My first goal was to become a professional footballer.

Always being champion, always being at the top every three days, playing great football - it's not that easy.

I have always enjoyed thinking about playing patterns and I will undoubtedly continue to do so in front of the TV but to become a coach, to be thorough in football at all times, to prepare matches and training... I cannot imagine that I would find pleasure there and pleasure is essential in football.

I had a very interesting and exciting life as a footballer, for which I am grateful.

Both football and business are part of my life.

I've always said that there will never be an area that I know better than football.

Anyone who knows me knows that I stick with my decisions.

Bayern Munich is an attractive club because it has been successful for many decades.

Pep is a super coach! He is excellent. He is the best at analysing an opponent and the concept of a game. I don't know what impact he had on German football, but he left a mark on all of us at Bayern because of how he analysed and educated the players in each position and the way he taught us to play.

I spend too much time sitting in an office. So I need to play sports on a regular basis, that's why I play golf and tennis.

We know South Americans are impulsive and temperamental and cannot lose.

It is something special when you play a final at home in your own stadium.

Scoring first changes everything. It makes everything easier for us.

You only miss many chances when you create many chances.

Was Effenberg a leader because he projected presence or because he had a presence? There is a difference.

Why was Effenberg a leader, because he was outspoken? Or because he had a certain presence on the pitch? When that's the criteria, OK, then maybe I have a different definition of what a leader is.

What is a Fuhrungsspieler? I don't like the term. For me there is not a clear definition of the term.

Things can happen very quickly in football.

Anybody who has played with Mesut will tell you how intelligent he is as a player. His vision is probably the best I have ever seen and that is why it is so important to have the right striker ahead of him.

Germans have a rich history of playing well in the World Cup.

When I think back to the 2006 World Cup on home soil, we came close but nobody really expected us to get very far. We simply lost to a better team and Italy went on to win it.

We can never achieve perfect football at Bayern because the game is always changing. There are always new influences and different styles.

I'm from Munich. I was born here in this town.

It doesn't matter if you have the best individual players, as you need to have the best team unit.