Michael Ballack

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Ballack: jestem tu szczęśliwy
Kiedy menedżerem Chelsea Londyn był jeszcze Jose Mourinho, wydawało się, że dni Michaela Ballacka na Stamford Bridge są policzone. Po odejściu Portugalczyka Niemiec wyraźnie odżył. Ballack nie chce jednak deklarować, co zrobi po tym, jak skończy mu się kontrakt z Chelsea (jego umowa wygasa w czerwcu 2010 roku).

- Co się wtedy stanie? Zobaczymy. Czy pójdę gdzie indziej, zostanę na dłużej, czy może zawieszę buty na kołku? Jeszcze nie wiem. Jestem teraz w pełni zadowolony. Ja i moja rodzina przystosowaliśmy się już do angielskiego stylu życia. Mam tu kontrakt i nie widzę żadnego powodu, aby zmienić klub. Gram dla świetnej drużyny, która chce wiele osiągnąć - zakończył Ballack.

Skoro tak mówisz to sobie zostań Wesoly

Ciągle podkreśla że mu tam dobrze w tym Londynie Chyba zaczynam w to wierzyć
Dobrze że nie powiedział co zrobi kiedy wygaśnie kontrakt Tyle jeszcze czasu Kto to może wiedzieć? Mam tylko nadzieję że kariery nie zakończy Rolling Eyes

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co do konczenia kariery itp - akurat jest tu dobry artukul na ten temat Wesoly

Would Ballack's retirement lead to tears for a lost talent or cheers for a legend?

Michael Ballack is the biggest German soccer star in years: success at home and abroad, captain of his country, immense wealth. But has he done enough to be regarded as a legend should he retire at the tender age of 31?

Germans love their talismanic soccer players, especially those who can control games and lead with passion and by example. Germany's soccer history is full of men who drove their nation towards greatness while sweeping all before them at club level. Most of them enjoyed hugely successful careers and finished their playing days having achieved everything, and in some cases more, than had been expected of them.

Michael Ballack has always been expected to join the likes of Beckenbauer, Rummenigge, Matthäus, et al. in the pantheon of German soccer greats. Ever since a young Ballack first arrived on the professional soccer scene in 1995, he has been spoken of in the most glowing of terms. His destiny as a German legend has always been discussed in absolutes. No one who has watched Ballack's rise has been anything other than convinced that he would become a German icon.

So what, then, would all those observers make of news that Ballack pack it in in a year's time and end a career that has yet to reach the heights expected of it?

Ballack hints at early retirement

"What comes when my contract expires, we'll just have to see," British media have quoted him as saying. "Whether I stay another year, go somewhere else or hang up my boots -- you never know in soccer."

While the player himself has not actually confirmed that this statement, reported in his adopted homeland of the UK this week, is a sign of his impending retirement at the end of the 2008/2009 season, the mere fact that he has spoken of ending his career at the young age of 31 raises questions about Ballack's legacy.

From those early days at FC Chemnitzer, where his precocious, driving midfield performances led to a transfer to the Bundesliga's Kaiserslautern and then Leverkusen, through his trophy-laden days at Bayern Munich to his multi-million-euro move to Chelsea, Ballack has been reaching for the status and titles which would assure his place in Germany's history.

Trophy haul lacking international sparkle

Ballack has collected a fair haul of silverware in his time, picking up four Bundesliga titles, three German Cups and one League Cup with Bayern Munich and an FA Cup and League Cup in England with Chelsea. But, one Champions League runners-up medal aside, Ballack has yet to make his stamp on European club soccer like those his legendary compatriots left behind.

Michael Ballack in the blue of his club, ChelseaBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The Premiership has proved a real challenge to Ballack

If his career ends in the blue of Chelsea, will observers look back and wonder whether Ballack would have achieved more at, say, Real Madrid or either of the Milan teams?

It was obvious in his first year in London that the Premiership was a more brutal and quicker beast than the Bundesliga he had been used to. Ballack's clever eye and languid style may have flourished faster and with more confidence in the slower Italian league and the Spanish game may have suited his creative flair. Who knows what he could have achieved if he had moved to either country from Bayern Munich in 2006?

Ballack's collection of consolation trophies

Away from the domestic and European scene, Ballack has also been building a legacy on the international level. Since making his Germany debut in 1999, Ballack has won 77 caps and scored 35 goals. He has played in two World Cup semi-finals -- missing out on the 2002 World Cup final through suspension -- and one Confederations Cup semi-final. He has led his country as captain since 2004.

