Ballack explains final heartache

The Bayern Munich man picked up a yellow card against South Korea for a late tackle in the 73rd minute and knew he would have to sit out the biggest game of his football life.

Ballack scored the winning goal two minutes later to send his nation through but could not hide his disappointment.

"Of course it is bitter that I can't be there in the final," said the midfield king-pin.

"That was my first thought after the yellow card. My dream of a World Cup final is over. That is the most disappointing thing one can experience as a footballer.

"We can be proud of ourselves. We were always convinced by our qualities even when we were realistic to know that we were not amongst the World Cup favourites.

"We have been criticised a lot for our style of play but we played good football (against South Korea)."

After a tremendous season at Bayer Leverkusen finished without any silverware Ballack must now watch his team-mates try to defeat either Brazil or Turkey to lift football's ultimate prize.