It was a privilege to work with world-class coaches and fantastic players.

At 36 years old I can look back on a long and wonderful time in professional football, which I could never have dreamed of as a child.

I've learned to adapt to the pace of the English game and a different style of football in the Premier League.

I wanted to go outside of Germany and I saw English football as a big, big challenge.

I didn't join Chelsea to lose things. I came because the Premier League is the strongest in the world and I am playing for one of the strongest teams.

It's always disappointing to lose a final.

Football has never been about young or old players - it is about good or bad players. If you're 13 or 31 and good enough, you're not too young or old.

Sure, Mourinho was obviously crucial for my move to Chelsea.

Players sometimes don't want to have this heavy weight on their shoulders to carry the team or to get asked in certain situations to have that responsibility.

Chelsea is an ambitious club and it will always be possible that a coach and the players are competitive at the highest level.

Of course, you want to win something and be as successful as possible as an individual player. It is normal to look around and think, 'With what club can I achieve that with?'

The first league game always feels different from the pre-season friendlies.

I've had a few injuries and if you can't carry on, that's always a bad sign. Sometimes it's bruising or sometimes it's a nerve that stops you.

When you're young it's football, football, football. Then you get a family, kids come into things and you find you have a broader view of life. You get your inspiration from many different places.

You don't step back and have less motivation when you get older, the opposite is true. You become more focused, more professional in terms of things like looking after your body and more determined because you can see all the younger players coming up, looking for your place.

With a coach like Mourinho, it's probably easier for a club to get top stars.

As soon as I knew I was leaving Chelsea, our first thought was to return to Germany.

I had a lot of emotional days at Chelsea, some that did not really end well, especially in the Champions League.

I had a great career. But not to win a big international title is also part of my career.

When you are not winning, the coach is more or less the weakest person in the team who can be replaced.

Ancelotti showed in the past, that he can work with different teams and different players.

I think that's the philosophy of all top teams - to educate young, top players and to give them the possibility to play.

In 2006 I ended up at Chelsea on a free transfer, so Bayern did not see a euro for me.

Sometimes you can lose games unluckily or the other team is better than you and has a great day as well. That can happen in football.