Michael Ballack is a German former professional footballer.
60 Facts About Michael Ballack
2.
Michael Ballack is among the top goal scorers in the history of the Germany national team.
3.
Michael Ballack was selected by Pele as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002.
4.
Michael Ballack was known for his passing range, powerful shot, physical strength and commanding presence in midfield.
5.
Michael Ballack began his career as a youth at enterprise sports community BSG Motor "Fritz Heckert" Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1983.
6.
Michael Ballack then joined the youth department of football club FC Karl-Marx-Stadt.
7.
Michael Ballack made his debut for Germany's under-21 side on 26 March 1996.
8.
Michael Ballack won the Bundesliga in his first season at the club, his first major honour.
9.
Michael Ballack had become a prolific goalscorer from midfield, scoring 58 goals for Bayern between 2002 and 2006.
10.
Michael Ballack joined Premier League club Chelsea in mid-2006 and won English honours in his first season at the club.
11.
Michael Ballack went on to win the FA Cup again in 2009 and then once more as part of a league and cup double in 2010.
12.
Internationally, Michael Ballack has played in the UEFA European Football Championship in 2000,2004 and 2008, and the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and 2006.
13.
Michael Ballack scored consecutive game-winning goals in the quarter-final and semi-final to help his country to the 2002 World Cup final and led his team to the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup and the Euro 2008 final.
14.
Michael Ballack was born on 26 September 1976 in Gorlitz, a town in Bezirk Dresden, East Germany.
15.
Michael Ballack is the only child of Stephan Ballack, an engineer, and his wife Karin, a secretary.
16.
The family moved to Chemnitz when Michael Ballack was very young and it was there that he started to play football.
17.
Michael Ballack's parents sent him to train with sports community BSG Motor "Fritz Heckert" Karl-Marx-Stadt at the age of seven.
18.
Michael Ballack was then allowed to attend the elite Children and Youth Sports School "Emil Wallner" in Karl-Marx-Stadt.
19.
Michael Ballack then joined the larger and more promoted football club FC Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1988.
20.
The father of Michael Ballack had played second-division football himself in Germany.
21.
In 1995, Michael Ballack earned his first professional contract, thanks to his performances in the role of central midfielder.
22.
Michael Ballack was dubbed the "Little Kaiser", in reference to Franz Beckenbauer, who was nicknamed "Der Kaiser".
23.
Michael Ballack did not miss a game and scored ten goals for the "Sky Blues".
24.
On 28 March 1998, Michael Ballack made his first-team debut-start against Bayer Leverkusen.
25.
Michael Ballack made 16 appearances for his new team during the season as the club became the first-ever newly promoted team to lift the Bundesliga title.
26.
Michael Ballack was instrumental to the success of Leverkusen, scoring 27 goals in the league and nine in Europe over the course of his three seasons at the BayArena.
27.
Michael Ballack finished with 17 league goals and his performance over the season led to him being voted into the UEFA.
28.
In four seasons at Bayern, Michael Ballack won three Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal doubles, scoring 44 goals in 107 Bundesliga matches.
29.
Between 1998 and 2005, Michael Ballack scored 61 goals in total in the domestic league.
30.
Michael Ballack's critics noted his frequent "choking" in important Champions League matches.
31.
Beckenbauer later went as far as to accuse Michael Ballack of "saving his strength" for prospective employers after Michael Ballack turned in an average performance in the 2006 DFB-Pokal final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
32.
Michael Ballack agreed to join English Premier League club Chelsea on a free transfer on 15 May 2006.
33.
Shortly after arriving at Chelsea, Michael Ballack stated that he hoped to end his career at Chelsea.
34.
On 27 August 2006, Michael Ballack made his Premier League debut for Chelsea against Blackburn Rovers.
35.
Michael Ballack scored his first Premier League goal on 21 October 2006 against Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge with a header.
36.
On 29 April 2007, Chelsea released a statement on their official website, informing fans that Michael Ballack had undergone ankle surgery in Munich.
37.
Michael Ballack tallied an assist late in the game to striker Andriy Shevchenko.
38.
Michael Ballack came on for Frank Lampard in the 26th minute after the latter had picked up a thigh injury.
39.
Michael Ballack scored the only goal that won the match for Chelsea against Reading to extend the blues' winning streak to a record of nine.
40.
Michael Ballack was named Man of The Match for his performance.
41.
Michael Ballack was injured shortly after missing the games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.
42.
Michael Ballack came on as a second-half substitute as Chelsea won the 2009 FA Cup final.
43.
On 2 June 2009, Michael Ballack signed a one-year contract extension with Chelsea.
44.
Michael Ballack made his first Champions League appearance for the season against Porto.
45.
Michael Ballack started as Chelsea were victorious against Portsmouth in the 2010 FA Cup final, however he would come off injured shortly before half-time after a tackle by Kevin-Prince Boateng.
46.
On 25 June 2010, Michael Ballack signed a two-year contract with former club Bayer Leverkusen.
47.
Michael Ballack had been in talks with Major League Soccer's Montreal Impact and A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers.
48.
On 5 June 2013, Michael Ballack played a farewell match at Leipzig's Red Bull Arena.
49.
On 26 March 1996, Michael Ballack debuted for the Germany national under-21 team against Denmark, shortly after signing for Chemnitzer FC.
50.
Michael Ballack was included in the World Cup All Star Team.
51.
Michael Ballack was named Man of the Match in the games against Ecuador and Argentina, and was included in FIFA's World Cup All Star Team for a second consecutive time.
52.
Michael Ballack started and captained Germany in their first game of Euro 2008 against Poland.
53.
Former German captain Lothar Matthaus suggested that Michael Ballack's absence had allowed these young players to blossom.
54.
Since the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Michael Ballack had not been called up for any international matches.
55.
Michael Ballack organized a farewell game by himself and invited Low and Lahm.
56.
Michael Ballack is considered to be one of the best and versatile midfielders of his generation; he played in several midfield positions during his career, and was noted for his powerful shot with both feet.
57.
Michael Ballack started his football career as a sweeper, but when he moved to Leverkusen in 1999, then-coach Christoph Daum moved him to midfield.
58.
Michael Ballack adapted to a deeper role during his spell at Chelsea.
59.
Michael Ballack was the only child of father Stephan, an engineer who played third-division football, and mother Karin, a secretary and swimmer.
60.
On 14 July 2008, Michael Ballack married his long-time girlfriend Simone Lambe.