Player profile

The centre-back is looking to make up for the disappointment of missing the 2006 World Cup, when he was surprisingly overlooked by Jose Pekerman. He said afterwards “It's not only that I don't have any desire to play anymore - I don't have any desire to live”.

Then a holding midfielder, he was later converted by former Bayern Munich boss Ottmar Hitzfeld to a ball-playing defender, a role he now prefers.

He started at River Plate, winning two Clausura titles, before a switch to Bayern in 2003. He helped Bayern win the German Double this season but could not contain Inter’s Diego Milito in the Champions League final.

He broke his cheekbone in an accidental clash with Michael Ballack on international duty in March. He later complained that his former Bayern team-mate made no effort to contact him after the injury, saying Ballack “is a great footballer but as a man I would rather not comment”.

Bayern are known in Germany as ‘FC Hollywood’ and Demichelis has contributed his fair share of headlines, including a bizarre incident when he was forced to deny using Botox injections. Demichelis said in January that he still finds life in Germany hard, especially now he has no South American team-mates at Bayern.