MICHEAL BALLACK

Michael Ballack (born 26 September 1976) is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and is the first choice captain of the German national football team, although he has been temporarily replaced by Philipp Lahm for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after Ballack missed out due to injury. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He has won the German Footballer of the Year award three times – in 2002, 2003 and 2005.


International career:

On 26 March 1996, Ballack debuted for the national U21 team against Denmark, shortly after signing for Chemnitz. In all, he played 19 matches for this side, scoring four goals. Then, following his move to Kaiserslautern, national coach Berti Vogts called him up to the senior team.

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

Ballack only played 63 minutes at the UEFA Euro 2000 championship. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored in matches against the United States and South Korea during the knock-out rounds as Germany reached the final. However, he was booked for a tactical foul during the semi-final match against South Korea and was suspended for the final which Germany went on to lose 2–0 to Brazil. He was included in the World Cup All Star Team.

Following the UEFA Euro 2004 championship, Jürgen Klinsmann replaced Rudi Völler at the helm of the national team and Ballack took over Oliver Kahn as captain.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was unable to start in Germany's first game against Costa Rica due to a calf strain, but appeared in the following five matches. Germany was eliminated in the semi-finals, but they managed to clinch 3rd place in a match against Portugal. He was named Man of the Match in the games against Ecuador and Argentina,[18] and was included in FIFA's World Cup All Star Team for a second consecutive time.

On 6 February 2008, Ballack played his first match since returning from injury in a 3–0 friendly win over Austria.

Ballack started and captained Germany's first game of the UEFA Euro 2008 championship against Poland. He proved to be an influential figure in the midfield as Germany came back from a shock defeat to Croatia to make it to the final, scoring a free kick against Austria to secure Germany a 1–0 win and a place in the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, he scored a controversial header against Portugal to make the score 3–1 in their 3–2 win after an assist by Bastian Schweinsteiger's 60th minute free kick, helping Germany to advance to the semi-finals. Germany went on to beat Turkey 3–2 in the semifinals. Prior to the final, Ballack sustained a calf injury but eventually overcame it in time. However, Germany ended up losing 1–0 to Spain. Nevertheless, he was named in the Team of the Tournament.


Ballack can boast that, dating back to June 2005, Germany has never lost a game when he has scored. He scored 4 goals in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. However, he missed the 2010 FIFA World Cup following a foul by Kevin Prince-Boateng in the FA Cup Final that caused an ankle injury. Prince-Boateng is a former Germany U21 player and half-brother of current German international Jerome Boateng. Prince-Boateng went on to play for Ghana against the German team in the World Cup group stages.







Personal life:

Ballack married his long-term girlfriend, Simone Lambe, on 14 July 2008. The couple have three children together – Louis (born 2001), Emilio (born 2002) and Jordi (born 2005).








Early life:
Michael Ballack was born into a Sorbian family in Görlitz (Upper Lusatia), a town in the formerly Lower Silesian part of the present-day Free State of Saxony. He is the only child of Stephan and Karin Ballack, an engineer and a secretary. The family moved to Chemnitz when Ballack was very young and it was there that he started to play football.