Ballack

[Freddy Adu]

Everything about Michael Ballack should go here.
Whether it be about his game performance or specific news about him... All of it should go here.

Michael Ballack
Personal information
Full name	Michael Ballack
Date of birth	September 26, 1976 (1976-09-26) (age 30)
Place of birth	Görlitz, Germany
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	13
Youth clubs
1983-1995	Chemnitzer FC
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995-1997 1997-1999 1999-2002 2002-2006 2006-	Chemnitzer FC 1. FC Kaiserslautern Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich Chelsea	049 (10) 063 (12) 079 (27) 107 (44) 026 0(4)
National team2
1999-	Germany (Captain)	077 (35)

[Freddy Adu]

Chelsea to be quizzed over Michael Ballack
Joachim Low, Germany's national coach, is to contact Chelsea next week to ask them to explain Michael Ballack's exclusion from their Champions League squad. The Germany captain is recovering from ankle surgery and does not figure in his club's 23-man squad for the group stages of the competition.
Chelsea insist they took the decision because they could not guarantee Ballack would be fit for the majority of their six group matches. However, Low is confident of having the midfielder back for his side's European Championship qualifiers next month. "For us, Chelsea's decision is unfounded," Low said. "At the moment, nobody can quite understand it."
Arsene Wenger has agreed a three-year deal to remain as Arsenal manager. The terms of the deal - which will keep Wenger at the Emirates Stadium until 2011 - are understood to be worth about £4 million a season to the Frenchman.

Wenger said: "My heart is tied to this football club, so signing a new deal was always my intention."

Leeds have been barred from full membership of the Football Association after they were unable to prove all their non-football creditors had been paid.

The club owe money to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in unpaid tax and VAT following their spell in administration and the FA have decided to withdraw a number of their privileges. They will no longer be able to vote at any FA general meetings or receive FA Cup final tickets.

Diego Maradona will lead Argentina in a replay of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England at Villa Park on Oct 14.

Maradona, whose 'Hand of God' goal and brilliant individual effort minutes later helped the South Americans to a 2-1 win in Mexico en route to winning the tournament, is set to play in the match, which will feature the original line-ups.

Maradona said: "Everyone talks about the 'Hand of God' from this match, it was a bit of mischief, the goalkeeper had the advantage of grabbing with his hands. It was too high for me and I stuck out my fist."

Former Tottenham favourite Ossie Ardiles has replaced Antonio Mohamed as head coach of Argentinian club Huracan.
Chelsea to be quizzed over Michael Ballack - Telegraph

[Amo-te Benfica]

Could be on the way to Real Madrid in January? Discuss it all here:

Ballack to Real Madrid?

[Freddy Adu]

Chelsea boss Mourinho: Of course I want Ballack back
tribalfooball.com - September 15, 2007

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho insists he wants a fit-again Michael Ballack available to him.

Mourinho said: "Do I want him to play? Of course yes. Last season, against a sea of critics, I was the only one behind him, so this season where I am playing with wingers and where he could make a top contribution to our game I don't want him?

"If he is fit or if the medical department thinks he is ready to play football in the next couple of months, do we leave him out of the Champions League list?

"Of course not. I miss him on the pitch. Since April I only see him in the medical room and sometimes at lunch in the canteen.

"Because I am not a doctor, the Chelsea doctor reports that the player will not be ready to play in most games in the Champions League group, what do I do? Believe in the Chelsea doctor or believe in others? The answer is simple.

"Let's wait and see when Michael is ready to play football again for Chelsea."

[D. Stankovic]

Ballack only plays for money these days, he is shit on the field and lost his potential.

[Zubby]

^^funny cause i could see him wearin the same stripe as Dejan, after a Ballack for Adriano trade, imo its a win/win... Adriano will be a beast for the next team he plays 4 to shut up the critics. Inter gets to send him to another league for much needed depth in the mid-field and insurance(seems like someone is always injured) he'd go well w/ either Veira or Cambiasso

[winston]

ballack should go back to germany.........

someone shoot shevechenko bast**** is one of the reasons jose is out now...

[Brasil]

Long wait over as Ballack returns to training


Written by: AFP

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack controls the ball during the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn Rovers in April 2007. Ballack is back in training with Chelsea, six months after the midfielder first damaged his ankle playing for the English giants. BERLIN (AFP) - German captain Michael Ballack is back in training with Chelsea, six months after the midfielder first damaged his ankle playing for the English giants. Much has changed at Stamford Bridge since Ballack, 31, injured his ankle in the Premier League clash with Newcastle United on April 22 - coach Jose Mourinho has departed and they lost last season's title race to Manchester United. And in his absence, Germany made sure of their Euro 2008 place with a 0-0 draw against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin earlier this month. But Ballack was at Chelsea's training ground in Cobham on Friday doing some light skills and fitness work, so a return to full training is on the horizon. "I am back kicking a ball again," Ballack told German tabloid Bild. "For the moment I am still training alone, but I assume I will be able to play again this year." It has been a long road back for the German captain who had an ankle operation on his left ankle on April 27 and then needed a further op in July, which held up his recovery. "The injury was a bit worse than I was first told," said Ballack. "Originally, it looked like it would have healed in three or four weeks, but it took a lot longer than that in the end." There is a chance Ballack will be fit for Germany's two remaining Euro 2008 qualifying games against Cyprus on November 17 and Wales on November 22. Reports in the German media last week implied Ballack would not be playing again until the new year, but the midfielder rubbished reports on Wednesday night in an interview on cable channel Premier.

[D. Stankovic]

Back to training, that's a good news for Chelsea.

[celery]

Dont need sh!tty ballack, we've got 2 of the best midfielders in the world in Essien and Lampard, and then Mikel and Maka either one sitting behind them.

