Michael Ballack

Michael Ballack (born 26 September 1976 in Görlitz) is a Germany association football midfielder who plays for Chelsea F.C. of the England Premier League and is the captain of the Germany national football team. Michael Ballack is among the List of Germany international footballers in the history of Michael Ballack international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team Michael Ballack has played for except for 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Michael Ballack was selected as one of FIFA 100, and the UEFA Club Football Awards Best Midfielder in 2002. Michael Ballack has won the German Footballer of the Year award three times 2002, 2003 and 2005.

Ballack began Michael Ballack career as a youth at Chemnitzer FC, Michael Ballack local team, and made Michael Ballack professional debut in 1995. Although the team were relegated in Michael Ballack first season, Michael Ballack performances in the Fußball-Regionalliga the following season led to a transfer to 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1997. Michael Ballack won the Fußball-Bundesliga in Michael Ballack first season at the club; Michael Ballack first major honour. Michael Ballack became a first team regular in 1998–99 season and also earned Michael Ballack first senior national cap for Germany. Michael Ballack moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen for €4.1 million in 1999. The 2002 season saw Michael Ballack win a slew of runners-up medals: Bayer Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Champions League and Germany lost to Brazil national football team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final.

A €12.9 million move to FC Bayern Munich led to further honours: the team won the Bundesliga and German Cup The Double in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Ballack had become a prolific goalscorer from midfield, scoring 58 goals for Bayern Munich between 2002 and 2006. Michael Ballack joined Premier League side Chelsea in mid-2006 and won Michael Ballack first English honours, the FA Cup and Football League Cup, in Michael Ballack first season at the club. Injury ruled out much of 2007 but Michael Ballack returned the following season, helping Chelsea reach their first ever 2008 UEFA Champions League Final.

Internationally, Ballack has played in the UEFA European Football Championship in Euro 2000, Euro 2004 and Euro 2008, and the FIFA World Cup in 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup. Jürgen Klinsmann appointed Michael Ballack captain of the national team in 2004. Michael Ballack captained Michael Ballack country in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final but the team lost to Spain national football team.

Early life

Michael Ballack was born in Görlitz, a small town in East Germany. Michael Ballack is the only child of Stephan and Karin Ballack, an engineer and a secretary respectively. The family moved to Chemnitz when Ballack was very young and it was there that Michael Ballack started to play football.

Club career

Chemnitz

Ballack's parents sent Michael Ballack to train with the side when Michael Ballack was seven years old. Michael Ballack later moved on to FC Karl-Marx-Stadt (renamed Chemnitzer FC in 1990). Michael Ballack father had played second-division football himself in Germany. Unusual for Michael Ballack early age was Ballack's ability to use both feet with equal authority.

In 1995, Ballack earned Michael Ballack first professional contract, thanks to Michael Ballack performances in the role of central midfielder. Michael Ballack was dubbed the "Little Kaiser," in reference to Franz Beckenbauer, who was nicknamed "The Kaiser". Michael Ballack professional debut came on 4 August 1995, on the first day of the new 2. Fußball-Bundesliga season. Chemnitz lost the game 2-1, against Lokomotive Leipzig.

At the end of the season, during which Ballack made fifteen appearances, Chemnitz were relegated to the multi-tiered, regional Fußball-Regionalliga. On 26 March 1996, Ballack made Michael Ballack debut for Germany national under-21 football team.

The following season, Ballack became a regular first-team player as Chemnitz missed out on an immediate return to the Bundesliga. Michael Ballack did not miss a game and scored ten goals for the "Sky Blues". It was not enough for Chemnitz to be promoted, but in the summer of 1997, coach Otto Rehhagel of just-promoted 1. FC Kaiserslautern signed Ballack at their return to top flight football.

