Michael Ballack
Little Kaiser collects more silverware with Bayern

Ozren Podnar reports...

Michael Ballack, known to German fans as "Little Kaiser", serves a powerful cocktail of skill and strength in every game he plays. He was the most responsible for the unfancied Germany's runner-up spot at the last World Cup and is the ace the nation relies on for the forthcoming Weltmeisterschaft (World Cup)on their home soil.

Even though he has played for Bayern since 2002, he was a hero for the Bavarians when he was still at Leverkusen. In the last matchday of the 1999/00 season, he brought an unexpected League title to Bayern ... with an own-goal against modest Unterhaching.

The current leading German footballer was born on September 29th of 1976 in Karl-Marx-Stadt in the former East Germany. Today the city bears the old, pre-communist name of Chemnitz. He signed his first professional contract with Chemnitzer in 1995, and in 1997 he moved to Kaiserslautern, just promoted after a year in the Second Bundesliga.

In his first Bundesliga season, he already tasted the joy of winning the championship, albeit mostly coming on from the bench. Next year he played much more and even debuted in the national team, but his relationship with the coach Otto Rehhagel was steadily deteriorating, which speeded up his departure for Bayer Leverkusen for 4.8 million euros.

Under the guidance of the controversial coach Christoph Daum, Ballack flourished, and Daum called him the greatest prospect in German football.

"The only thing he lacks is a bit more resistence in duels," said Daum. While Germany buzzed about the tall, elegant, goal-scoring midfielder, Bayer spent most of the season on top and the very first title looked like a reality. The last day of the title-race was supposed to be the most famous in Bayer's history because the Pharmacists needed only a draw at lowly Unterhaching to finish ahead of Bayern Munich.

Tragic afternoon at Unterhaching

The person who saw to it that Leverkusen did not win the trophy was Michael Ballack. Midway through the first half, he turned a cross into his own net putting Unterhaching ahead. A nervous Bayer never recovered from that shock and went on to lose 2-0, while Bayern Munich easily thrashed Werder 3-1, winning the title on goals difference and in the most amazing fashion.

The Germans were not so crazy as to write off such a talented player as Ballack because of one unfortunate mistake so Balle kept his place in the national team, while his influence at Bayer steadily grew.

"He could become the greatest German player ever. I played against Beckenbauer, Netzer and Overath, but Ballack is the most complete," coach Klaus Toppmöller said of the midfielder. Leverkusen's president Reiner Calmund gave him the nickname "Kleine Kaiser" because of his elegant moves reminiscent of the original "Kaiser" Franz Beckenbauer.

In 2001/02 Bayer played the best football in their history and a month before the end of the season their fans had the most wonderful dreams. Bayer had eliminated Liverpool and Manchester United in the Champions League, having also reached the domestic Cup final and holding a five-point advantage on top of the Bundesliga. Bayer's angel was Michael Ballack, making good of the predictions that had singled him out as the leading German player of the new millennium.

The team only had to clench their teeth in the final weeks and round-up the season with a trophy or two; after all, Bayer had only won a UEFA Cup in 1988 and a German Cup in 1993, and nothing else. But, all that Toppmöller had built until then, all goals, assists and balls won by Michael Ballack were reduced to ashes. In the Bundesliga, Bayer lost to Werder at home and to Nürnberg away, handing the title over to Borussia Dortmund; in the Champions League, they lost to Real Madrid and that marvellous Zinedine Zidane's volley at Hampden Park, only to complete their misery with a resounding defeat to Schalke in the domestic Cup finals. The rivals' fans and the media responded by renaming Leverkusen as "Neverkusen".

On to FC Hollywood

Ballack comforted himself with a major prize - a 12.9 million euro transfer to Bayern. Before actually joining the Bavarian "FC Hollywood", Ballack, with a little help from Oliver Kahn, took an insipid Germany to the World Cup finals. He missed out on the final match against Brazil because of a third yellow card, but not before scoring three goals on the way, including the deciders against the USA in the quarterfinals and South Korea in the semis.

The media had it clear: Ballack was the best German player of 2002, women's magazines voted him the most handsome footballer, and his popularity was reflected by the leading daily Bild putting him on the cover twice in the space of a week.

"Everybody loves Ballack, especially women," it said on one of the covers. The women don't seem to mind the fact that their favourite has three sons with Sabine, his girlfriend of six years.

Once in Bayern, trophies finally started flowing Ballack's way. He immediately imposed himself as Bayern's central player, an intelligent offensive midfielder with a deft touch of the ball and a terrifying long distance shot. His extraordinary physique allows him to cover an enormous amount of ground, tackle opponents in midfield and moments later score from close range in the mould of a centreforward. Ten months after the World Cup, he celebrated the League and the Cup double, earning himself the man-of-the-match award in the Cup finals against Kaiserslautern, by scoring the first two goals and making the third for Claudio Pizarro.

A triumphant 2003 ended with another Player of the Year award. What had seemed so difficult at Leverkusen, has turned out so easy at Bayern.

The current season has been almost as good for Ballack and his team, as Bayern strolled to yet another League title and the Cup finals with archrivals Schalke. Even though he could not inspire a woeful Germany to any degree of success at Euro 2004 in Portugal, he was still the best performer of Rudi Völler's side that placed only above Latvia in the group stage. While Germans place the most hopes in him at next year's World Cup, his teammates at Bayern plead with the directors not to transfer him at any price.

"Bayern should never sell Ballack," said keeper Oli Kahn. "Even if he plays a game or two below par, they must convince him that the club's future is based on him."

Fact file

Name: Michael Ballack
Nicknames: Balle, Kleine Kaiser
Birthdate: 26th September 1976
Birthplace: Gorlitz
Height and weight: 189 cm, 80 kg
Position: central or attacking midfielder
Club: Bayern Munich
Marital status: girlfriend Simone, sons Louis, Emilio and Jordi

Career (appearances and goals)
1994/95 BSG Motor -
1995/96 Chemnitzer 15 - 0
1996/97 Chemnitzer 34 - 10
1997/98 Kaiserslautern 16 - 0
1998/99 Kaiserslautern 30 - 4
1999/00 Bayer Leverkusen 23 - 3
2000/01 Bayer Leverkusen 27 - 7
2001/02 Bayer Leverkusen 29 - 17
2002/03 Bayern 26 - 10
2003/04 Bayern 28 - 7
2004/05 Bayern 26 - 12

1999-05 Germany 51 - 22

Trophies and awards

German championships: 1998, 2003 and 2005.
German Cup: 2003
World Cup runner-up: 2002
German player of the year: 2002, 2003

Ozren Podnar

World Soccer

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