Honours
Germany's Footballer of the Year 2002: Michael Ballack.
When Michael Ballack was defeated in two finals with Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 and lost the league championship down the stretch, the familiar quotation of the team gripped by fear of winning made the rounds. Many observers had obviously failed to notice that Ballack did already have a big title to his name at that point - and that he had won it at the tender age of 21. After all, he had been in the starting XI on May 2, 1998, when Kaiserslautern beat Wolfsburg 4-0 to become Bundesliga champions. Granted, this game was the only one of the season in which Ballack played the whole 90 minutes, but he notched up 16 appearances and had every right to call himself league champion.
And even the season 2001-02 brought a few titles for him individually. For one, there was the honour of being named Germany's Footballer of the Year, which was something special precisely because he couldn't point to a club title, usually a prerequisite for winning such an award. What caused even more attention, at least among experts, was Ballack's being named Europe's best midfield player by UEFA. Again, he won this honour even though his side had lost the Champions League final - to a team that boasted a famous colleague such as Zinedine Zidane, who still failed to lift the award.
Michael Ballack's third Footballer of the Year trophy, won in 2005.
But Ballack wouldn't be a true footballer if he hadn't preferred winning championships and Cups with his team to always being honoured individually. Well, he more than made up for this during the next seasons. But apart from league titles and Cup triumphs with Bayern, he also celebrated his second and third Footballer of the Year award, thus entering a truly illustrious circle: not even big-name players like Lothar Matthaeus, Matthias Sammer, Juergen Klinsmann, Guenter Netzer or Gerd Mueller have won this title in Germany more than twice! Only two real legends are up there with Ballack - Uwe Seeler and Sepp Maier. And only one player has been named Footballer of the Year four times, Franz Beckenbauer. But Ballack still has a few years of football ahead of him ...
Predator in midfield
Michael Ballack is one of the most goal-hungry midfield players in the world. His success ratio is almost without equal in Europe. Be it in the league, in the European cup competitions or on the international stage - he nearly scores at will. He is hard to defend against, as he possess a lethal shot - of course with either foot - as well as the best offensive heading technique on the continent. It was already at his first professional club that he made his presence felt - barely out of his teens, he scored ten goals in 49 games for Chemnitz. And he proved he could find the target in the top flight as well, when coach Otto Rehhagel decided to utilise Ballack's strength for Kaiserslautern. Intitially groomed to succeed Miroslav Kadlec in the sweeper role (!), Ballack was allowed to take set pieces in only his second season with the club from platinate. He scored four times that year, only three players in the squad had a better tally.
Even Ronaldinho scored less goals from midfield during his first seasons.
Ballack finally broke through for good at Leverkusen, where coaches Christoph Daum and Klaus Toppmoeller granted him the whole of the pitch as his sovereign territory. With Bayer, he was the holding midfielder in front of the back four as well as the man who pulled the strings in the centre of the pitch as well as the reliable finisher upfront. In his three seasons at the Rhine, he scored 27 goals in the league and a further nine in Europe. And following his move to Bayern he continued right where he'd left off: Ballack found the target an impressive 30 times during his first three years.
It is only when you compare him with his illustrious midfield colleagues that you realise how much of a predator Ballack really is. Between 1998 and 2005, he chalked up 61 goals in his domestic league. During the same span, Zinedine Zidane scored 46 times for Juventus and Real Madrid, David Beckham 45 times for Manchester United and Real Madrid, Luis Figo 52 times for Barcelona and Real Madrid. Even Ronaldinho, who is such a clinical finisher, "only" found the net 54 times in the league (for Gremio Porto Alegre, Paris St Germain and Barcelona). Plus, none of those stars put in a lot defensive work at the same time - which Ballack always did.
Ballack's goals are even more important for the national team. You don't have to recall the 2002 World Cup, when he came to the rescue against the USA and South Korea because the strikers couldn't crack the opposing defences. His goal stats for his country's side are impressive enough: in his first 60 internationals, he found the net 29 times. Again, a little comparison proves how outstanding that is. Even after 98 games for France, Zidane didn't have that many goals. When Beckham scored his 16th goal for England, he was playing in his 80th international. Figo had 30 goals in 100 matches for Portugal. Only Ronaldinho can equal Ballack's achievment, because he scored his 29th internationl goal during his 59th appearance. But he's playing for Brazil ...
