Michael Ballack

Michael Ballack is a German former football player who is highly regarded as one of the greatest players in history. Sportmob brings you the notable events of Michael Ballack life story along with interesting insights into his personal life, so stay tuned and don’t miss it.

Michael Ballack nationality is German. He received numerous awards and titles during his career. He is considered one of the best midfielders of his generation. His great style of play along with excellent Techniques made him a tough opponent to go up against on the field. The former footballer is a product of Chemnitzer FC, and he established himself as a professional player in this club.

The legendary player has a remarkable story of how he got where he is today. He served in big clubs like Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Chelsea. He made a lot of wonders during his career and was named one of the best, numerous times. Stay tuned for an incredible story of Michael Ballack biography.

Things About Michael Ballack Biography,You Probably Didn’t Know

Michael Ballack

The legendary Michael Ballack was named the German Footballer of the Year three times (2002, 2003, 2005). The footballer flourished in Bayer Leverkusen where he got his big break and made a name for himself. It was at this club that Ballack earned his first German Footballer of the Year Award. Find out details about Michael Ballack biography in the following.

Michael Ballack Information

Before we start with Michael Ballack childhood story and his early life we will fill you in with some details and information about the legendary footballer.

Michael Ballack Bio

Full Name: Michael Ballack

Nickname: Little Kaiser

Personal Information

• Michael Ballack Date of birth: 26 September 1976
• Body Measurements
• Zodiac sign: Libra
• Place of birth: Görlitz, East Germany
• Father: Stephan Ballack
• Mother: Karin Ballack
• Michael Ballack Religion: Christian– Catholic
• Marital status: Divorced
• Ex-wife: Simone Lambe (m. 2008–2012)
• Partner: Natacha Tannous (2015–)
• Children: Louis (b.2001), Emilio (b.2002) and Jordi (b.2005)

Football Information

• Height:1.89 m

• Weight:80 kg
• Hair Color: Dark brown
• Eye Color: Blue

Michael Ballack Early Life

Now let’s get into the details of Michael Ballack childhood story. The legendary footballer was born in the German town Görlitz on September 26, 1976, to his father Stephan Ballack worked as an engineer, and his mother Karin, was a secretary. Ballack was an only child. His father was a professional footballer as well. He played in second division football association in Germany. The gifted footballer inherited the passion for the game and probably that was what put Ballack in his path. As a kid he dreamed of one day becoming a professional footballer and play for big clubs.

When he was very young his family moved to Chemnitz. When they arrived in their new home at the age of seven his parents sent him to train with the side. The boy trained in the soccer club Chemnitz however it was two hours away from home, but that didn’t stop the stubborn Ballack from training. As a little boy Ballack showed his ability to use both of his feet with the same control. Find out more details about Michael Ballack biography in the following.

Michael Ballack Profile

Michael Ballack at Chemnitzer FC

Ballack had an amazing journey in football which was full of success, honor and sometimes setbacks. Stay tuned and let’s begin the journey together.

Early Days in Football

Back in 1995, the gifted player signed his first professional contract with the Chemnitzer FC. At the time Ballack was nicknamed “Little Kaiser”, in reference to Franz Beckenbauer, who was nicknamed “Der Kaiser”. He made his debut for the side on 4 August 1995, at the beginning of the new 2. Bundesliga season. During the 1996-97 season despite his efforts and scoring 10 goals, the team got relegated.

Later the footballer joined 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He made his debut for the team in the seventh match of the 1997–98 Bundesliga season, away to Karlsruhe, as a substitute in the last five minutes. On 28 March 1998, Ballack made his first team debut in a game over Bayer Leverkusen. He made a great performance and Kaiserslautern became the first-ever newly promoted team to lift the Bundesliga title. In the next season Ballack became one of the most important players in the team.

Michael Ballack at 1. FC Kaiserslautern

Big break

On July 1999, the footballer joined Bayer Leverkusen while he was 22 years old for an estimated fee of €4 million. It was with Bayer Leverkusen that the talented footballer climbed up the ladder to glory and made his way to the top. He was given an attacking role in the midfield and made a lot of wonders. His role in the team was vital and he managed to score 27 goals in the league and nine in Europe over the course of his three seasons at the club. Back in 2000, in a game over SpVgg Unterhaching Leverkusen needed a draw to win the Bundesliga title.

Michael Ballack at Bayer Leverkusen

However, Ballack scored an own goal and led the team to a 0-2 heavy defeat. Bayern Munich earned the title by a 3–1 victory over Werder Bremen. Following their heavy defeat, the team also endured three failures which were historical and Bayer Leverkusen was nicknamed “Bayer Neverkusen”. Ballack got to the end of the season with 17 league goals which earned him a nomination into the UEFA.com users' Team of 2002 as well as being named German Footballer of the Year. Find out more details about Michael Ballack life story in the following.

Bayern Munich

Ballack showed how gifted he is on the pitch and his performance was praised by pundits. Big clubs like Chelsea and Bayern Munich were interested in signing a contract with the player. Finally, Ballack decided to join Bayern Munich and signed a contract worth nearly €13 million in 2002. During his first season Bayern won the Bundesliga with 75 points as well as the DFB-Pokal. Ballack proved himself worthy and grabbed a brace in a win against his former club 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the latter's final. However, in the following season Bayern lost both of Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles to Werder Bremen.

