• 4 months ago
BALLACK
| Sports | Football Heroes |

Video description
This episode of Football Heroes reveals the star footballer Ballack along with his achievements, milestones, career, and more. Let's look into the real lives of our favorite football players and their accomplishments.
Michael Ballack (born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He won the German Footballer of the Year award three times – in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Ballack was known for his passing range, powerful shot, physical strength and commanding presence in midfield.

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Transcript
00:00One of Germany's favourite sons, Michael Ballack, knows how to win at football.
00:22His powerful strikes have helped his side to victory both at club and international
00:26level.
00:30Six foot two in his socks, Michael's impressive height makes him a double threat for opposing
00:35teams and almost impossible to stop from set pieces.
00:40Born on September 26, 1976 in the small East German town of Gorlitz, he was the only child
00:46of Stefan and Karen Ballack.
00:49At a young age, his father's job as an engineer took him and his family to Chemnitz.
00:54It was here, at the age of seven, that the future German captain started to play football.
01:00With encouragement from Stefan, who had himself played second division football, Michael instantly
01:05took to the game and in no time at all he was playing effectively off both feet.
01:11The management at Chemnitzer FC, or as it was then named FC Karl-Marx-Stadt, were ecstatic
01:16to have such a great young talent in the side.
01:20After spending 12 years in the junior ranks at Chemnitz, he signed his first professional
01:24contract thanks to his brilliant performances in the midfield.
01:28I still have this book where all the games are written down.
01:34This is the original book from the time when Michael started with us.
01:46His performances earned him the nickname Little Kaiser, after the Kaiser himself, Franz Beckenbauer.
01:56Michael was a real team player and integrated himself into the team 100 percent.
02:02Although he already knew at the time that he was something special.
02:06That must be said.
02:09Little Kaiser made his professional debut on August 4, 1995, at the age of 18.
02:15Although Chemnitz lost the game 2-1, Michael did enough to hold his spot.
02:20The next season saw him starting to hit his straps, scoring 10 times for the Sky Blues.
02:26These performances caught the eye of FC Kaiserslautern manager Otto Rehagel and young Michael was
02:31signed to the newly promoted Division 1 club.
02:39Joining Kaiserslautern gave Michael Ballack the opportunity to test his skills in one
02:44of the top competitions in Europe, the Bundesliga.
02:47Kaiserslautern, who had just been promoted from Division 2, gave Little Kaiser his first
02:52minutes in top flight football against Karlsruhe SC, although he only came on at the end of
02:57the game.
02:59After 16 appearances in his first season, which saw Kaiserslautern claim the Bundesliga
03:04title, he went on to become a regular the following year, appearing 30 times and scoring
03:09four goals.
03:12In 1999, the young midfielder was transferred to Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of around €4.1
03:18million.
03:19Handed a more attacking role by coaches, Christoph Dahm and Klaus Toppmoller, he thrived and
03:26almost led Bayer to the league title in his first year.
03:31In 2002, Leverkusen had a terrible season, which they later labelled the treble horror.
03:37Their most painful defeat came in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, leading
03:42into the final three, there was doubt as to whether Ballack would play due to a foot injury.
03:49Whether Michael Ballack will play tomorrow is still questionable.
03:53He injured his foot on Saturday.
03:56Nothing is broken, but there's a lot of swelling.
04:01We'll have to wait and see.
04:04He couldn't play at all yesterday.
04:08After watching him score 25 times in 2001-2002, Leverkusen struggled to hold on to him.
04:16Looking to claim more titles, Michael ended up signing with Bayern Munich for a fee of
04:21close to €13 million.
04:25With an impressive 2002 World Cup behind him, Ballack was keen to keep on form with his
04:30new club.
04:31He didn't disappoint, scoring 15 goals in his first year and helping Munich claim the
04:36Bundesliga crown.
04:40Bayern also won the German Cup to top off a brilliant season for their new recruit.
04:44The following season saw both Michael and Bayern suffer from a Premiership hangover.
04:49Although they challenged for trophies, they were unable to win the big games and lost
04:54both titles to Werder Bremen.
04:57On a personal level, Michael scored just nine goals, his worst return in three years.
05:05But both he and the club once again found their top gear in 2004-2005, winning the double
05:11for the second time in three seasons.
05:15It seemed both Ballack and Bayern were on course to etch their names in the Bundesliga
05:20history books.
05:23The following season, Munich started strongly, but suffered a blow when their young midfielder
05:28left to test his skills in one of Europe's most lucrative leagues, the EPL.