Michael Ballack about his hobbies and interests
This is where you can read about the private Michael Ballack. We hope you'll enjoy this conversation!
What constitutes a perfect, football-free weekend for you?
Michael Ballack: "If there's no game scheduled, I just put up my legs and enjoy the days with my family. Regenration and rest come first!"
How do you relax?
Michael Ballack: "That's when I do what most other fathers of a family do as well: I play games with my children. Another thing that, as far as I'm concerned, is quite relaxing is playing golf."
Which book did you last read?
Michael Ballack: "The last book I read was the biography of Robbie Williams."
Do you have any lucky accessories?
Michael Ballack: "Not really."
What is your most highly prized, non-material possession?
Michael Ballack: "The most valuable good is primarily health. As it goes without saying, a healthy body is particularly indispensible for professional athletes."
What kind of music do you prefer?
Michael Ballack: "If I have to settle on a specific genre, I'd say that pop music, R'n'B and soul are to my taste the most."
What do you enjoy more, the theatre or the cinema?
Michael Ballack: "By and large, I prefer the cinema. The last film I saw was 'King Kong'."
Are you often in Chemnitz, your hometown?
Michael Ballack: "Unfortunately, I can't make it to Chemnitz that often any more. But I go there at least twice a year. "
Do you have a favourite sport apart from football?
Michael Ballack: "Oh yes, certainly. I like playing golf. By the way, my handicap stands at 22."
Michael Ballack about his hobbies and interests
This is where you can read about the private Michael Ballack. We hope you'll enjoy this conversation!
What's your all-time favourite movie?
Michael Ballack: "I love the three parts of the cinema classic 'The Godafther'. Those pictures are truly legendary."
What are you wearing in private? Do you go for the elegant look, or the casual one?
Michael Ballack: "I prefer the casual one. It's got to be comfortable, that's the main thing."
Where did you spent your holidays in 2005?
Michael Ballack: "On Sardinia, a beautiful spot in the Mediterranean Sea."
How did you experience the end of the GDR, the falling of the Berlin Wall?
Michael Ballack: "I was pretty young when the Wall fell in 1989, barely 13 years old. I was at home, sitting in front of the tv set."
How did you earn your pocket-money as a boy?
Michael Ballack: "When I was a kid, I used to collect wastepaper and bottles. Especially the wastepaper earned me quite a lot of money. I'd take off every two or three weeeks and pick up everything I could find."
Do you have a favourite website?
Michael Ballack: "Sure, I often have a look at my own homepage. I enjoy checking out what my fans have to say in the guestbook, because their opinion is very important to me. Apart from that, I often log onto the official Bayern Munich website - fcb.de. I'm also pretty much a constant visitor to eBay. You could say that, in general, I'm online for two or three hours per week. "
Do you have a favourite actor?
Michael Ballack: "I like the American actor Ben Stiller."
Are you doing the chores?
Michael Ballack: "Of course. Just because I'm a professional footballer that doesn't mean I don't have to do anything else."
What's your favourite dish?
Michael Ballack: "I especially like sushi."
How do you spend holidays such as christmas?
Michael Ballack: "No doubt about that: of course at home with my family."
Statements
What does Michael Ballack think about the 2006 World Cup? How important are his fans to him? This is where you'll find his statements about these and other subjects.
Aims – "You always have to have aims, as they are crucial for motivation!"
Talent – "It's not enough to just possess talent, you also have to work hard to be able to reach your goals."
Celebrating – "That's actually the most wonderful thing about sports."
Media– "Today, the media have an increasingly prominent status."
World Cup – "Winning the World Cup is the biggest sporting success a footballer can have."
Humour - "It's important to take life with a healthy dose of humour."
Fans – "Fans are very important and a confirmation of your own performances. They are the reward for work put in. I'm happy about every fan I have!"
Secret of Success – "Everyone has got his own secret of success."
Goerlitz – "That's the place where I was born. A beautiful, historic city."
Role model – "Many footballers are being admired, especially by young people. That's why they have the position of a role model."
Edited by laney - 17 years ago
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