Michael Ballack was surprised to see Germany coach Joachim Low keep his job following Die Mannschaft's World Cup debacle.

Germany's defence of the trophy they won in Brazil four years ago ended with a whimper, with Low overseeing the nation's first opening-round exit since 1938.

However, the German Football Association (DFB) opted to stick with Low, a decision that caught former captain Ballack – who won 98 caps for his country – off guard.

"I was surprised as well as many other people that he kept his job," Ballack told Deutsche Welle. 

"For a long time he worked with the team and sometimes you should say that things don't work anymore when you're so long with a certain team.

"As an outsider, I wished for German football that Low had gone out on top, because when you have talented players you shouldn't talk about other things, which was the case before the World Cup."

Ballack feels that a more thorough review should have been undertaken of Low's performance and called for reforms to be made within the DFB.

He added: "The World Cup was a huge disappointment and there were reasons for that. 

"You should analyse it, really, and not just say 'we will analyse that' when you have already made the decision to keep the coach. That's not a real analysis.

"There should not just be one person who is making these decisions. There should be more people in the German federation and a better structure. 

"I think they can improve this for sure. But this has nothing to do with the performance on the pitch. That's an excuse for players sometimes, but we shouldn't forget these things."

Ballack also urged Germany to move on from the ongoing furore surrounding Mesut Ozil's international career.

The Arsenal playmaker retired from Germany duty after the World Cup and accused the DFB of discrimination against his Turkish heritage in doing so.

"No one needs that before the World Cup and no one needs that in general, that discussion," Ballack said. 

"He [Ozil] made the decision he did, we have to accept it and the German national team has to move forward."