05:34The time has come, or the last possibility for me at the age of 29, to dare and take
05:42this step.
05:45I've been thinking about it for a long time, and I think Chelsea is a top club which, when
05:50you look at the English league, they strongly dominate.
05:55Also, when you look at the points, and internationally too, they have played a lot of very good games.
06:03It's just a very interesting club.
06:06Having made the decision to move on, Michael was keen to leave Bayern Munich on a high.
06:12And what better way than to win the Bundesliga title for a third time in four years?
06:18Their title defence hopes looked promising, however it soon became clear that the battle
06:22for the Bundesliga 43rd title would be a tight race.
06:27Their closest rivals were Hamburg and 2003-2004 champions Werder Bremen.
06:34After a hard-fought title race, Bayern Munich were once again declared champions, but only
06:39just.
06:41Despite boasting a greater goal difference and outscoring Bayern, Werder Bremen finished
06:45the season in second place, five points behind Munich.
06:50This was the Bavarians' 20th league title, the most won by any German Division 1 club.
06:57Michael finished the season scoring 14 goals in the Premiership, the seventh highest tally
07:01in the league.
07:03The talented midfielder was leaving Bayern on the perfect note, however no amount of
07:08champagne could drown out the mixed emotions he felt on leaving the club.
07:13Even winning a third Bundesliga title with Bayern couldn't stem the tears, as he left
07:18the Munich change rooms for the last time.
07:20There's always a bit of melancholy when you say goodbye and lose such a talented player
07:25as we did today, but such is life.
07:29Sure, when you see this, it's obvious that Bayern has a huge amount of fans, not just
07:34in Munich, but also elsewhere.
07:38I will definitely miss something.
07:41During his time at Germany's most successful club, Michael cemented his reputation as one
07:46of the world's leading attacking midfielders, scoring 58 times in 154 games for the club.
07:53On May 15, 2006, the out-of-contract Ballack joined Chelsea on a free transfer.
07:59After making his EPL debut against Blackburn on August 27, Chelsea's new recruit went on
08:05to enjoy a solid first season.
08:07No mean feat against the top-flight players of the EPL.
08:10I feel that in the first training sessions, the tempo is high, it's very fast, and the
08:19good quality and high quality, I think it's no one special player.
08:25I am happy to play with all these good players and yes, they are very good teams in the Premier
08:33League.
08:34Not one, two, I think Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham.
08:38Despite his valiant efforts to mix it with the world's best, he was sidelined for an
08:42extended period in early 2007 with an ankle injury.
08:48He was out of the game for eight months, and although some feared the injury could
08:52end his career, he made his return in December 2007 during a 2-0 win over Liverpool.
09:01Michael went on to score vital goal after vital goal as the trophy season advanced.
09:07Unfortunately, however, Chelsea finished runners-up in the league, FA Cup and Champions League,
09:14leaving Michael with his second treble horror.
09:17The following season, he and Chelsea made amends by winning the FA Cup.
09:23By now in his 30s, the veteran star signed a new one-year contract in June 2009.
09:31Approaching his 500th professional football game, Michael Ballack's best performances
09:35to date have been at Bayern Munich, averaging more than one goal every three games.
09:47With his domestic career going from strength to strength at Chemnitzer FC, Michael was
09:52called up to play for Germany's under-21 team on March 26, 1996.
09:58The 19-year-old played a total of 19 matches for the national under-21 side before he was
10:04invited to play for the senior team just over three years later.
10:09His debut came on April 28, 1999 in a match against Scotland.
10:15After playing for just 63 minutes in Euro 2000, the young midfielder made the most of
10:20his chances in his next international tournament, the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
10:27With more game time, he scored three times in the competition.
10:32Although his first two goals were pivotal in Germany's success, his third goal would
10:37go down as the most important international goal of his career so far.
10:43Scoring in the 75th minute of their semi-final clash with South Korea, Ballack kept a cool
10:47head under pressure and sent his country to the World Cup final with a 1-0 victory.
10:54Unfortunately, it was a final that Michael would miss, as a yellow card in the latter
10:58stages of the game resulted in a suspension.
11:03Germany eventually went down to Brazil, 2-0 in the final.
11:07Despite his suspension, Michael went home from Asia a World Cup Euro.
11:13Following Euro 2004, after Germany's poor results, he was handed the captaincy by newly
11:19appointed manager Jürgen Klinsmann.