And yet, for all the celebrations and plaudits, Germany have not won an international tournament since the 1996 European Championships. Ballack has led the side in some great victories but as yet, none of these victories resulted in a trophy [other than a third-place consolation] being lifted by the captain.

Ballack reacts after the semi-final between Germany and ItalyBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Can Ballack end his international career with glory?

So what would Ballack be leaving behind in terms of a record if he were to retire in a year's time? Well, he could spend his free time polishing a clutch of German domestic trophies, a couple of English cups and a handful of reminders of some international near-misses. But would this be enough to warrant his own pedestal in Germany's Hall of Fame?

Compared with Franz Beckenbauer's one World Cup, one European Championship and three European Cups, Rummenigge's one European Championship and two European Cups, and Matthäus with his one World Cup and one European Championship, Ballack would struggle to make the list in terms of significant titles.

Ballack's performances rate highly -- but high enough?

Trophies aside, could any of Ballack's individual performances stand out in much the same way as the Kaiser's mercurial domination of the 1974 World Cup final, or the way Matthäus outshone Maradona in the 1990 final in Rome?

The closest would be his performances during the 2002 World Cup -- among his finest in a Germany jersey. It would not be an exaggeration to say Ballack won the quarter and semi-finals for his country on his own, not only through his deciding goals but through his overall commitment. Again, would this be enough?

If Ballack does retire without any further major honors to his name and a season of workmanlike performances behind him, he will forever be known as a "good" German player. By prolonging his career past this hypothetical end-date and giving himself more opportunities to show what he can clearly do very well when the mood takes him, Michael Ballack could still be in with a chance of joining the greats.

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Michael Ballack, Football's Greatest Runner-up?

Is it a co-incidence, that since Ballack's first start for us this season (against the barcodes), we've won EVERY SINGLE game? He's captained the side, scored a few important goals and put in several MOTM performances. In short, he's showing the sort of form that merits a £125k (a week) salary. And the best part is that we're far from seeing the best of him, he has so much more to offer. This is the dilemma however, for all his talent, for all his performances over the last decade; he's been desperately unlucky not to have major honours to his name, to cement his place among the greats. His choice of shirt number has proven very apt.

Take his 99/00 season with Bayer Leverkusen, the team only needed a draw against one of the lesser clubs, SpVgg Unterhaching, to secure the title. However Ballack, after playing brilliantly throughout the campaign, scored an own goal, and the club finished runners-up in the league. A bitter disappointment, but that was nothing compared to the 2001/02 season though.

A 25 year old Ballack again finished a runner-up in the league, by a single point, and lost the final of the German cup. In Europe, Ballack was named the best midfielder in the CL after taking Bayer Leverkusen to the final, disposing of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United on the way, but ultimately were runners-up to Real Madrid. That season has since been dubbed the 'triple horror' in Germany. The world cup followed in the summer, and it didn't get any better for Ballack.

Germany were looked upon as outsiders in the race for the WC, yet Ballack made sure that he proved the doubters wrong, almost single-handedly taking Germany to the final. It was only his goals that beat the USA and South Korea in the quarter and semi-finals respectively. The latter goal coming mere minutes after Ballack picked up a yellow card, ruling him out of the final. We all know what happened next, Germany progressed to the final without Ballack and lost out to a Brazil team containing the majestic Ronaldo-Rivaldo partnership. Ballack was voted into FIFA's World Cup All Star Team, small consolation for missing out on football's greatest prize.

Fast forward 4 years to the 2006 world cup, a 29 year old Ballack, German captain at this point, had the hopes of the nation on his shoulders, as he looked to lead the national team to glory on home soil. Ballack missed 2 of Germany's games due to injuries. Regardless, he was again voted into FIFA's World Cup All Star Team and got MOTM awards for his displays against Argentina and Ecuador. Germany put in a splendid performance, both on and off the pitch, reaching the semi-finals. There they were, Italy against Germany, 0-0, 2 minutes from time, it was supposed to go to a penalty shoot-out (of which Germany are masters), however the Italians forgot to read the script and scored two extremely late goals to break the hearts of the host nation. Ballack was naturally distraught, and had to make do with a 3rd place medal, watching from the sidelines as his team beat off Portugal 3-1, just a few miles away from where I was born. Another honour had been snatched from his grasp.

