A biography for Michael Ballackhasn’t been written yet.
“Sometimes you can lose games unluckily or the other team is better than you and has a great day as well. That can happen in football.”
“The main reason to come to England and Chelsea was to play with a great team. Money and the chance to live in a city like London are additional factors.”
“It is really difficult, after Jose Mourinho, to work at Chelsea. It could cause a problem for any manager because Mourinho had such a relationship with the players and the fans.”
“I had a great career. But not to win a big international title is also part of my career.”
“Chelsea is an ambitious club and it will always be possible that a coach and the players are competitive at the highest level.”
“Everybody has to play for their team and accept his role, even if you are in a defensive position sometimes. That is the key if you want to have success.”
“Players sometimes don't want to have this heavy weight on their shoulders to carry the team or to get asked in certain situations to have that responsibility.”
“I would have loved to have had a farewell match, and would have wanted the DFB to make that offer. But certain people did not plan that for me. I have to accept that.”
“You love what you do but it's still a job and you are limited in the time to earn money and you think about it if someone makes you a crazy offer.”
“A team can have quality but it's also about personality and how they can grow.”
“Germany is a nation which must always win.”
“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 can imagine finishing my career at Chelsea.”
“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.”
“I think that's the philosophy of all top teams - to educate young, top players and to give them the possibility to play.”
“At Bayern you need other characteristics to assert yourself. Just being good is not enough there.”
“I wanted to go outside of Germany and I saw English football as a big, big challenge.”
“I think if you play for Chelsea you have to deal with the pressure, everybody knows the expectations.”
“Winning the league is one thing but for me it was always the dream to win the Champions League.”
“When you're 29 and you've already got family, it's important that they feel comfortable.”