11:24Another important thing, which I spoke to the players about, especially Oliver Kahn
11:30and Michael Ballack, is that Michael Ballack will be captain of the German national team,
11:38and Oliver Kahn will be his deputy.
11:42For me, there's a simple reason for this.
11:46I wanted to have an outfield player who was in contact with all members of the team on
11:50the field.
11:54Now pushing 30, Ballack was overwhelmed by the honour of captaining his country.
12:01It makes me happy that he has such confidence in me, and has given me so much responsibility.
12:07For me, it's a big honour to be captain of the national team, and that's why I was very
12:16happy.
12:19With the 2006 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, Michael's role as captain was to knock his
12:24side into the best possible shape ahead of their greatest challenge.
12:31He led from the front of the 2005 Confederations Cup, scoring four goals and leading his country
12:37to a third place finish.
12:40He and his German side were in peak form, and with Germany playing host to the World
12:45Cup, local expectations were high.
12:48However, Michael's campaign didn't get off to the best start, as he missed their first
12:54game with a calf strain.
12:57He soon overcame the injury and appeared in all of Germany's remaining matches.
13:04In his second game, he was named Man of the Match, with Germany thrashing Ecuador 3-0
13:09and progressing through to the knockout stage undefeated.
13:14After downing Sweden 2-0, Germany met Argentina in the quarter-finals.
13:20With the score won all at the end of extra time, it was Michael's DFB 11 that came through
13:254-2 on penalties.
13:28Once again, he was named Man of the Match.
13:32The semi-finals saw Germany lose 2-0 to a venture winner's Italy.
13:38With the scores level for 118 minutes, the Italians broke the hearts of the host nation
13:43by scoring twice in two minutes.
13:47Despite the loss, the Germans recouped.
13:50And in front of 52,000 fans at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart Michael's men won
13:55the third-place play-off 3-1 against Portugal.
14:01After a reasonably successful World Cup campaign, where he was named in FIFA's World Cup All-Star
14:06Team, Michael was struck down with an ankle injury.
14:10He returned in 2008 and was a hugely influential figure in the midfield for Germany at Euro
14:1608.
14:18After missing the first game, he steered Germany all the way to the final, where they eventually
14:23lost 1-0 to Spain.
14:25Nevertheless, he was named in the team of the tournament.
14:29Now with all eyes set on the next World Cup, the boy from Gorlitz will be hoping to lead
14:34his country to their fourth World Cup title.
14:38Having played for his country nearly 100 times, Ballack has come close to winning major international
14:43tournaments on four occasions.
14:51Although most of Ballack's time is taken up by training, playing and travelling to football
14:55games, over his career he has been more than proactive with the little time that he has
15:00away from the game.
15:03On July 14, 2008, Ballack tied the knot with his long-term girlfriend, Simone Lamb.
15:09The couple, who already have three children together, Louis born in 2001, Emilio born
15:15in 2002 and Jordi in 2005, were married at a yacht club in the posh southern German town
15:21of Starnberg.
15:22Lamb, who wore a white wedding gown, could thank Ballack's former coach at Kaiserslautern,
15:28Otto Rehagel, for Ballack's steady lifestyle.
15:32Before Michael was with Kaiserslautern, he suggested that the German captain should get
15:36into a stable relationship.
15:39The Tuesday wedding was met with unseasonal rain, as the guests were seated in a beautiful
15:44marquee on the water's edge.
15:46The A-list guests included German Football Association sports director Michael Sammer
15:51and coach of FC Cologne Christoph Dahl.
15:55Despite being the middle of the off-season, the newlywed couple could only enjoy a short
15:59period of each other's company, as the 31-year-old midfielder was due back at training with Chelsea
16:05immediately after their honeymoon.
16:08Two years prior to the big day, Ballack was busy with other off-field activities.
16:13During 2006, the Chelsea midfielder released his biography, simply titled Michael Ballack
16:19– The Biography.
16:21Written by Ewan Reedy, the book gives a fascinating insight into his philosophy on football and
16:26life, as well as the ups and downs of his career.
16:30Although this may not have been the happiest day of his life, it certainly was a huge achievement,
16:35and will no doubt give some extra green to his bank balance.
16:40Ballack joined the campaign against AIDS in May 2006, via joining UNAIDS.
16:45UNAIDS, with the help of celebrities the likes of Ballack, hopes that they can inform today's
16:50youth about the dangers of the disease.
16:53Michael was more than happy to help out.
