Germany captain Michael Ballack believes he has learned a lot from his first year in the English Premiership.

Despite regular criticism, the Chelsea midfielder is confident he has improved as a player in his first 12 months with the Blues, but still has the ambition to become an even better player.

"It was pretty much as I expected it to be: difficult," he told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"I went in search of a new challenge, and I found one. Highs and lows are just part of it, but that is good because that is how I can develop.

"I have not lost any of my strength, in fact, I have developed further while in England."