There's no law saying one individual has to take the penalties, and we had some outstanding penalty-takers in our team. Littbarski could have taken it, but I fancied Andi Brehme to do it. I'd shared a room with him during the World Cup and we'd talked a lot about certain things, just the two of us. Andi just knew he should be the one to take the penalty.

At what point during the Final did you start thinking you could win the FIFA World Cup?
We went into the game with our confidence high, but all the Argentine players set out to do was stop the flow, and break up our rhythm with niggling fouls. We just couldn't unfold like we did against Holland or England. Those were more open matches. Argentina's only tactic was to break up our game, and hope for a moment of genius from Diego Maradona. We all know you just can't be sure in football until the referee ends the match. You can always concede a goal right at the end. So we only believed it for certain when the referee blew for full time.

How did you feel when it was all over?
I don't think you can express it in words. It's a feeling of sheer joy. You just don't know what you're doing, where to run, who you were celebrating with. Team-mates, support staff, substitutes, some of the fans, they all gather round you. You sense lots of movement on the pitch, but you can't really make sense of it all. The realisation only comes in the days or even weeks that follow, when you review the whole thing again in your head. On the pitch, you're just delighted it's all over and you've made it. You're just looking forward to taking the Cup in your hands.

There's just one little anecdote. Carlos Bilardo, the Argentine coach at the time, told us he didn't lay hands on the Cup in 1986, when Argentina won. After the 1990 Final, he wanted to go over to you and ask whether they could take a picture of him and you with the Cup. But he decided not to, he didn't want to disturb your celebrations. What would you have done if he had come over to you?
I would have included him in our celebrations without hesitation. First, I respect everyone and second, there had been a similar scene in the semi-final against England. We won the match when Waddle blasted the decisive penalty over the bar, but I didn't join in the celebrations with the rest of the German team. I went over to console him instead. I could really appreciate what he must have been feeling at the time. I couldn't help him, but I felt really sorry for him. If Carlos Bilardo had come over to me, we would certainly have taken a picture with him . We were overcome by joy and would have been prepared to help anyone who wanted something from us. It'd a pity it didn't happen. Perhaps we can fit it in at some point in the future.

How did you feel in Rome, standing on the platform and being the first to take the Cup in your hands?
Rather overawed. I was moved. I didn't know how I was likely to react. It's a great honour to win the World Cup, not only for the team but also for the captain who's the first to be given the Cup, the Cup everyone wants to win. It was a unique sensation. I was afraid of doing something wrong, dropping the Cup. So many thoughts were running through my head, but when the President gave me the Trophy and I lifted it into the air, I was filled with inner satisfaction. The cheering, the fireworks, the atmosphere, it was just fantastic.

I've got something for you! Just hold this. What do you feel now? Does it bring back any memories?
(Holding the Trophy) If you could see I've got goosebumps, you'd know just how I feel because these are wonderful memories. It's just something you can hardly believe, this Trophy that everyone in the world wants to get their hands on.

You often hear that many people have touched the Cup, but very few have held it for real.
I was one of the 16 captains who lifted this Trophy, the first to receive the Cup for their team and for their country. It's just amazing.

Jurgen Kohler said it's a pity you can't drink out of it.
We had other drinking vessels in the dressing room. The World Cup is much more important than the German championship, the Italian championship or any other cup you can win.

It's something outstanding, something you don't get to experience that often, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Absolutely, I was lucky to experience it once. I think that everyone who loves football and enjoys playing dreams of winning this Cup. I was one of the few players, the very few great players who've had the honour.

The Cup still has a magic attraction today.
Yes, it has magnetism, you'd want to win it.

What do you think of the Cup in aesthetic terms?
I think it's a well-designed Cup which serves its purpose.