Michael Ballack at Bayern Munich

During 4 seasons with the club Ballack won three Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal doubles, scoring 44 goals in 107 Bundesliga games. However later his performance went down and he was criticized. Franz Beckenbaue got to the point that he accused Ballack of “saving his strength” for prospective employers after Ballack showed an average performance in the 2006 DFB-Pokal final over Eintracht Frankfurt.

On ZDF television channel Beckenbauer stated: “Ballack is just saving his strength for Chelsea, Sometimes I think to myself, is he playing with us or not? The way he runs around the field has little to do with football. He isn't trying anymore and I was waiting for him to be substituted.” Ballack answered: “It doesn't matter what he [Beckenbauer] thinks. I'm delighted about the [cup] title, which is the third in four years. All that matters is we have won, but if Der Kaiser says that..." he added with a smile. Find out further details about Michael Ballack biography in the following.

Chelsea

On May 2006, Ballack joined the English Premier League club Chelsea while there were rumors that other big clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Internazionale and Milan were interested to have him on board but Ballack preferred to sign with Chelsea. However shortly after his arrival at the club he declared that he was thinking about leaving Chelsea. The footballer debuted for the blues in a practice match at UCLA's intramural football pitch. Ballack always preferred the number 13 jersey and Chelsea took the number 13 shirt from their player Gallas and gave it to the German midfielder. This move made Gallas upset and felt that he was underappreciated.

Michael Ballack at Chelsea FC

On 27 August 2006, he made his Premier League debut for the club in a game over Blackburn Rovers. Ballack scored his first goal on 12 September on his Champions League debut over Werder Bremen. Ballack received the first red card of his career for making a move on Mohamed Sissoko in a 1-0 victory against Liverpool on 17 September 2006. Ballack’s first premier League goal came in a game over Portsmouth on 21 October 2006. He also scored his first FA Cup goals on 15 April 2007, in the semi-final against Blackburn. This goal led to Chelsea progressing into the FA Cup final.

Return to Bayer Leverkusen

On 25 June 2010, the midfielder returned to his former club Bayer Leverkusen and signed a two-year contract. On 19 August 2010, he scored the first goal for the club in a 3-0 victory over Tavriya Simferopol in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. In 2010, the footballer sustained a shin injury during a Bundesliga match against Hannover 96. Bayer Leverkusen declared that Ballack would not play due to his injury. On 20 February 2011, the footballer got recovered and came back and replaced Simon Rolfes in a 4-2 victory over VfB Stuttgart. Ballack scored his second Europa League goal in a 2-0 win over Metalist Kharkiv.

International

Aside from Ballack’s club career the footballer also made lot of wonders on international level. He debuted for Germany national under-21 team against Denmark following his contract with Chemnitzer FC. After his move to 1. FC Kaiserslautern, senior team coach Berti Vogts called him up to join the squad. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ballack scored in the games against the United States and South Korea during the knockout rounds as Germany reached the final. Later he was booked for a tactical foul during the semi-final match over South Korea and he was ruled out for the final which Germany was defeated 2-0 by Brazil.

Following Euro 2004, Ballack took over from Oliver Kahn and became the captain. Ballack managed to score three goals which were all penalties during the 2005 Confederations Cup, in which Germany were eliminated by Brazil in the semifinals. The gifted footballer 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. In the first game of Euro 2008 over Poland, Ballack captained the team. He showcased his great features and proved himself to be valuable on the midfield.

Michael Ballack playing for his national country

During the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Ballack scored four goals however he missed the 2010 World Cup due to his ankle injury from a foul by Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng in the 2009-10 FA Cup final. In the absence of Ballack, young midfielders like Sami Khedira, Thomas Müller, and Mesut Özil showcased their talents. Former German captain Lothar Matthäus stated that Ballack's absence provided the chance for these young players to blossom.

Since the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Ballack hasn’t receive any invitation to international games. It was reported that Germany coach Joachim Löw was waiting for Ballack to announce his retirement. Despite numerous injuries Ballack sustained with Bayer Leverkusen he refused to give up. On June 16, 2011 it was declared that the former midfielder will not be a part of national team anymore. The German Football Association (DFB) invited him to two friendlies in order to reach 100 games for Germany, which he refused, accusing Löw of disrespecting him ever since his injury and calling the invitation to compete in another two games for Germany a “farce”.

Retirement

On 2 October 2012, Ballack officially announced his retirement from football. On 5 June 2013, he played a farewell match at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena. First Ballack scored two goals in the first half of the game and scored his third goal and the winner in the second half for the World XI.

The teams were coached by Ballack's former Chelsea coach José Mourinho and his former national team coach Rudi Völler. Following the match Ballack stated in an interview: “It was a terrific career for me. I am very, very thankful. Football is very special. The fans make it very special. We are just players, without you there is no voice and without you there is no passion.” Find out more details about Michael Ballack biography in the following.