Michael Ballack Quotations

Right now, I am thinking only about the European Championship,

No. 1 against No. 2, that's a big match. We want to take another step to the title against Hamburg.

I am in serious negotiations with Chelsea. Nothing is signed yet, but I know what I want.

Bayern is a great club that offers all possibilities. I haven't made a decision yet, that's all, and I think it's understandable. It's an important decision in my life. I feel well in Munich. It's possible that I extend the contract. I never turned Bayern down.

If we manage to have success again in the last games nothing should happen. But it is true, the situation is dangerous. We are not playing badly, have scoring chances, but lose. That is an alarm signal which we can't ignore.

There is hardly anyone who played abroad that would advise against making this step,

I think it's great that he doesn't let himself get beaten down.

I think we played great a great match. We got countless scoring chances but weren't rewarded in the end, just punished,

I will make a decision before the World Cup. But my personal situation is not important. What is important is winning the league and cup double.

I said two weeks ago that nothing had been decided. The situation is the same today.

It is complete nonsense. There is nothing in it.

We've talked. You can assume that I had a good feeling during that conversation. I have a feeling for myself and I know what I want.

The 2-0 defeat by Slovakia saw the players come in for criticism and the young players need to learn how to handle it,

That we can't score is our biggest problem. Now we have to see we can get a good side together for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Yes, the 1996 final, that's one of the games I'd like to remember. It's not the same situation but I am sure the Czechs will be seeking revenge and it will be a tough match.

We know that we can go far only as we come out as a very tight unit,

We'll face a very good U.S. team that's played together a lot and that has a good run behind it.

We didn't play so badly but they won quite decisively.

We'll sit down together on Wednesday and we'll see what comes from the talks.

We have good memories of the stadium, one of the best in Germany.

There have been serious talks. Nothing has been signed yet but I know what I want.

We have to be very compact in the midfield.

When we played them at the 2002 World Cup, it was a game we pulled by the skin of our teeth, we were lucky. They've climbed up the rankings and no one has noticed. Sometimes they are underestimated by the public.

We will not give anything away in the title race.

We are capable of scoring three or four goals at home and have shown that already against Arsenal and Ajax.

We're disappointed at the draw. Nothing is lost though.

At the age of 29 this is my last chance to make a move abroad. Chelsea is a top club that is very strong in the league in England and play very, very good in international competition.

I spoke with Bayern and it was a good discussion. That is where things stand. I haven't spoken with anyone else, nor do I want to.

It was very tough at the start. The first goal broke the tension and we played well after that.

It was very warm out there and hard to keep up the tempo and the pressure. But we can be pleased with 3-0. I am happy with that.

There's at least nothing negative to report. But I still haven't made up my mind.

It is shame Kahn is not around. The youngsters listen to him and look up to him. That is what I think anyway.

It's a decisive game. Not just for us but also for the mood of the country. It's important going into the World Cup that we get a successful result.

It's a decisive game for our self confidence and for the atmosphere in the country. It's essential that we go into our World Cup preparations experiencing success and not having everyone questioning our abilities.

It's all or nothing, but that's what we've been expecting all along.

I told them that I would inform the club at the end of November where I would be playing next season.

It's not so important if I get into a shooting position. Our strength is the defense, that's where we have to win balls. We have to play our normal game, be very compact in midfield. That's our game and that's what we do best.

Foreign clubs can't talk to me before then. It's been a dream of mine to play abroad. But staying in Bayern is also possible. I don't want to put myself under any time pressure and I didn't want any deadlines.

Then there was the decision about transferring to Bayern,

It may be an advantage for us that we are hard to assess, that people think we can either advance far or go home after the first round. Both possibilities can happen.

It's hard to stay here when one has good possibilities,

It's a very important game for us. It's a decisive game for our confidence, for the mood in the team.

It's inexplicable how one can fall back so quickly. The mistakes we made were punished hard. Thankfully there will be another match in three weeks and then it's going to be a different German national team.

Nothing has been decided yet and nothing signed but I'm in serious talks with Chelsea.

This is like a game we have to win. The pressure has risen, which I think is not a bad thing.

I'm just concentrating on my football. I can cope with the situation very well. It's not putting any strain on me.

I have not signed anything and I was also not in London.

In European Championship games you don't usually create more than a few chances. You need somebody to convert at least one.

We have to be very aggressive, to go to the limit of what's legal.

But at [soccer] tournaments you tend to see novel, unanticipated trends coming through, with everyone watching each other like hawks and immediately copying anything new. What is really important for every team is to be aware of its own capabilities and find a style which plays to one's own strengths.

A leader on the pitch is someone who can turn a game in the right direction, he isn't someone who has a go at his colleagues after the match for everything they did wrong.

The crowd was unbelievable, they even supported us in our weaker phases. With such great fans behind us we are all looking forward to this World Cup.

The crowd naturally was frustrated when it was 0-0. They stood like a wall back there. But we want to be German champions and we took a step toward that today.