Quotes from Michael Ballack

A lot of things have to come together to win a World Cup.

Titles are sometimes overrated.

I've always reflected on the game.

It was a privilege to work with world-class coaches and fantastic players.

Chelsea have given me the opportunity to play in a top team with top players, so I will try to be as successful as possible here.

I did not win anything at Leverkusen so to win six titles in four years with Bayern shows the move was worthwhile.

A player can't request on what position he wants to play, and it is the same with the captaincy. One should respect this, there are hierarchies.

You need a certain amount of inner aggression, a bit of anger about you and the others in order to give your maximum.

We should integrate the quality of ex-players at the highest level more in football, especially in the youth sector. That is absolutely crucial for me.

In the summer, during the holidays, there would be 5,000 people each day at training with Bayern Munich and that makes it hard to concentrate.

In 2006 I ended up at Chelsea on a free transfer, so Bayern did not see a euro for me.

Italian teams are difficult to beat even if they play away.

As German players we have something special inside us, because of our football history. We know we have to win, it is what is expected, so we have a good focus.

You don't step back and have less motivation when you get older, the opposite is true. You become more focused, more professional in terms of things like looking after your body and more determined because you can see all the younger players coming up, looking for your place.

I hope that people will remember me as a special footballer.

It's good for your career as a sportsman if you watch other professional sports - how they're behaving and how they react in difficult situations.

I am always open to new ideas, but you can't always be right.

Very good players have no problem moving to a different country.

Playing for Chelsea I have to be more ruthless than in the German team, where I have managed to earn myself a different status over the years.

That's what counts for you as a player if you are on a high salary and you are earning, let's say, enough money, which you normally can't spend in your lifetime. It's something you should really think about - where you play, what level you play, the audience.

In football, if you have a big break after a disappointment you can stew on things, and that hurts you.

I've had a few injuries and if you can't carry on, that's always a bad sign. Sometimes it's bruising or sometimes it's a nerve that stops you.

When you a buy a player like Ozil, you know his strengths and Arsene Wenger knows, I think, where he is at his best.

When evaluating the players, too little emphasis is placed on the individual. Reaction times are measured, stress situations are simulated, sleep behaviour is analysed, eating behaviour, how the body reacts - everything is available. The control over the players has got out of hand. They are judged on this data, albeit subjectively. That's madness.