Here is an interview from Michael Ballack in ESPN Soccernet. He talks about his relationship with Jose Mourinho, his respect for Avram Grant and also about the champions league final.

On a manager’s role in Chelsea:

You don’t need too much influence from the coach when you have a dressing room as experienced as the one we have at Chelsea just now. When I was a young man learning my trade at Bayern Leverkusen, Christoph Daum was the coach and I learned so much from him. He would take you aside and talk to you when the time was right. I needed it at the time. At Chelsea, we have players who have all been in these pressure situations so many times now and we know what to do.

The job of the coach is merely to make a tactical change sometimes and to make sure we have the conditions we need to succeed and our coach can do that for us. Avram Grant is a nice man and I’m sure will be at Chelsea next season. We are in a Champions League final and pushed Manchester United very close at the top of the Premier League. There is no need to change the manager when a team are achieving things like this.

On Jose Mourinho & Avram Grant

Our manager [Grant] is a very different person to Jose Mourinho and he cannot change just to fit in with what people want. The fans loved Mourinho and they were very sad when he left. Obviously, the guy who follows was in a tough position. Mourinho brought me to Chelsea and I have a lot of admiration for him as a coach. Even though people always suspected there was a problem between us, I can say he was a good man to work with. The same is true with Avram Grant. You cannot compare the two because they are so different. Avram talks to the players in a much quieter manner and is very clear in his ideas. We all have respect for him, don’t worry about that.

I was injured at the start of the season and never had any problem when I was not in the Champions League squad. Everyone else seemed to panic when my name was not on the list, but it was never a problem for me. It was a tough time back then because I hate sitting on the sidelines, but all the hard work getting back to full fitness has paid off because the last six months have been my best at Chelsea.

On champions league final

We have the chance to finish the season with the ultimate success. We are faced a Champions League Final where there is no favourite. It’s a very exciting time for everyone at the club. I have been in this position before, but you cannot compare the Leverkusen team I reached the Final with in 2002 with Chelsea six years on. We have so much more experience at this club and we are ready to win the Champions League right now. At Leverkusen, it was amazing just to be in the Final, but this is different.

Manchester United are a top side, so we know this will be a massive test for us, but our form in the last few months is good enough to give us real belief going to Moscow. When you have as much confidence and the knowledge as we have in this Chelsea squad, you don’t fear any challenge.

My respect for Ballack has gone up a notch after this interview. I thought this was a nice candid interview from the German captain, who has started peaking for Chelsea in his second season at England. I hope Ballack scores that scorhing header before Sheva gets that winner, in the champions league final on Wednesday.