[Freddy Adu]

Low: Ballack on way back at Chelsea

Germany coach Joachim Low believes Michael Ballack will be available for Chelsea within a month.

Low said: "He is on the way up now and recovering well from the operation.

"He has trained with the team and everything is going to plan, and slowly but surely he is looking to get back into the Chelsea starting line-up."

[Freddy Adu]

Chelsea's Ballack sees Porsche clamped

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack had his Porsche supercar clamped yesterday.

The benched star cursed his bad luck when he came out to find his flash Porsche sports car was immovable, and frantically phoned round to try and get his car released.

The millionaire footballer could only hang around and wait for the people responsible for rendering his car static, to come and remove the offending article.

[Brasil]

I will be in top form for Euro 2008 says Germany´s Ballack


Written by: AFP

	Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack controls the ball during the FA Cup semi-final against Blackburn Rovers in April 2007. Ballack told German press he would be

BERLIN (AFP) - Germany captain Michael Ballack told Wednesday's German press he would be "in top form" for the Euro 2008 finals although he has spent more than seven months on the sidelines.

The 31-year-old Chelsea midfielder, who has had two operations on his left ankle, also made clear his long-term plans to play for a year or two following the 2010 World Cup finals.

He told Wednesday's Sport Bild magazine: "I have enough time to be in top form for June," referring to the June 7 to 29 Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland.

"After this injury problem, I'm particularly motivated for the 2010 World Cup finals. After that I will wait and see if I can play a year or two more."

[Brasil]

Ballack admits injury led to retirement thoughts


Written by: AFP

	Germany captain Michael Ballack, seen here in April 2007, has revealed thoughts of retirement crossed his mind as he struggled to get over the serious long-term ankle injury which plagued him this year.

BERLIN (AFP) - Germany captain Michael Ballack has revealed thoughts of retirement crossed his mind as he struggled to get over the serious long-term ankle injury which plagued him this year.

Ballack, 31, was injured in April playing for Premier League giants Chelsea against Newcastle, but needed two operations to fix his left ankle and is now back in training.

Having spent the last seven months on the sidelines, Ballack says he will be back in top form for next June's Euro 2008 finals, but he admitted he had thought of having to quit the game when his injury dragged on.

"I always believed in the fact that I would come back," Ballack told German weekly newspaper Die Zeit.

"But I was really worried about the injury, I had thousands of questions, but just did not have the answers.

"It got on my friends and families nerves: I couldn't get my injury out of my head 24 hours a day.

"Sometimes, I thought to myself, 'man, now you are 31, you had 14 good years as a professional. Perhaps that is it now'."

The Chelsea midfielder also made clear his long-term plans to play for a year or two following the 2010 World Cup finals.

He told Wednesday's Sport Bild magazine: "I have enough time to be in top form for June," referring to the June 7 to 29 Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland.

"After this injury problem, I'm particularly motivated for the 2010 World Cup finals. After that I will wait and see if I can play a year or two more."

[Brasil]

Ballack eyes up Euro 2008 and Champions League crowns


Written by: AFP

	After the longest injury break in his 12-year career, Germany captain Michael Ballack, seen here in action on 19 December 2007, wants to compensate by lifting the Champions League trophy with Chelsea and the Euro 2008 title with his country.

BERLIN (AFP) - After the longest injury break in his 12-year career, Germany captain Michael Ballack wants to compensate by lifting the Champions League trophy with Chelsea and the Euro 2008 title with his country.

In an interview set to appear here on Monday in German magazine Kicker, the 31-year-old says he wants to make amends for his eight-month break, after an ankle injury, with plenty of silverware.

"I hope 2008 will be a year of titles for me: the Champions League and the European Championships," the midfielder told Kicker.

Chelsea face Greek champions Olympiakos in the Champions League's first knock-out round tie in February while Germany have drawn Poland, Croatia and hosts Austria for next June's Euro 2008 tournament.

And having damaged ankle ligaments on April 22 in the Premier League game against Newcastle, Ballack made his first appearance of the season in Chelsea's 2-0 League Cup win over Liverpool last week.

His long injury lay-off came after two ankle operations and a frustrating period of rehabilitation, but he says there is more work ahead of him to recover his full fitness.

"At the moment, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but there is still a considerable amount of work needed to be done.

"You lose so much after a long lay-off, not just the footballing skills, but also the physical condition: strength, speed and you are not so dynamic.

"I just need lots of match practice now."

After coming off the bench against Liverpool in midweek, Ballack's presence on the pitch was very pleasing for Germany head coach Joachim Loew who will also welcome back injury-victims Torsten Frings and Bernd Schneider.

"We are hoping our important players like Ballack, Frings and Schneider will get plenty of practise in 2008 and hopefully there are no more injuries," said Loew.

Under new coach Avram Grant, Chelsea have changed to a 4-3-3 system and Ballack is confident the Blues will do well in the Premier League and Premiership.

"I am sure that we will have some success," said Ballack.

Having been consistent in their Euro 2008 qualification campaign, Germany have developed into a strong side and Ballack says the national team should approach next June's tournament with confidence.

"At the 2002 World Cup (where Germany came second) and last year's event (where the Mannschaft finished third), we played within ourselves, next year we should attack Euro 2008 with real confidence.

"Our objective must be to reach the final."

And a lot of the team's development is down to Jurgen Klinsmann's successor Loew, according to Ballack.

"No question, he has taken the side forward and given the side a style of his own," said Ballack.

And Ballack says he has been impressed with Bayern Munich's young stars Lukas Podolski, voted the best young player at last year's World Cup, and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

"They are playing for a team where there is a fine line between good players, international ones and world-class players," said former Bayern star Ballack.

"They will have set-backs, but they will have to learn to cope with that and if they succeed they will become top-class players."