Boos bemuse Ballack

Posted Thursday, October 15, 2009 by PA

Germany captain Michael Ballack says he was bemused by the fans who booed the national team at the end of their 1-1 draw with Finland.

Not even a late equaliser from Lukas Podolski was enough to placate the fans in Hamburg's HSV Arena as they showed their disappointment at the performance of Joachim Low's World Cup qualifiers.

"I don't understand the whistles," said the Chelsea midfielder. "Of course we did not play very well, but the team did not deserve this at the end of this good qualifying campaign."

He added: "We are all disappointed. I would have expected a bit more understanding."

Germany booked their ticket for South Africa with a 1-0 win against Russia in Moscow at the weekend, meaning Wednesday night's match was no longer influential on the final group classification.

And Germany's players were evidently more relaxed and relieved after the tense trip to Russia so that, like they did with a 0-0 draw against Wales at the end of their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign two years ago, they struggled to find the necessary motivation for the game.

Piotr Trochowski, who plays regularly at the HSV Arena for his club Hamburg, admitted the fans' frustration was counter-productive.

"It is a real shame," he told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper. "The whistles did not really help us. Anyway, we had already qualified for the World Cup a few days ago."