No Premier League champions of recent vintages have endured such an indifferent warm-up to the new season

To any Italian football man, there is nothing quite so beautiful as the result and so when Carlo Ancelotti called upon his Chelsea players to give a “reaction” to their defeat in Hamburg last Wednesday, it was quite clear what his priority here at Wembley would be.

Pre-season victories might lack the hard currency of Premier League points but there can be no doubting their capacity to pep spirits ahead of the real business. There was a rousing finale in this surprisingly entertaining Community Shield for Ancelotti’s team, sparked by the substitute Danny Sturridge’s direct running and willingness to have a go, but when the dust had settled, the defending champions were forced to digest a fourth successive defeat.

Before Hamburg, it had been Eintracht Frankfurt and before that it was Ajax. Their only pre-season win came at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace and that is

• Chelsea midfielder insists Germany career is not over
• Will miss World Cup after suffering FA Cup final injury

Germany captain Michael Ballack insists his international career is not over, despite being forced to miss the World Cup due to injury.

Ballack picked up an ankle injury in the FA Cup final after being fouled by Portsmouth’s Kevin-Prince Boateng and has been told he will not be able to play again for at least two months.

Ballack told Germany’s Bild newspaper: “I won’t let my international career come to an end because of a foul like this. I never said that I would retire after the World Cup. I want to continue playing at the highest level and I will consider things in calm over the next few weeks.”

Ballack’s future for Chelsea should also be resolved in the next few weeks and he is optimistic that a new deal will be reached with the Premier League club.

“Chelsea are absolutely my first option. We are in contact with the club. The coach first of all wants to discuss things internally and then he will approach the players in a week.”

But first, Ballack must somehow come to terms with the fact he will miss what would probably be his last chance to become world champion.

“I gave everything for the goal of South Africa and now the World Cup has been taken away from me in a brutal way. It is bitter to be hacked down in such a way in the last game of the season. It hurts.”

While Ballack considers his own future, the national team coach Joachim Low is pondering not only who should take Ballack’s place in his team, but also who should wear the captain’s armband.

Ballack, who has flown to Germany’s training camp in Sicily “to be part of the family” and “to help me come to terms with this blow quicker”, had a few words of advice for the coach.

“Schweini [Bastian Schweinsteiger] has got to do it now and take on more responsibility. He is self-confident and has the class. I don’t see anybody else who shows such a presence and sets the tone like him.

“As for the captain, I don’t want to add to the speculation – it is hard enough for the coach. There’s [Philipp] Lahm, Schweini and [Miroslav] Klose.

“Miro has had an unfortunate season, but he has a high standing in the national team. His experience is important. And, being captain could give him a boost.”

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