As a self-employed person, the idea of a break is completely foreign to me. If I completely switch off for any period of time, I know I'm going to pay for it several times over. For me, it's a lot better and easier to stay in touch and know what's going on seven days a week than to switch off.
One of my strengths is focusing on football, and even in the summer, I try not to switch off too much.
At United, they teach me about things off the pitch as well, how to deal with stuff with your family and how to be a man. That part is very important, not just the football side but off the pitch as well.
I believe that I am a different person off the pitch than I am on it. On the pitch, I am a bit louder, and off the pitch, I am quieter.
After the game, I'm a completely different person. I drink some beers with friends and try to get my mind completely off football.
One of the great things about cricket, and certainly something that I found helpful, was that as soon as you step over the boundary rope you can switch off everything that is happening off the field and focus solely on what is happening out on the pitch.
On the pitch, I will always be like that. That's my character, and I will always compete and compete - always. I'm a different guy off the pitch, as you can see, but on the pitch, I will not change.
I've always been shy; it's just that I transform on the pitch. I'm a different person. Off the pitch, I'm another person. That's how it has to be.
For me it's pretty simple to diagnose concussion on a football pitch. If there's any doubt about it, then in my eyes, they should take the player off the pitch.
From morning when I wake up until I go to sleep, I am working. I go to bed and I want to switch off, but the brain doesn't switch off.
Weirdly, me and Sarri got along off the pitch, but on the pitch it was totally different.
When I was playing Dracula I had to switch off from the reality and fall into this fantasy world. Otherwise I just couldn't cope with what I was doing. It's about switching off. It is about trying to flick a switch, which you have to do.
People get confused with athletes, especially ultimate competitors. They think they are the same on and off the field. Once you see me on the field, I am a different person. I have a switch I can flip on and off.
When we go out to train, we work hard, but when we're back in the hotel, you want to chill out. People want to switch off from football because you spend so much time doing it. For me, switching off means playing jokes.
I have celebrated major successes with Germany on the pitch, but not only that, I have experienced so much off the pitch too, visiting countries and cities all over the world.
You have a personality inside the pitch and off the pitch and in the changing room, too. The most important thing is to be respected by your teammates, and that's the case at Tottenham.