Michael Ballack's authority and versatility saw him become one of the standout players in the German national football team in the early and mid-2000s.
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Former Germany midfielder and captain Michael Ballack is fondly remembered by football fans and experts alike. A technical player who also worked hard and led by example, the German’s game would not be out of sync in the modern era. He won numerous trophies at the domestic level with Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich and Chelsea. He never won anything with Germany, although that wasn’t due to a lack of trying. Indeed, he was part of the side that made the World Cup final in 2002 and third-place finish in 2006. They also finished second in the Euro 2008 and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.
As he turns 45, let us look back at the career of one of Germany’s most celebrated midfielders.
Michael Ballack made his professional debut with Chemnitzer FC. He spent four seasons there, playing first for Chemnitzer FC II before making his senior debut in 1995. He spent two seasons with the club and then joined FC Kaiserslautern.
It was at FC Kaiserslautern that he was part of a history-making side. There he was part of a team that became the first newly-promoted side in history to win the Bundesliga.
He spent a further two seasons there before making the move to Bayer Leverkusen, where he would spend three full seasons.
Sadly, his time at the club was charecterised by a significant lack of silverware despite multiple opportunities coming their way. We will come to those in just a bit.
Yet while he won no honours at Leverkusen, he did well enough to capture the attention of several big clubs around Europe. The two with the most interest? Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Ballack eventually chose to sign with Bayern, where he would go on to spend four very fruitful seasons. In his four years there he won six trophies – three Bundesligas and three DFB Pokal trophies.
Ballack was also in the best goal-scoring form of his life for the Bavarian giants. In the 157 appearances he made for the side, he scored 62 times – a more than decent haul for a midfielder.
However, his time there would eventually end when he chose not to renew his contract and let it run down. The fact that a player of his calibre was available on a free sparked a bidding war of sorts.
The two Milan clubs, Real Madrid and even Manchester United were interested in securing his services. However, he would end up joining Chelsea, who at that point had won two back-to-back Premier League titles.
His time at Chelsea again saw him win six trophies. He won three FA Cups, a League Cup, the Community Shield and one Premier League title. However, his time at London was notable for him taking up a different role in midfield.
Till that point, Ballack was someone whose all-round game was as vaunted as his goal and assist record. However, at Chelsea, there already existed a goal-scoring midfielder by the name of Frank Lampard.
Getting the two to play similar roles would in theory be possible, but Ballack would eventually settle into a deeper midfield role. It allowed him to dictate the game with his passing range and also set the tempo for the way the side would play.
It was a role in which he excelled, especially given he was someone who was also a commanding presence in midfield. As such, he was a first-choice player for the side when fully fit.
His departure, however, came about in somewhat bitter circumstances. At the end of the 2009-10 season, his contract was expiring. He wanted at least a two-year deal from the club; Chelsea were willing to offer just one due to his age.
He would eventually leave and make a return to Bayer Leverkusen, where he spent the final two years of his career. He would retire in 2012.
Ballack, does, however, have an unfortunate reputation as someone who doesn’t deliver in big games. While he did win his share of trophies, there’s two instances used to give credence to this theory.
The first was his final season at Bayer Leverkusen. The club finished runners-up in three competitions: they lost out to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, to FC Schalke 04 in the DFB-Pokal and to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
To top things off, Germany would finish runners-up in the 2002 World Cup as well. However, it’s worth noting that Ballack did not play that game due to a suspension.
Amazingly, the same thing would happen six years later. Ballack, then at Chelsea, finished runner-up in the Premier League, League Cup and Champions League. Then, in Euro 2008, he finished runner-up with Germany.
However, football is at the end of the day a team game. And no one can deny the fact that Michael Ballack deserves his legendary status in the game.