16:57Well I think AIDS is everybody's business and they ask me and of course I will help.
17:03I think football is the most popular sport in the world and a lot of people know football,
17:12they look up to us and so I think we should fight AIDS together.
17:19UNAIDS aims to break down the stigma around people who suffer from the illness, while
17:23also promoting safe sex.
17:32Over the course of his exciting career, Michael Ballack has played alongside and been inspired
17:36by some of the greatest players of the modern era.
17:41His Chelsea team-mate and fellow midfielder Frank Lampard has enjoyed a career in professional
17:45football that has spanned almost 15 years.
17:50Starting out at West Ham, he moved to Chelsea in 2001 after six seasons with the Hammers.
17:57Two years before joining Chelsea, he debuted for England in October 1999 against Belgium.
18:04Named the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2007-2008, he has played a pivotal role
18:11in Chelsea's recent success, winning an impressive eight titles with the club.
18:18Former Chelsea team-mate and Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko made his senior football
18:23debut in 1994 for Dynamo Kiev.
18:26In 1999, after 117 games with Kiev, he moved to AC Milan.
18:33He followed up successful stints at Kiev and Milan with a transfer to Chelsea in 2006.
18:39However poor form at Stamford Bridge saw him return to Dynamo Kiev in 2009.
18:46Fellow countryman Lukas Podolsky took the world by storm in the 2006 FIFA World Cup,
18:52where he was named the Gillette Best Young Player and scored three goals, including a
18:56double against Sweden.
18:58Podolsky began his club career with Cologne in 2003, where he scored 46 times from 81
19:05appearances.
19:06Shortly before his World Cup heroics, he agreed to a transfer to Bayern Munich.
19:11However, his time at the powerful club didn't live up to expectations, and after a few average
19:16seasons he returned to Cologne in 2009.
19:20Internationally, however, Podolsky held his good form in Euro 2008 and was named in the
19:26team of the tournament.
19:28One of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Oliver Kahn started his career with Karlsruhe
19:33SC in 1987, before moving to Bayern Munich in 1994.
19:38Kahn is recognised as one of the most successful German footballers of the modern era, winning
19:4317 club titles, including 8 German Championships, 6 German Cups and the UEFA Champions League.
19:51Playing 86 times for his country, his greatest achievement was undoubtedly receiving the
19:55FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 2002 for the best player in the tournament.
20:00Kahn retired from football in 2008.
20:05Known as the greatest German footballer to grace a football pitch, Franz Beckenbauer
20:09is most renowned for his part in two World Cup victories, his first as a player in 1974
20:15and the second as manager in 1990.
20:18He played the majority of his club career with Bayern Munich, where he spent most of
20:22his time in defence, and has often been credited with inventing the role of sweeper.
20:27Winning 20 club titles, he also received over 15 individual honours, including two Ballon
20:33d'Ors.
20:34With a successful career coming to a close, Michael Ballack now has time to enjoy the
20:44fruits of his football labours.
20:47Not only does he earn a handy salary of 7.6 million euros a year at Chelsea, he has also
20:52made a tidy sum from sponsors, such as sportswear manufacturer Adidas, which promotes a line
20:59of Ballack products as part of their lucrative Predator range.
21:04Aside from Adidas, Michael is also sponsored by Coca-Cola, McDonald's and T-Mobile, adding
21:10an extra 2 million euros to his annual income.
21:16His salary at Chelsea puts him at number five on the footballers' money list.
21:22Blues teammate Frank Lampard comes at close sixth, while Barcelona's Lionel Messi is way
21:28out in front, earning 12 million euros a year.
21:33With close to 500 club games to his name, Michael has achieved an amazing amount of
21:38team honours.
21:40Participating in 13 title wins, including three Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich
21:46and two FA Cups with Chelsea.
21:49Playing for his country, he has finished a respectable second and third in the past two
21:53World Cups.
21:57Individually, he has amassed a list of personal honours any footballer would be proud of,
22:03such as winning the German Footballer of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2005.
22:11He has been named in FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players and was included in the team of the
22:16tournament in Euro 2004 and 2008, and the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup.
22:25His best playing years may be behind him, but Michael Ballack will no doubt be giving
22:30his all in the lead-up to the upcoming World Cup.
22:34Renowned for his ability to step up when his country needs him most, his experience will
22:39count for a lot come World Cup time.
22:43While his future at Chelsea remains uncertain, there is no doubt that a whole range of clubs
22:48will be queuing to sign him if he leaves the Blues.

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