Once again, Joshua Kimmich found himself in the bowels of a World Cup stadium, expected to explain the inexplicable.
For the German captain, his third World Cup ended in another disaster when his side was dealt a last-32 defeat by Paraguay - and yet, Kimmich appeared more composed compared to four years ago in Qatar.
Back then, Germany failed to reach the knock-out stage for the second time in the row, leaving Kimmich to speculate that he might fall into a "mental hole" due to the "worst day" of his career.
This time around, Kimmich, who played most of the World Cup as right back despite being a midfield general for Bayern Munich, also did not shy away from an honest assessment - but delivered it with mature, steadfast composure.
"I’ll always have the power to give it another go. The one thing I'll never do is give up!" Kimmich said.
Kimmich apologizes to Germans
Kimmich, who converted his penalty but was unable to to prevent the 4-3 shoot-out defeat against the underdogs from South America, did not hold back in his post-match analysis, diving into the emotional upheaval while also delivering a ruthless analysis.
"It is difficult to put into words what is going on inside me right now. It is clear that we are out early again because we could not beat a weaker opponent," Kimmich opined.
"It especially comes at a time when it would, I think, do us a lot of good in Germany if we had something to be proud of. Unfortunately the national team is not that right now. We all bear responsibility for that and we also have to take responsibility for it.
"As a child, whenever you watched the national team, tournaments always involved semi-finals, finals and world champions. They were always huge successes. Cheering them on really left a lasting impression on you," Kimmich said.
Unfortunately, "we haven’t managed to spark any enthusiasm or put a team on the pitch that people can identify with," the captain added, apologizing to the nation.
Kimmich, speaking in a steady voice, said as captain, he "felt responsibility" for the defeat.
"All of us who were on the pitch should feel that, rather than blaming someone else. We messed it up."
Don't blame the referee
Kimmich did not make excuses after the elimination, refusing to decry Jonathan Tah's disallowed goal in extra-time that would have put Germany 2-1 up, nor a streak of bad luck in the shoot-out.
"We should have the ambition – and the quality – to beat opponents like Paraguay. Nor should anyone even think of blaming the referee or the penalty shoot-out. If you can't manage to beat an opponent like that in 120 minutes, you can’t rely on luck."