After 29 years in Germany, Ballack decided to seek new pastures and joined Chelsea, one last attempt to fulfill his huge potential, one last attempt to make his mark on the vast pages of football history, one last attempt to make sure that his name be remembered for years to come. Alas, his first season didn't go as planned. I doubt that anyone needs reminding but in case you do: Some people argued that he was awful, others argued that he had made important contributions to the team, everyone agreed however, that he was capable of more. Whilst he had hardly set the Premier League alight, he did score winning goals in the Champions league and FA cup to help Chelsea progress to the quarter final and grand final respectively. In the latter stages of the season, Ballack picked up an injury which was to have a big effect on his career. In his absence Chelsea fell too far behind Manchester United in the title race, and lost out to Liverpool in the Champions league. Ballack once again had to watch from the sidelines as Chelsea went on to win the FA cup at Wembley, a final which he had, once again, set up.

It's now 10 months after that fateful day. His future at Chelsea was thrown into doubt; he himself confessed that he contemplated hanging up his. These 10 months have seen a change of manager and perhaps a change of fortune for Ballack. The pattern throughout his career, which always sees him ending up as a nearly-man, finishing among the also-rans, the forget tables, is astonishing. Having closely followed his rise to international stardom, it would make me very happy to see him finally get what he has so thoroughly deserved. Ballack will once again captain Germany in the European Championship, a chance to put right the injustice which has plagued his international career.

But first, he has the opportunity to make his mark at Chelsea. We are still in the running for both domestic cups, only 4 points off the top in the league and have a more than decent chance of winning old Big-Ears. We have of course had our own close calls in the Champions League. If Ballack's form since his return is anything to go by, we might just end our, and his, European drought. Is there are any greater or more deserving name in world football, amongst those who are yet to win major honours? Ballack is almost at the end of his 'shift' in the beautiful game, he's put in more than his fair share over the last 14 years, it would be very unfair if he has nothing to show for it except a handful of German titles, a couple of domestic cups, and a plethora of runners-up medals. Michael Ballack, it's time to shine!

For Chelsea, Michael!

i komentarz pod artkulem

One of the all time greats and I'm not exagerating, simple as that. Makes me cross how he was criticised last season and now everyone loves him. All through our injuries I was saying how much we missed Michael and people snorted yet now they all reckon they backed him all the way and he's the best thing since sliced bread! Top, top class player. Fabulous passing, completely 2 footed, great free kicks, great pens, great shot, great header, great vision, great awareness, great attitude, strong on the ball, can tackle (and put his foot in!), always has time on the ball like all the greats - does he have a weakness? Take a look at his career stats at every level, superb! No I don't fancy him, I just think he's good, okay?!
SpanishBlue

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Tzn. dzięki za artykuły w wersji angielskiej Widzę dbasz o mój rozwój językowy Laughing

Musze się wczytać jak będę miała więcej czasu to na pewno zaczaję Laughing

No nie ma wielu Niemców w innych ligach niż niemiecka ale to chyba w dużej mierze dlatego właśnie że zapomina się o nich Jakoś pozostają w cieniu nie dlatego że talentu nie mają Szczęścia im brakuje czy co Wesoly

Michael dobrze zrobił że przeszedł do Chelsea Z perspektywy czasu tak to widzę Tym bardziej że teraz wszystko jest na dobrej drodze

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Jennifer(El Capitano)

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no... tylko,ze wlasnie o to jakby chodzi hehheh,ze gdyby nie on to juz w ogole... nie byloby co powiedziec.

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No dobrze Ale ja i tak bronię Niemców! Z tą sympatią do Niemców na świecie bywa różnie To też jest pewien problem...
Mi jest ich tak żal tych biednych niemieckich piłkarzy Wesoly

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Ćwierć miliona euro za mistrzostwo Europy dla każdego z piłkarzy - to efekt uzgodnień niemieckich zawodników z rodzimą federacją piłkarską. W negocjacjach wziął udział m.in. kapitan piłkarskiej reprezentacji Niemiec, Michael Ballack.

Rozmowy odbyły się w niedzielny wieczór. Piłkarzy reprezentował Ballack oraz Jens Lehmann, Mirosław Klose i Bernd Schneider. Uzgodniono, że każdy piłkarz reprezentacji otrzyma 250 tysięcy euro, jeżeli Niemcy zdobędą tytuł mistrza Europy.

Wicemistrzostwo kontynentu zostało wycenione na 150 tysięcy euro na głowę, osiągnięcie półfinału - na 100 tys., a ćwierćfinału - na 50 tys. euro.

Ballack nie wziął udziału w poniedziałkowym treningu, z powodu urazu łydki. Ma jednak wystąpić w środę w meczu z Austrią, w Wiedniu. Wróci tym samym do drużyny narodowej po rocznej absencji, spowodowanej kontuzją kostki.

Austria i Niemcy - to rywale polskich piłkarzy w grupie B EURO 2008.