Lothar Matthaus, the former Germany captain, has sided with current coach Joachim Low in his dispute with Michael Ballack.

Ballack, the Chelsea midfielder, had criticised Low in a interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung last week and although he has since made a public apology, Low is demanding he travels to Germany to discuss his remarks in person.

Ballack accused Low of treating the older players in his squad, including team-mate and close friend Torsten Frings, with a lack of respect. While admitting the pair are important to Germany's success, Matthaus claims that "any player can be replaced".

"Low is perfectly right," Matthaus said. "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.

"Low 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."