We need to hit Chelsea with our own weapons. They play very aggressively and we must be like that from the start and match them in the physical battles.

This match is about sport and I separate that completely from politics.

We are aiming high in the Champions League and you will see a different team on Tuesday,

I think it’s important for the national team for me to be there, despite my disappointment.

It was not our day, not our match and somehow we were due for a loss. Now the weight of the winning streak is off our shoulders.

We must quickly forget about that game,

I will consider my future with the national team over the next few weeks and announce my decision at an appropriate date.

I was shocked to see how little resistance Stuttgart offered although they wanted to get into the Champions League,

We were not 100 percent against Hamburg but our (unbeaten domestic) run is over and maybe that will ease the pressure a bit.

It can’t come down to a question of personal vanity.

We played well, but we had a little bit of luck today. We can’t take our lead over Bremen too seriously — these things change fast in football.

Complaining and arguing will not help. We are fully concentrating on the game against the Czechs.

To think that this might be to our advantage would be the dumbest things to do, … It may be a bluff, anyway.

We knew before the tournament that this would be like a final for us, that it would be a tough group and that it wouldn’t be a cakewalk. But everything is in our hands and...

I have exactly the same feeling (as before the 2002 finals),

Other members of the team and players from different clubs called me after the announcement and told me ‘you have to be there, it’s important for the team’.

But in a way I’m glad that we can put the wining run out of our minds and get back to our normal routine.

We are a really good group now, we were unlucky not to score against Latvia and we’ll get luck on our side too,

There is no reason to change this system. I don’t think we’ll abandon it. For us the most important thing is to be compact in the back. That’s the kind of game we have to...

They were very close to the upset, but then we struck back.

It is astonishing how disrespectful it is to bring this up again. The rules don’t seem to have any meaning for him.

I’ve helped bring him home a few titles. There is no reason to get nervous. It’s a long season, these things are a matter of patience.

It was a great Cup tie. Both sides played very well. They had nothing to lose and they gave it everything.

With this offer from the Far East I most likely would have had to renounce the World Cup. This was too high a price to pay.

We made the mistake of rushing forward. We should have gone for the draw – one point would have been golden.

Obviously, Germany and the Czech Republic are favorites, to go through from this group, there’s no question about that.

Why do we always win 1-0? It is because the other teams build up barricades for us,

We can achieve something unique in German soccer and that’s giving us an extra push.

If we perform as a unit and if every single player gives it his very best, everything can happen.

It was so incredibly lucrative that I really had to think about it for a long time.

You can see this team wants great things. I’m only be satisfied if we can hold up all four cups.

I’ll have to do everything I can to make sure that I can take the pitch pain-free.

We have a slight lead over Bremen now, but at this level everything can change in an instant.

If I am needed at the World Cup, I am there.

Perhaps we will still be using this policy for the World Cup finals. That would be a new concept.

I have a contract until 2006 which I would like to fulfil but certain circumstances occur again and again and we have reached a solution (with Bayern),

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.

Big matches on the big stage are often decided at the back.

Bremen are really playing well at the moment, despite the defeat to Lyon, … They are making a very strong impression on me and we are really going to have to be at our best...

[It ended Munich’s run of 15 consecutive victories, which began last season.] Not our day, … But now we can play without having the winning streak on our shoulders.

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

I think that was the most entertaining match for the fans this season.

Maybe this defeat will make us aggressive and lead us to such a reaction that we can produce a great game in Milan.

This is a very difficult time. That it was tough after the experience Wednesday is understandable. We were missing a little luck, but that’s fitting these days.

We have a small lead over Werder Bremen but things can change quickly. We were lucky in this game.

If I play, I try to concentrate on producing my best.

I know I am playing tomorrow. After that we’ll see. The coach will decide something, I am sure.

Perhaps this defeat will make us more aggressive and we will react by turning in a fantastic display in Milan.

We are not saying we are going to run them into the ground, but we have to get our credit back. You can notice the tension in the team. It’s good to have some pressure...

There is no consolation,