Ballack, Michael (2006-2010)

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Michael Ballack (2006-2010)

Written by Loz and last updated September 2010

When Chelsea fans hear the name Michael Ballack they tend to fall into one of three camps.

The first, and the camp I am in, are those who consider him a truly world class football player, very comfortable playing the ball with either foot and very able of controlling a game if given the authority and responsibility to do so. These people do acknowledge that Chelsea have not seen the best of Ballack yet but are still optimistic that we will.

The second are those who do recognise his talent but aren't convinced he has the desire to really bust a gut to deliver the goods in a Chelsea shirt. They think he may be at Chelsea to soak up one last massive contract before retiring to gorge on fine fruits, particularly meaty sausages and the second best ale in Europe. The 'he looks lazy' tag is something that has been with Ballack for most of his career, for someone lazy he seems to have done OK!

The third is a small camp, in fact it is just G4 - he sees Ballack dressed head to toe in leather sitting behind the wheel of Kitt and saving pretty girls from wicked baddies.

So how did such a man develop, a multi talented, lackadaisical, sausage loving, Knight Rider. Well clasp your mugs of warm cocoa, huddle around ye old camp fire and listen to the tale your ol' Uncle Loz is about to tell you.

On September 26th, 1976 Mrs Ballack yelled 'der Drecksack' one last time and out popped little Mickey, looking cool, calm, collected and adopting a familiar pose with his hands on his hips. Ballack's Dad was also a footballer and he encouraged his son from a very young age to take up God's sport.

At the age of seven he trained with a team called FC Karl-Marx-Stadt (the name changed in 1990 to Chemnitzer FC, following a pattern of numerous name changes over the years due mainly to the turbulent political climate of a region which bordered Poland) and even at such a young age he was said to have been entirely relaxed playing with the ball with both his left and right foot.

At just 18 years of age he had already earned the nickname 'Little Kaiser' (Beckenbuaer had been nicknamed 'The Kaiser' and on August 4th, 1995 he made his professional debut for Chemnitzer in the Bundesliga second division. It wasn't an altogether successful season for Chemnitzer as they were relegated at the end of it however Ballack impressed enough in his 15 appearances to be called up to, and make his debut for, the German U21 team. The next season Ballack established himself in the first team and didn't miss a single game whilst chipping in 10 goals. Chemnitzer just missed out on promotion however Ballack managed to make the jump to the Bundesliga top flight when, in the summer of 1997, he signed for FC Kaiserslautern.

It was to be a remarkable season for newly promoted Kaiserslautern as they became the first ever team to lift the Bundesliga in the first season after being promoted. Ballack played 16 times in that campaign and in the following season firmly established himself as one of the club's star players racking up 30 appearances and helping Kaiserslautern reach the Champions League Quarter Final where they were knocked out by German giants Bayern Munich.

On April 28th, 1999 Ballack made his international debut against Scotland when he came off the bench after an hour to replace Dietmar Hamann. Within two months of that, still only 22 years old, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen after having a fair few run ins with Kaiserslautern manager Otto Rehhagel.

At Leverkusen he was entrusted with a pivotal role in the centre of the park through which the team focused its play and this allowed Ballack the freedom to prove that he was equally adept in a defensive midfield role as he is as an attacking midfielder. Leverkusen established themselves as a force in German football however were also to become well known as the nearly men!

In the 1999/00 season they only needed to draw with unfancied Unterhaching to clinch the title but somehow managed to lose 2-0 with Ballack scoring an unwelcome own goal, this allowed Bayern Munich to clinch the title with a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen.

He was selected for the German squad for Euro 2000 but was restricted to a mere 63 minutes playing time as Germany finished rock bottom of their group and, along with England, failed to qualify for the second round.

The 2001/02 season provided further heartache when they lost two of the final three matches of the season and in doing so threw away a 5 point lead and allowed Borussia Dortmund to beat them to the title.

