Lothar Matthaus says Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack was wrong to question Germany coach Joachim Loew's treatment of Thorsten Frings.
He said: "Loew is perfectly right. The players should let their performances do the talking, not their mouths.
"Certainly we all tried what we could to cement our places in the past, but whenever we had something to say, we did so with Franz Beckenbauer, or whoever, face to face or on the telephone, but not in public.
"Loew has done nothing wrong. Now he and Ballack must try to build up trust again.
"It won't be easy - it is like a marriage when you discover that your partner has been seeing somebody else.
"But you need such players if you want to be successful."