#AskRudiger: The complete interview

From his footballing idols growing up to his favourite sites to visit in Rome and even his unlikely friendship with a former friendship, the Germany international offered some enlightening answers on a variety of topics.

Watch - or read - the full interview below, and make sure you are following Roma's official accounts on Facebook and Twitter for details on all future live events!

Are you ready to go Antonio? Are you ready for this?

Antonio: “Of course I’m ready!”

The first question comes from Diletta. She says, “Antonio, when you were young, did you look up to any defenders in particular?”

“No, I didn’t look up to any kind of defender because when I was really young, I was a striker and I was looking up to Thierry Henry from Arsenal.”

Did you play like Thierry Henry, though?

“Quasi [almost]. No, Thierry Henry is a big legend. He is a great striker, and I wish I could play like him when I was young. But I wasn’t really that bad, honestly.”

When you did become a defender, were there any defenders you watched particularly to liken your game to?

“Of course. That was at the time where [Paolo] Maldini and [Alessandro] Nesta were very good, also [Paolo] Cannavaro. Those kind of players were the ones I liked when I turned to a defender.”

Lobbie asks “What do you consider to be the toughest match of your career so far?”

“Really honestly, it’s difficult to say, but a really tough match was when we played with the national team against Spain. That was a tough match because like everyone knows, the Spanish guys really know how to play football. With those small players like Isco and [David] Silva, it’s very difficult to play against those guys.

"But there are a lot of matches that were difficult. Also last season against Barcelona, there are really many games that were very difficult.”

What about this season for Roma? Which game is the one game that stands out in particular as a difficult one for you?

“This season for me it was AC Milan, when we won at home 1-0. It was a very difficult game.”

That was a real battle. Michael asks, “What’s the best thing you’ve eaten here in Italy?”

“Honestly, I think that in Italy almost everything is good, but I really like spaghetti carbonara, but without bacon because I don’t eat pork.”

See, my follow-up question was going to be “pasta or pizza?” … but now I can guess pasta.

“Pasta, yes.”

Dean Hallow says, “Hey Toni, I’ve seen that you listen to a lot of music. You know all of the lyrics and seem to enjoy singing.” I think anyone that follows you on Instagram knows that. “Have you ever thought of becoming a singer?”

“I can never become a singer because my voice is very, very bad honestly. Most of the songs I know the lyrics, but you can also hear [in those videos] that my voice is not made for singing.”

Ester in a similar vein asks, “I noticed you like music and dancing. What’s your favorite song right now?”

“Right now, it’s an African actor/singer. His name is Wizkid and the song is “ Soweto Baby.” It has rhythm, and like you all see, I like to move a bit.”

Is that one you put on in the car on the way to training?

“Yes, of course.”

On the dancing thing, is it fair to say you’re the best dancer in the Roma dressing room? I’ve seen Paredes and the guys maybe try and challenge you a bit, but…

“No one can challenge me. In that case, no.”

Dancing, number one: Rudiger. It’s decided.

“Of course, one hundred percent.”

Frank asks, “What were the first Italian words you learned?”

“Should I be very honest?”

It depends on how honest because we are live. Keep it reasonably, cleanly honest.

“’Va…’ and everyone knows the rest. Vaffa…”

What about the second phrase you learned, then? Let’s ignore “Ciao” and the basics.

“It’s a typical thing Roman people say: ‘bella ci.’”

Christian and Aidan ask, “Do you like playing video games? If yes, what’s your favorite?”

“Honestly, I love to play Pro Evolution Soccer 17 at the moment. And that’s the only thing I play because honestly I don’t like Call of Duty or something with shooting. It’s not my thing. I love Pro Evolution Soccer because when I was young I was playing Pro Evolution Soccer, so I will never change.”

Always Pro Evo, not FIFA?

“Not FIFA.”

Do you play as Roma? Do you play with Rudiger in the team or do you stay away from that?

“Never play as yourself. I play with different teams. Honestly I don’t play with Roma.”

What do you think of your player rating on Pro Evo? Are you happy with it or do you think it could be nudged up a little bit?

“It’s good, I’m happy.”

Vincenzo asks, “How come you went on holiday to Sierra Leone over Christmas?”

“First of all, as everyone sees, I’m not the typical German - because I’m not white. My name is maybe very German, and there’s also a bit of Italian in my name with Antonio, but my background is Sierra Leone. That’s why I go to visit there: because it’s the home country of my parents.”

Do you visit quite a lot, like every year?