Kaiserslautern

It was during the seventh game of the Fußball-Bundesliga 1997–98 season, away to Karlsruher SC, that Rehhagel decided to throw Ballack into the Bundesliga for the first time, if only for the final five minutes of the encounter. On 28 March 1998, Ballack made Michael Ballack first-team debut against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Ballack made 16 appearances for Michael Ballack new team during the season as the club became the first-ever newly promoted team to lift the league title. In the following season, Ballack became both a regular (he made 30 appearances, scoring four goals) and one of the side's leading players. Kaiserslautern reached the quarter finals of the Champions League, but were knocked out by FC Bayern Munich.

On 1 July 1999, Ballack moved to Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 22, for a transfer fee of Euro4.1 million.

Bayer Leverkusen

It was at Bayer Leverkusen that Ballack made Michael Ballack breakthrough. Coaches Christoph Daum and Klaus Toppmöller granted Michael Ballack an attacking role in the midfield. Ballack was instrumental to the success of Leverkusen, scoring 27 goals in the league and nine in Europe over the course of Michael Ballack three seasons at the BayArena.

In 2000, Bayer Leverkusen needed only a draw against minnows Unterhaching to win the title, but an own goal by Ballack helped send the team to a crushing 0-2 defeat, while Bayern Munich clinched the title with a 3-1 victory over SV Werder Bremen. 2002 was a season of disappointment for Bayer Leverkusen. In the German Fußball-Bundesliga, the team surrendered a five point lead at the top of the table over the last three games of the season to finish second behind Borussia Dortmund, lost the UEFA Champions League final 2-1 to Real Madrid C.F., and lost the DFB Cup 2001-02 final 4-2 to FC Schalke 04. These three runner-up finishes were dubbed a "Treble Horror".

Ballack and Leverkusen teammates Bernd Schneider (footballer), Carsten Ramelow, and Oliver Neuville were even beaten finalists with Germany in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, although Ballack was suspended for the final itself. Ballack finished with 17 league goals, and Michael Ballack performance over the season led to Michael Ballack being voted into the UEFA.com users' Team of 2002 as well being named German Footballer of the Year.

Bayern Munich

In spite of Real Madrid C.F.'s interest, Ballack decided to sign with FC Bayern Munich in a Euro12.9 million deal in 2002 after Michael Ballack impressive performances in the World Cup. Bayern won the Bundesliga in Michael Ballack first season with 75 points, they also won the DFB Cup 2002-03. In Michael Ballack second season however, Bayern lost their Bundesliga crown to SV Werder Bremen along with the cup.

In Michael Ballack third season with the Bavarians, Ballack enjoyed success in the Fußball-Bundesliga 2004–05 season as Bayern Munich completed another double. New coach Felix Magath stated Michael Ballack was the only automatic starter in their midfield. In four seasons at Bayern, Ballack won three Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal doubles and scored 47 goals in 135 matches. Between 1998 and 2005, Ballack notched up 61 goals in Michael Ballack domestic league.

However, Ballack's critics noted Michael Ballack frequent "choke (sports)" in important UEFA Champions League matches. This resulted in open public criticism from club general manager Uli Hoeneß, communications director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and club president Franz Beckenbauer, all former Bayern players. Beckenbauer later went as far as to accuse Ballack of "saving Michael Ballack strength" for prospective employers after Ballack turned in an average performance in the DFB Cup 2005-06 final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Chelsea

Ballack agreed to join Chelsea F.C. on a Bosman ruling on 15 May 2006. During Michael Ballack last season as a Bayern player there were rumours of interest from Manchester United F.C., Real Madrid C.F., F.C. Internazionale Milano and A.C. Milan, but Ballack instead chose to go to Stamford Bridge (stadium). Shortly after arriving at Chelsea, Ballack stated that Michael Ballack hoped to end Michael Ballack career for Chelsea

Ballack's debut for Chelsea came on 31 July 2006, during a practice match at University of California, Los Angeles's intramural football pitch. Chelsea presented Michael Ballack to the media the following day where the club also gave Michael Ballack Michael Ballack favoured number 13 shirt, worn throughout Michael Ballack career. Upon doing so, William Gallas, who previously wore the number 13 shirt for Chelsea, was given the number 3 shirt. This move created animosity between Gallas and the club as Gallas felt that Michael Ballack was underappreciated. On 27 August 2006, Ballack earned Michael Ballack Premier League debut for Chelsea against Blackburn Rovers F.C., and Michael Ballack UEFA Champions League debut for Chelsea against SV Werder Bremen.