That season is known as the 'Treble Horror' by Leverkusen fans as they also lost the German Cup final 4-2 to Schalke 04 and lose 2-1 to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

That 'Treble' was actually a 'Quadruple' for Ballack (and Leverkusen team-mates Bernd Schieder, Carsten Ramelow and Oliver Neuville as they missed out on World Cup when Germany were beaten by Brazil, and two Ronaldo goals, in the 2002 final. His performances during those finals were superlative, as he almost single handedly carried the German's into the final. It was, however, a final he wouldn't play in as in the semi final he deliberately stopped a Korean player from scoring and was appropriately awarded his second yellow card of the tournament, meaning suspension from the final. It was very much a case of 'taking one for the team' as he must have known the almost inevitable repercussions of the challenge.

On a slightly happier personal note Ballack's season and his 17 league goals culminated in him being voted Germany's 2002 Footballer of the Year. By now Ballack's stock couldn't have been higher and Bayern Munich moved quickly to secure his signature whilst Real Madrid were knocking at the door. Ballack arrived at Munich with the unenviable task of filling the boots of the recently departed Stefan Effenberg.

Euro 2004 was to bring further international disappointment for Germany as they again failed to get past the first round group stage. It was after this that Ballack replaced Oliver Kahn as Germany's international captain (appointed by new manager Klinsmann who replaced Rudi Voller).

In his second season at Bayern (04/05) Ballack was pivotal in the club's double success with manager Felix Magath describing him as the only midfielder in the squad guaranteed a first team position. Ballack spent four seasons at Munich, more often than not in a more defensive midfielder role, and in that time they won the domestic league and cup double three times and Ballack contributed 47 goals in 135 appearances. In addition he was named German Footballer of the year in 2002, 2003 and 2005. However despite this impressive sounding record all was not sweetness and light in the 'House of Ballack.'

He was frequently accused of bottling it in big Champions League matches, not just by the media but by club officials (in particular his manager Uli Hoeness and also German legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge who was the clubs Communications Director. Further criticism was to come from Munich's president Franz Beckenbauer when he accused Ballack of 'saving his strength' for Chelsea, to whom he was soon to move to on a Bosman transfer, when he was below par in the 2006 cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Bayern Munich supporters soaked in Beckenbauer's criticism (despite him being a man who speaks out of his arse more then he speaks out of his mouth) and vented their spleen on Ballack in his last few games for the club, something that Ballack was very bitter about as he was, and still is adamant, that he had behaved entirely professionally and honoured his contract. After moving to Chelsea (he signed on May 15th 2006 with Chelsea fighting off interest from Man Utd, Real Madrid and AC Milan) he sarcastically, and maybe a tad ill advisedly, commented that the treatment he received at the end of his time at Munich just went to prove how important he was to the club.

Germany went into the 2006 World Cup drastically short of form and with manager Klinsmann as popular with the German public as weak fizzy lager. Very little was expected of them and much rested on captain Ballack's shoulders. He missed their opening match through injury but played in all their other five matches and was named man of the match against Ecuador and Argentina. Against all odds Germany secured third place in the tournament and Ballack was named in the World Cup All Star team.

So to the Bridge he came. You would have thought the idea of a player of Ballack's calibre signing for Chelsea would have been received with universal acclaim by Chelsea fans however long gone were the days when the signing of the likes of Robert Fleck sparked excitement in the Chelsea faithful. There were a number, and not an insignificant number either, of fans who saw Ballack as coming to Chelsea simply to earn a wedge so large you could put a stick a flag in it and call it a country. In addition there was some suspicion (though not as much as with the signing of Shevchenko) that this was a Roman Abramovich signing and not a Jose Mourinho one.

