Ballack loves his new role

Chelsea and Germany international midfielder Michael Ballack is loving life in his new role among world-class superstars at the club this season, and hopes to add the UEFA Champions League to his array of medals.

"Playing for Chelsea I have to be more ruthless than in the German national team where I've managed to earn myself a different status over the years," Ballack said.

"But it also means that I'm expected to make decisions on the pitch - it's different at Chelsea.

"We have six captains from national teams on our side - John Terry for England, Didier Drogba for the Ivory Coast, Andrei Shevchenko for the Ukraine, Petr Cech for the Czech Republic, Claudio Pizarro for Peru and me for Germany, as well as quite a few top international players.

"But I wanted to play with all these stars - come hell or high water. Just to be able to prove that I could meet the challenge was well worth the battle for me.

"And now I can say, whatever happens, I've accomplished something. At the same time, I was never worried that I wouldn't succeed."