Monday, 7th April, 2014
Former Germany international Michael Ballack believes that his country have reached a new level in football and deserve to be one of the contenders for this year's World Cup.
The 37-year-old, who was part of his country's 2006 World Cup campaign, feels that along with Spain, the Germans have reached a level where they can expect something bigger.
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Their last taste of World Cup glory was way back in 1990 under the the captaincy of the legendary Lothar Matthaus, but in spite of some consistent performances since then, they have failed to get their hands on the much coveted honour.
The closest the German team came to the trophy was in 2002 when Rudi Voller's men lost 2-0 to this year's hosts Brazil in the final at the International Stadium, Yokohama in Japan.
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The former Chelsea player who was part of the squad then, feels that there is no reason why they can't do it this time around.
"Germany have a team that, in terms of the football they play, have made tremendous progress, and given their squad, they deserve to be among the favourites to win the tournament," Ballack told FIFA's official site
"Along with Spain, though, Germany are a team on another level from most others. We’ll have to wait and see if they can prove that again, but the talent is most definitely there.
"However, this time they also have to prove that in the games that really matter like semi-finals or finals – if they can make it that far – that they also have that little bit of luck that makes you a winner.
"I think the team can do that as they have outstanding players. I’m just as excited to see how the other contenders perform, but Germany certainly deserve to be counted among the favourites," Ballack added.
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