[fimg=left]http://www.theshedend.com/fansite/images/Current_Squad/Michael_Ballack/ballack%20and%20mikel%20after%20ballack%20scores%20winner%20against%20blackburn%20in%20fa%20cup%20sf%202007.jpg style="padding: 10px; bborder: 0"> His first season for Chelsea was undeniably far from the finest of his career. Chelsea, through a combination of a woeful run of injuries and Man Utd's fine form, were beaten to the title although this was partially compensated by success in the Carling Cup and FA cup. On a personal note Ballack never really hit top form, he had a few highlights over the year including the FA Cup semi final winner against Blackburn and a stunning free kick away at Everton in the league however he was often criticised for having the appearance of a player who wasn't entirely keen on chasing the game when it needed to be chased.

He admitted himself that he wasn't content with what he had managed to contribute over the course of the season however felt confident that in the following season (2007/08) Chelsea fans would see what he could offer. However the cruel finger of fate was to poke itself firmly in Ballack's face. He had missed the FA Cup final against Man Utd due to an ankle injury which had required surgery, an injury which he was expected to recover from in time for the start of the 2007/08 season. However this was not to be and at the start of the season such was the lack of clarity over when he would be fit again Chelsea took the decision to leave him out of their Champions League squad for the group stages.

As it turned out Ballack's first appearance in a Chelsea shirt was not until December 19th, 2007 when he came off the bench in Chelsea's quarter final Carling Cup 2-0 win over Liverpool. Ballack marked his come back by setting up Shevchenko for the second goal. In the days before the game Ballack was interviewed about his injury problems and said:

'I always believed I would come back. But I have also been incredibly occupied with the injury. I had thousands of questions and none were answered. And sometimes I thought: 'Man, you are 31 years old, you've had 14 good years as a pro. Maybe it's over.'

It was an injury that caused great confusion and no shortage of controversy. The initial diagnosis of 3-4 weeks clearly proved to be very wide of the mark and Ballack, wary of Chelsea's medical team's diagnosis sought a second opinion from the Germany team doctor and is reported to have received surgery on the injured ankle without the club's consent. Jose Mourinho himself cast doubts over the severity of the injury, possibly adding fuel to the fire of doubt that he never wanted to sign Ballack in the first place.

This difference in opinion about the injury further heightened speculation about his omission from the Champions League squad. Joachim Low, the Germany coach, had claimed he would be fit again by mid October at the latest and this resulted in rumours about he real reason for his omission ranging from it being an administrative error to the club avoiding him being cup tied so they could sell him to Real Madrid in the January transfer window. There is no denying Ballack was not happy with his omission from the Champions League squad however the fact he did not return to the first team until mid December means it transpired to be the correct decision to take.

The British media picked up on this alleged fall out between Ballack and the Chelsea medics and Ballack was quick to refute these claims when he issued a statement on the official club website saying:

"I am very grateful for the work that everyone has done - in particular the physios - over the last couple of months in order to get me finally back on the field. 'Now I am ready to repay all their hard work by doing my best for Chelsea."

The loss of Lampard through injury and Essien and Mikel to the African Cup of Nations gave Ballack the opportunity to play regular first team football and he began to show the ability that only very few doubted he had. He scored a super free kick against Aston Villa, a thumping header against Reading and was on target from the penalty spot against Fulham. As well as the goals his all round game was excellent, a point proven by him picking up the Shed End man of the match award against Fulham, Reading and Portsmouth.

Despite his run of good form Ballack was only selected on the bench for the Carling Cup final with a midfield of SWP, Mikel, Essien and Lampard being preferred.

All four of those players were dreadful on the day however Ballack was not called off the bench until the 88th minute and thus only really played in extra time. In the very next game we saw what we had missed out on in the Carling Cup final as Ballack put in a superb performance away at West Ham and capped it with a cracking goal (the third of Chelsea's fourth in a 4-0 win) when he was expertly picked out by a Frank Lampard and drilled home a stunning half-volley.

He carried this form on into Chelsea's Champions League 3-0 win over Olympiakos, a game in which he scored and was comfortably voted man of the match. Three days later we saw a very different Ballack as Chelsea surrendered their grasp on the FA Cup against Championship strugglers Barnsley. Ballack joined with the rest of the Chelsea team (Joe Cole apart) in looking thoroughly unconvinced that Barnsley could actually score and continued to coast until the point they did score.

