The German legend waved good bye to football forever on 2nd October, 2012. 18 Yard Box pays a tribute to the former Chelsea man by having a look back at his playing days.
18 Yard Box's Arjun Mishra looks at the magic that Michael Ballack create during his playing days.
The Journey Beings
Michael Ballack was born on 26th
September 1976, in the small town of Gorilitz in East Germany. He started to
play football when his family moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt. His new coaches found
out about his potential as a defensive player and convinced Michael’s parents
to let him become a professional footballer, promising that he would one day
play for his national team. His father being an engineer, Ballack reportedly
revealed that if he had not become a footballer he would have become an
engineer.
Early stint at Germany
Ballack started his career by joining
the youth academy of Chemnitzer F.C at the tender age of 7 years and stayed
there for 12 long years after he finally caught the eyes of the chief selectors
and made it to the second string team of Chemnitzer F.C in 1995. He played 18
matches for the team and netted 5 goals and made it to the first team
immediately. In the two years he played for Chemnitzer, he scored 10 goals in
49 matches for the first team
during which, he also made his debut for the Under-21 German team.
After Chemnitzer got relegated to the
lowest division of German football, he moved to F.C Kaiserslautern, which went
on to win the Bundesliga in season 1997-98. He showed his talents immediately
by showing great capabilities to pass and intercept. He also scored 4 goals in
16 matches for Kaiserslautern. His move to Bayer 04 Leverkusen opened the
floodgates for greater things to come.
The Munich
He played for Bayer 04 Leverkusen for almost 3 years which
included playing 79 matches and scoring 27 goals. He also got the first taste
of playing in Europe here. Seeing that he had
no future at Bayer, he moved to even a bigger club in Germany, Bayern Munich.
He played for Bayern Munich for 4 years, playing 107 matches
and scoring 44 goals. He showed his top form there and also his worst form. He
had also run into various controversies and criticism for lethargy in his play.
Even the club chairman accused him of “Saving his Energy” to play for other
teams. After two impressive seasons at the Bavaria, Ballack blew cold and it
was said that he had passed his prime. After his final season with Munich,
which turned out to be a below average performance by him, he joined Chelsea on
a free transfer.
Inked in Blue
Michael Ballack joined Chelsea to
rejuvenate his career. He immediately made an impact by scoring vital goals. It was
looking like Ballack was back. He made it to the national German team and even
became the captain in the year 2008. His critics were now silent; only his game
did the talking. He even became the first player to reach the quarter finals of
UEFA Champions League with four different teams at Chelsea. The passion he showed for Chelsea was unbelievable. It was right there till the end. But even after such
an illustrious career, Chelsea, as reputed, offered him a mere one year
contract extension just because he had reached the twilight years of his
career.
An injury which almost ended his career
In the 2010 F.A Cup final at the Wembley
Stadium, held between Chelsea and Portsmouth, Ballack was having a great game
till a tackle from Kevin Prince Boateng in the 44th minute got him critically injured. He was completely in pain and was brought to the ground harshly
by a two footed tackle from Kevin. Boateng was shown a yellow card and Ballack
left the stadium on crutches. This injury ruled him out for almost 4 months,
during which, Chelsea officially announced that he will leave the club in the
summer after running out his contract. The injury also deprived him of a cap in
the German team which participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Back in town
After Leaving Chelsea as a free
agent, he joined Bayer Leverkusen again on a 2 year contract. This time, he had
nothing to prove. He just played for the love for the game. For Leverkusen too,
his two years were overshadowed by the numerous injuries he sustained which let
him play only 35 matches and score mere 2 goals. Seeing his age and his career
ending, Leverkusen did not renew his contract and he was a free agent again in
the summer window of 2012. And seeing that it was over for Ballack, no team
signed him.
At the international front
After making the first appearance for
the German team in April, 1999, his place in the starting line was cemented by
his performances. He had a forever improving career with Germany. He took over
as the captain of German side after Oliver Kahn retired in 2006. He captained
Germany to amazing victories and also scored vital goals. He was part of the
team which lost the 2002 world cup final, and the team that lost the 2008 UEFA
Euro cup in the final to Spain. Sadly, the injury sustained in the F.A Cup
final put a stop to his German career. Playing for Germany, he scored 42 goals
in 97 matches.
A painful retirement
On October 2nd, after all
the transfer windows in the world got over and he remained a free agent, he
decided to hang his boots. Thus, bringing his unfortunate career to an end in
which he won the Bundesliga four times, once with Kaiserslautern and thrice
with Bayern Munich. He also won the Premier League once with Chelsea. In his
career he was rewarded with many laurels making it to the world eleven many
times and winning the German Player of the year thrice.
His career showed passion,
perseverance, hard work, loyalty and his style of play will always be
remembered.
18 Yard Box wishes him good luck for
his future endeavors.
Written By,
Arjun Mishra
Arjun is a writer for 18 Yard Box
Follow Arjun on Twitter
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