“It depends on if I have time. Last summer, there was a lot to do: I had a lot of appointments with the national team, then my injury and everything. This time I had time. We just had seven or six days off, and I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to do it. I’m going to go there to visit.’”

What was the reception like? I think you shared some sort of images.

“Of course because also it’s Christmas time. I just try to show some love, some appreciation and try to help other people.”

Candie asks, “Looking at this photo, I want to ask you what kind of relationship you had with Mario Rui?” What’s the story? What’s the relationship with Mario Rui?

“Our relationship started last season when he played at Empoli, when he got the red card against me because he was not so strong. He kicked me in my stomach and then he got sent off. And then six months later, he is a player of Roma.

"At first, it was a little bit like we had distance between us. Then, I got injured and he also got injured so we had kind of the same feeling and the same problems, so we started to speak with each other. And then I noticed that the guy doesn’t have a driver’s licence, so now at the moment I’m his taxi driver. He’s a good guy, really. We like each other and I think we have a very, very good relationship.”

So when he turned up at Roma, you were a bit wary? You know, ‘I’m not sure about this guy.’

“Of course, because on the pitch he kicked me. But at the end of the day, on the pitch and off the pitch is two different things. But now, I really love him and sometimes I have to show him that I’m still stronger than him!”

Even now he’s got to know that he’s been in the gym but you’re still number one. So Yossie, as a follow-up question asks, “Which of your teammates do you get on best with?” You seem to get on pretty well with most of them?

“Honestly, I think that in a team there’s no one who’s really bad with anyone. We all understand each other very good. We have to be honest. I’m very good with Edin Dzeko because we speak the same language, German. Also with Kevin Strootman and Mario Rui.”

Luca asks “What’s your favorite thing about Rome? About living in Rome and being in Rome?”

“It’s easy to say. Honestly, for me, I have to say the people here are very nice and they are very warm. Because in Germany, not only the weather is cold, but also most of the people are very cold. There are many things I like in Rome. Of course, I love food, so I’m in the right place. The weather is incredible, although now at night it’s a bit cold, but that’s OK.”

Have you had the chance to visit the Colosseum or many of those sites like that?

“Of course. Like I said, you have heard in many interviews that I love to go to the zoo.”

I was hearing about this earlier, but is it recommended to visit the zoo? I’m always skeptical, like, ‘What’s at the zoo’?

“I love lions, so I like to watch them because I think it’s an incredible animal. It’s a very powerful animal.”

We’ve got a couple of questions coming through live, so we’ll put those to you. Ahmed asks, “Will you be watching Mohamed Salah in the African Cup of Nations?”

“Of course. My background is African, so of course I will watch the African Cup. Because he’s the one I know very good, I hope he will win the cup, although we will miss him for a long time.”

It’s disappointing to be without him for a little while, but this is football. Vito asks, “How hard was it to recover from your injury?”

“Like I always said, it was a very tough time for me. Before my injury, I was in very good shape and I had to play my first big competition on the national stage. To come back after a knee injury like that is always hard, it can never be easy. But now I’m back and I’m happy.”

Do you think that at the end of it all, you came through stronger? I was speaking to some of the medical guys and they said that after all of the gym work you’ve done to get back on the pitch, you’re quite a lot stronger: a more muscular, different, bigger athlete in a lot of ways.

“Yes, that’s also part of the rehab. You need to put on weight, and that’s what I did. You have to eat a lot and you have to train hard, and now I feel very good honestly.”

Matteo says, “Today it’s raining a lot in Rome,” which it is, but “do you like the Roma weather in general?”

“Of course I like it. If it’s raining, you have to stay at home. It’s easy.”

One final question we had: what differences have you noticed between Italian football, the way you prepare and approach it, and German football? Anything major?

“Before, when I played in Germany, I thought the Italian league was nothing special. I think a lot of people think like that because I think the Serie A falls a bit down between the rankings of Germany and England because the English and German game is more open: it’s up-and-down and more intense. But when I played my first year here, I said that the Italian league is not easy, because going to play at places like Chievo is not easy. First of all, the pitch is not the best. But also, the teams are tactically very good.

“Honestly, in Germany, the teams are not so good at tactics. They are more physical and they run more. Also now in Italy the teams run a lot. It’s not like they don’t run, but I think the game in Italy is a bit dirtier than in Germany.”

But do you think that because of all that, you’ve learned a lot about the tactical side of the game? It’s a huge learning experience.

“Of course, that’s why I came here to Italy: to learn. I think for defenders that it is the best place.”

That’s where we’ll wrap it up this time. Thanks for following along – and stayed tune for future live events!