Ballack scored Michael Ballack first goal for Chelsea on 21 September 2006 in the latter match against SV Werder Bremen. Michael Ballack received Michael Ballack first straight red card of Michael Ballack career in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Liverpool F.C. on 17 September 2006, after being judged to have stamped on Mohamed Sissoko's leg. Ballack scored Michael Ballack first goal in the English League on 21 October 2006 against Portsmouth F.C. at home with a header. Michael Ballack first FA Cup goal came in the 109th minute in a match against Blackburn Rovers on 15 April 2007. This goal resulted in Chelsea progressing into the FA Cup final. Michael Ballack scored eight goals in all competitions for the club in the 2006–07 season, including a free-kick against Everton F.C. at Goodison Park, as well as a half-volley against F.C. Porto which sent Chelsea through to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

On 28 April 2007, Chelsea released a statement on their official website, informing fans that Ballack had undergone ankle surgery in Munich. As a result of the surgery, Ballack did not play in the FA Cup Final 2007 against Manchester United, which Chelsea won 1–0 through Didier Drogba's extra time goal. This was Ballack's second trophy this season, Michael Ballack first being the Football League Cup, the final of which Michael Ballack started.

Chelsea left Ballack out of their Champions League squad for the 2007–08 group stage as they realised that Michael Ballack injury would prevent Michael Ballack from playing any useful part and preferred to select the fully fit Steve Sidwell. The German international had an ankle operation in the summer and Chelsea could not take the risk of Michael Ballack not regaining full fitness before the end of the Group Stage. Thus, Ballack could not play in the Champions League before the knockout stages began in February. The club was only able to select 23 out of a possible 25 players for their Champions League squad due to the new UEFA regulations on 'association-trained players' and 'club-trained players'. Due to this regulation, Chelsea were also unable to select young player Scott Sinclair and could only pick 23 players as their only 'club-trained player' was John Terry. For this reason, it was deemed unwise to gamble on Ballack being fit at some point.

Ballack was absent for eight months with an ankle injury, during which Michael Ballack feared that Michael Ballack football career might be in danger of ending as Michael Ballack was getting older. Michael Ballack made Michael Ballack return to the side in Chelsea's 2–0 League Cup win over Liverpool on 19 December.
Ballack tallied an assist late in the game to striker Andriy Shevchenko. On 26 December, Ballack made Michael Ballack league return in a thrilling game against Aston Villa F.C. which ended 4–4. Michael Ballack came on for Frank Lampard in the 26th minute after the latter had picked up a thigh injury. In first-half stoppage time, Michael Ballack won a penalty after being brought down in the box by Zat Knight, which Andriy Shevchenko converted. In the 88th minute, with the score tied at 3–3, Ballack stepped up to take a free-kick, which Michael Ballack buried into the bottom left corner of the goal, but the match ended in a 4–4 draw.

Ballack captained the Chelsea team in the absence of captain John Terry and vice captain Frank Lampard in a 2–1 win over Newcastle United F.C. on 29 December 2007. Ballack then played Michael Ballack 50th game in a Chelsea shirt in a 2–1 win against Fulham F.C. in which Michael Ballack scored the winning goal for Chelsea. Michael Ballack also scored the only goal that won the match for Chelsea F.C. against Reading to extend the blues' winning streak to a record of nine. And, on 5 March, Michael Ballack scored again, this time against Olympiacos F.C. in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 in a 3-0 win.

With Chelsea's progress to the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Ballack is the only player to have reached the Champions League quarter-finals with four different clubs. Michael Ballack scored the winning goal in the 2-0 win in the 2nd leg of the Quarter-Finals against Fenerbahçe S.K., a victory that secured Chelsea a place in the semi-finals.

