"I spoke to the manager after my last game for Germany and asked not to be picked until after January, 2006," said Hamann.
"I just felt it was more important for me to concentrate on my Liverpool career at this stage. I think both my club and my country will get more from me that way.
"The most important thing to me now is Liverpool and the national team comes second. It's no good for me to be travelling around the world to play in a friendly and then coming back to Liverpool knackered.
"I have to be at my best to get into the side here and the more I play for my club, and the better condition I'm in, the more Germany can get out of me in the summer.
"If the German manager needs me around March or April time, I'll be available then. If he says I'm not needed and he only wants to consider players he can pick now, that's fair enough and I won't argue.
"I would like to play in the World Cup in my own country, but if I played international friendlies and did lots of travelling now, I may not be at a good enough level to play to my best this summer."