Michael Ballack

An intelligent midfielder with a delicate touch on the ball!


Michael Ballack (born September 26, 1976 in Görlitz, East Germany) is a German football player. He is the current captain of the German national team, and plays club football for Chelsea F.C. in the English FA Premier League.
Ballack is known for being a versatile and well-conditioned player, equally comfortable in attack and defense. Ballack is tall, which makes him good at in the air battles. He made his name as a classic box-to-box midfielder with Bayer Leverkusen, where he operated as the central midfielder and took on both defensive and attacking responsibilities. Later in his career, at FC Bayern Munich, under the guidance of Ottmar Hitzfeld and Felix Magath, Ballack excelled in a deeper role, where he went forward less often and instead concentrated on protecting the back four and distributing the ball. However, he remained a box-to-box midfielder for the German national team.
He is capable with both his left and right foot, as well as in the air. These attributes have earned him the German player of the year award on three occasions (2002, 2003, 2005). He is one of Germany's leading sports icons of recent times.
Ballack was made captain of the German national team by the then national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann in 2004. Current Germany head coach Joachim Löw has indicated that he will keep Ballack as his national team captain. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every club that he has played for, as well as the German national team.
Ballack has been included in the FIFA 100.
Ballack and his partner Simone Lambe have three children: Louis (born August 16, 2001), Emilio (September 19, 2002), and Jordi (born March 17, 2005)

Chelsea
26 September 1976
Source: Wikipedia