Ballack continued to score vital goals and, on 26 April 2008, Michael Ballack scored a header and a penalty to give Chelsea a 2-1 win over Manchester United F.C.. Michael Ballack was named Man of The Match for Michael Ballack performance. It brought the two teams level in the race for the Premier League title only two matchdays before the end of the 2007-08 in English Football.

The season ended on a low note for Ballack as Chelsea F.C. finished runners up in the League Cup, English Premier League and UEFA Champions League. This completed another treble horror for Ballack and Michael Ballack club. On 29 June 2008, Germany national football team, captained by Ballack, lost to Spain national football team 1-0 in the final of the UEFA Euro 2008 championship. This became the second season in Ballack's career that Michael Ballack was runner-up for four major trophies.

The 2008–09 season started well for Ballack, Michael Ballack set up Joe Cole to score the first goal in a 4-0 win over Portsmouth in the first game of the season. Ballack was injured shortly after missing the games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal F.C.. Ballack's return from injury has been a lift for Chelsea as Michael Ballack set up Deco to score a scissor kick in a 2-0 win against Bolton Wanderers F.C.. Ballack's first goal of the '09 season came against Southend United F.C. in their FA Cup replay, a match which Chelsea went on to win 4-1. Ballack's first Premier League goal of the '09 Season came on 11 April 2009 in a match against Bolton Wanderers, ending 4-3 for Chelsea. Michael Ballack came on as a second half substitute as Chelsea won the 2009 FA Cup Final.

On 2 June 2009, Ballack signed a one-year contract extension with Chelsea.

International career

On 26 March 1996, Ballack debuted for the national U21 team's encounter with Denmark national football team, shortly after signing for Chemnitz. In all, Michael Ballack played 19 matches for this side, scoring four goals. Then, following Michael Ballack move to Kaiserslautern, national coach Berti Vogts called Michael Ballack up to the senior team.

Ballack's first appearance, however, did not come until 28 April 1999, when Michael Ballack came on as a substitute for Dietmar Hamann in a match against Scotland national football team.

Ballack only played 63 minutes at the UEFA Euro 2000 championship. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Michael Ballack scored in matches against the United States men's national soccer team and South Korea national football team during the knock-out rounds as Germany reached the final. However, Michael Ballack was booked for a tactical foul during the semi-final match against South Korea and was suspended for the final; Germany went on to lose 2-0 to Brazil national football team.

Following the UEFA Euro 2004 championship, Jürgen Klinsmann replaced Rudi Völler at the helm of the national team and made Ballack the side's captain.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Michael Ballack was unable to start in Germany's first game against Costa Rica national football team due to a calf strain, but appeared in the following five matches. Germany were eliminated in the semi-finals, but they managed to clinch 3rd place in a match against Portugal national football team. Michael Ballack was named Man of the Match in the games against Ecuador national football team and Argentina national football team, and was included in FIFA's FIFA World Cup awards All-Star Team.

On 6 February 2008, Ballack played Michael Ballack first match since returning from injury in a 3-0 friendly win over Austria national football team.

Ballack started and captained Germany national football team's first game of the UEFA Euro 2008 championship against Poland national football team. Michael Ballack scored a free kick against Austria to secure Germany a 1-0 win and a place in the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, Michael Ballack scored a controversial header against Portugal to make the score 3-1 in their 3-2 win after feed by Bastian Schweinsteiger free kick in 60th minute, helping Germany to advance to the semi-finals. After Germany beat Turkey national football team 3-2, Michael Ballack captained them in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final, losing 1-0 to Spain national football team. Michael Ballack was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.

Ballack can boast that, dating back to June 2005, Germany has never lost a game when Michael Ballack has scored.

Personal life

Ballack married Michael Ballack wife, Simone Lambe, on 14 July 2008. The couple have three children together - Louis (born 2001), Emilio (born 2002) and Jordi (born 2005).