Michael Ballack

Michael Ballack was born on September 26, 1976 in Görlitz, then GDR. He is a German football player and is the current captain of the national team. Ballack is contracted to Chelsea in the English Premier League from 2006 to 2009.Equally comfortable in attack and defense, Michael Ballack is known as a versatile and well-conditioned player. He made his name as a classic box-to-box midfielder with Bayer Leverkusen, operating as the central midfielder and taking on both defensive and attack responsibilities. When playing at Bayern Munich under the guidance of Ottmar Hitzfeld and Felix Magath, Ballack excelled in a deeper role, going forward less often and instead focused on protecting the back four and distributing the ball. However, he remained a box-to-box midfielder for the German national team.

Michael Ballack is regarded as one of the most lethal headers in the world and is equally competent with both feet. He has been granted the German player of the year award on three occasions (2002, 2003, and 2005). Ballack has been one of Germany's leading sports icons of recent times, though his reputation in Germany has suffered recently because of his unpopular decision to leave Bayern for the English club Chelsea. 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 expressed that Ballack will be kept as his national team captain. Ballack has always worn the number 13 shirt for every club that he has played for, as well as the German national team.