Ballack's career long ability to come close to big trophies but be pipped right at the death was to rear its ugly head a further three times before the summer was out. Chelsea finished second in the league two points adrift of Man Utd, were then beaten, again by Man Utd, on penalties in the Champions League final, a game we thoroughly deserved to win and, to cap it all, Ballack captained Germany to a runners up spot in Euro 2008. Ballack was one of Germany's strongest performers in the tournament scoring two goals (including a stunning free kick against Austria) and being named in the team of the tournament.

Ballack did manage to get hitched in July 2008 without coming second, although I guess that is also not something to put on your CV either!

There was much speculation about Ballack's future after the 2007/08 season with some questioning the need to keep him on at the cost of promoting the careers of the youth prospects. That speculation was quashed when he signed a one year extension in June 2009.

The start of the 2008/09 season was as memorable for Ballack as Pauly’s Dad’s soup is for Pauly. He was taken off early in the opening day win over Portsmouth with a foot injury which kept him out of action until the home game against Manchester United when he was originally picked on the bench but, at the last minute, an injury to Deco in the warm up meant Ballack started. His return to first team action was as short lived as the average career of an X-Factor winner – after representing German in a World Cup qualifier against Wales in mid October he complained of pain in his feet and a scan diagnosed him as having neuroma (which meant a much to me as it did the Microsoft Word spell check which put a red squiggly line underneath it). Surgery was required to remove thickened nerve tissue and he was ruled out for 3-4 weeks.

Whilst on international duty Ballack took the opportunity to speak to the German press and promptly hurl criticism at Germany’s manager Joachim Loew. In particular Ballack was annoyed that Loew had dropped Torsten Frings and saying the coach should show senior players more respect and loyalty. He also sympathised with Kevin Kuranyi, who walked out on the team during their 2-1 win over Russia on 11 October (Loew said he will never select Kuranyi again). Loew was as happy with Ballack as a clubhappy is with plastic scousers in Dublin and promptly called Ballack in for ‘discussions’. Possibly fearful for his place in the Germany team (and realising the 2010 World Cup was his last shot at major international glory) Ballack quickly offered up an apology.

The 2008/09 season was largely disappointing for Ballack. He missed a number of games through injury and didn't get on the scoresheet until January when he scored against Southend United in Chelsea's 4-1 FA Cup replay win. He only scored one league goal all season (the opener in a 4-3 win over Bolton in April 2009) and didn't make the starting line up in the 2009 FA Cup final (although he did replace Essien in the 61st minute as Chelsea beat Everton 2-1 to lift the trophy).

The 2009-10 season season kicked off with a penalty win over Manchester United in the Community Shield. Ballack started the game on the bench but featured prominently after replacing Mikel. His 'challenge' on Evra was clearly a foul however the referee played an advantage which Utd failed to take and from the break Lampard scored the goal that put us 2-1 up. Rooney's late equaliser took the game to a penalty shoot out which we won 4-1 - a shoot out which a saw a riled Evra pass the ball back to Cech whilst Ballack buried his penalty with a composure which made forum regular Sexelk feel like a boy in an Amsterdam porn show.

Ballack went on to play a very significant part in Chelsea 2009/10 domestic double winning season which included making 32 appearances in the league and being picked in the starting eleven in the FA Cup final win over Portsmouth (he came off injured just before half time). Given this and given that Chelsea decided to let the likes of Belletti, Joe Cole and Deco leave in the summer of 2010 it seemed likely that Ballack would be offered a one year extension so as to maintain sufficient experience and cover in the centre of the park during the 2010/11 season.

However to Ballack’s surprise (he had stated that Chelsea was his preferred choice) this was not forthcoming and he was allowed to join Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer in June 2010

Personally I would have kept him for another season as I thought he still had a lot to offer .