German captain Michael Ballack has warned his team mates not to take the upcoming European Championships as a walk in the park, or rely too heavily on their reputation gained from the World Cup.

The Chelsea midfielder, who is back to his best after a troublesome period of injury earlier in the season, believes the national squad are in a good position, but cannot afford to take this summer’s tournament lightly.

“We are on the right path, but now we have to reproduce the top performances we were last year” Ballack said.

“This is a new tournament, which is probably the toughest there is. Reputations won at the World Cup count for nothing now” he added.

Germany take on co-hosts Switzerland on Wednesday looking for a win and a good performance in what is their last friendly before trainer Joachim Löw names his final squad for the summer’s tournament.

“We need to play well against a very strong opponent” Ballack explained.

“They’ll have home advantage and will be a tougher prospect than Austria.”

Above all the German captain wants to finally put to bed all the euphoria of the 2006 World Cup.

“The back slapping after the third-place success has to be forgotten. That time has passed. You have to ask yourself who actually won the 2006 World Cup? It is not enough to just say: “I was there at the World Cup when we were third.”