A Germany team should not be afraid going into a tournament. History shows that we can raise the level of our game when it matters.

I would never have thought I was capable of sitting on the bench as the number two man. And it showed me that you can really achieve everything in life, even the unthinkable, as long as you're willing to work on yourself a little bit.

We are Bayern Munich and English teams always have trouble as soon as they leave the island.

After a decade in a club it's quite normal and necessary that you seek and take a new challenge.

The realization that you're not always standing down there on the field merely to win, to be successful, was very liberating. One can be successful by helping the team, the other players. All of a sudden I felt the kind of empathy for people that I hadn't felt before.

Messi is undoubtedly a gifted footballer, like Maradona and Pele, and he's playing for the best club side in the world at the moment. He's successful and he's winning trophies, so it's only logical that he'll be voted the best player in the world.

It looked pretty wild, but I was actually in control of myself. I've never really injured anyone throughout my career.