After the 2006 World Cup, I knew that you don't always need success, success, success on the pitch.

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

I was so obsessed with football that you could say I was taking the goal home with me at night. And then one day the system fell apart.

It took me a long time to realize that football isn't martyrdom, but a game that's enjoyable, and one in which getting better at it is supposed to be fun. Perhaps it would have been better if I had understood this as a young man.

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 am firmly convinced that you shouldn't necessarily emphasize hedonism, especially at the beginning of a career, but should instead focus entirely on performance.

I have a feeling we are going to be world champions, I can't really explain why. Brazil are probably the best team in the world in terms of individual players. But the team with the most gifted players do not always win.