English wilt under weight of history: Ballack

German footballers can cope with the successes of their predecessors better than their English counterparts claimed former German captain Michael Ballack in his column in The Times newspaper on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old – who had to miss the World Cup finals because of an ankle injury sustained in the FA Cup final with Chelsea – said that both countries came into every finals of a tournament with huge expectations from their supporters.

However, while the Germans – three-time winners of the World Cup – appeared to be buoyed by them, the English appeared to take fright as yet again they set out to emulate the England side who won the country’s one and only World Cup in 1966.

This was borne out by their respective opening matches where a young vibrant German side thrashed Australia 4-0 and a disappointing England fought out a 1-1 draw with the United States.

“German teams approach every competition expecting to do well,” wrote Ballack, whose fortunes nosedived from the FA Cup injury after which he was released on a free transfer by Chelsea.

“Expectation can create pressure, but we’re inspired by our history, whereas I’ve sensed that England are intimidated by their past.”

Ballack believes that Germany do not match England individually but as a team they are a better unit.

“I’m not 100 percent sure, but from speaking to team-mates at Chelsea and watching their games, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s different with England,” wrote Ballack, who has attracted interest from several German clubs.

“Their history weighs them down. Individually, England have better players, but I’d rather be in the German team.

“We’re one of the fittest sides in the tournament, play good football and have an outstanding mentality, so have an opportunity to achieve something great.

“We’re a big country, with a big history, and have to go for it.”

Ballack said that he had been especially impressed by Germany’s 21-year-old playmaker Mesut Ozil, who he said looked to have filled a gap that the Germans had been missing in successive sides.

“In Mesut Ozil we have the No10 we have been missing for many years and he is showing the world how talented he is,” he wrote.