All sports: Michael ballack german football player

Career History:
Club Season Comp. Apps
(as sub) Goals
Leverkusen 2010 - 11 League 13 (4) 0
Euro Cups 1 (2) 2
Chelsea 2009 - 10 League 26 (6) 4
FA Cup 3 (1) 1
League Cup 2 (0) 0
Euro Cups 5 (1) 0
Chelsea 2008 - 09 League 22 (7) 1
FA Cup 5 (1) 3
League Cup 1 (0) 0
Euro Cups 9 (1) 0
Chelsea 2007 - 08 League 16 (2) 7
FA Cup 1 (1) 0
League Cup 1 (2) 0
Euro Cups 7 (0) 2

Michael Ballack (born 26 September 1976) is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern. 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. the team won the Bundesliga and German Cup double in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Ballack had become a prolific goalscorer from midfield, scoring 58 goals for Bayern Munich between 2002 and 2006. He joined Premier League club Chelsea in mid-2006 and won his first English honours, the FA Cup and League Cup, in his first season at the club. Injury ruled out much of 2007 but he returned the following season, helping Chelsea reach their first ever Champions League Final. Bayern won the Bundesliga in his first season with 75 points, they also won the German Cup. In his second season however, Bayern lost their Bundesliga crown to Werder Bremen along with the cup.

In his third season with the Bavarians, Ballack enjoyed success in the 2004–05 season as Bayern Munich completed another double. New coach Felix Magath stated he was the only automatic starter in their midfield. In four seasons at Bayern, Ballack won three Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal doubles and scored 47 goals in 135 matches. Between 1998 and 2005, Ballack notched up 61 goals in his domestic league.
However, Ballack's critics noted his frequent "choking" in important Champions League matches.

On 14 July 2008, Ballack married his longtime girlfriend Simone Lambe. The couple have three children together – Louis (born 2001), Emilio (born 2002) and Jordi (born 2005). March 1996, Ballack debuted for the national U21 team against Denmark, shortly after signing for Chemnitz. In all, he played 19 matches for this side, scoring four goals. Then, following his move to Kaiserslautern, national coach Berti Vogts called him up to the senior team.

Ballack's first appearance, however, did not come until 28 April 1999, when he came on as a substitute for Dietmar Hamann in a match against Scotland.
Ballack only played 63 minutes at UEFA Euro 2000. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored in matches against the United States and South Korea during the knockout rounds as Germany reached the final. However, he was booked for a tactical foul during the semi-final match against South Korea and was suspended for the final, which Germany went on to lose 2–0 to Brazil. He was included in the World Cup All Star Team. He proved to be an influential figure in the midfield as Germany came back from a shock defeat to Croatia to make it to the final, scoring a free kick against Austria to secure Germany a 1–0 win and a place in the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, he scored a controversial header against Portugal to make the score 3–1 in their 3–2 win after an assist by Bastian Schweinsteiger's 60th minute free kick, helping Germany to advance to the semi-finals. Germany went on to beat Turkey 3–2 in the semifinals. Prior to the final, Ballack sustained a calf injury but eventually overcame it in time. However, Germany ended up losing 1–0 to Spain. Nevertheless, he was named in the Team of the Tournament.

Ballack can boast that, dating back to June 2005, Germany has never lost a game when he has scored. He scored 4 goals in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. However, he missed the 2010 FIFA World Cup following a foul by Kevin-Prince Boateng in the FA Cup Final that caused an ankle injury. Boateng is a former Germany U21 player and half-brother of current German international Jérôme Boateng. Kevin-Prince Boateng went on to play for Ghana against the German team in the World Cup group stages.