Football Heroes by TRENDEST INFOTAINMENT - Dailymotion

TRENDEST INFOTAINMENT

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00:00One of Germany's favourite sons, Michael Ballack, knows how to win at football.

00:22His powerful strikes have helped his side to victory both at club and international

00:26level.

00:30Six foot two in his socks, Michael's impressive height makes him a double threat for opposing

00:35teams and almost impossible to stop from set pieces.

00:40Born on September 26, 1976 in the small East German town of Gorlitz, he was the only child

00:46of Stefan and Karen Ballack.

00:49At a young age, his father's job as an engineer took him and his family to Chemnitz.

00:54It was here, at the age of seven, that the future German captain started to play football.

01:00With encouragement from Stefan, who had himself played second division football, Michael instantly

01:05took to the game and in no time at all he was playing effectively off both feet.

01:11The management at Chemnitzer FC, or as it was then named FC Karl-Marx-Stadt, were ecstatic

01:16to have such a great young talent in the side.

01:20After spending 12 years in the junior ranks at Chemnitz, he signed his first professional

01:24contract thanks to his brilliant performances in the midfield.

01:28I still have this book where all the games are written down.

01:34This is the original book from the time when Michael started with us.

01:46His performances earned him the nickname Little Kaiser, after the Kaiser himself, Franz Beckenbauer.

01:56Michael was a real team player and integrated himself into the team 100 percent.

02:02Although he already knew at the time that he was something special.

02:06That must be said.

02:09Little Kaiser made his professional debut on August 4, 1995, at the age of 18.

02:15Although Chemnitz lost the game 2-1, Michael did enough to hold his spot.

02:20The next season saw him starting to hit his straps, scoring 10 times for the Sky Blues.

02:26These performances caught the eye of FC Kaiserslautern manager Otto Rehagel and young Michael was

02:31signed to the newly promoted Division 1 club.

02:39Joining Kaiserslautern gave Michael Ballack the opportunity to test his skills in one

02:44of the top competitions in Europe, the Bundesliga.

02:47Kaiserslautern, who had just been promoted from Division 2, gave Little Kaiser his first

02:52minutes in top flight football against Karlsruhe SC, although he only came on at the end of

02:57the game.

02:59After 16 appearances in his first season, which saw Kaiserslautern claim the Bundesliga

03:04title, he went on to become a regular the following year, appearing 30 times and scoring

03:09four goals.

03:12In 1999, the young midfielder was transferred to Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of around €4.1

03:18million.

03:19Handed a more attacking role by coaches, Christoph Dahm and Klaus Toppmoller, he thrived and

03:26almost led Bayer to the league title in his first year.

03:31In 2002, Leverkusen had a terrible season, which they later labelled the treble horror.

03:37Their most painful defeat came in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, leading

03:42into the final three, there was doubt as to whether Ballack would play due to a foot injury.

03:49Whether Michael Ballack will play tomorrow is still questionable.

03:53He injured his foot on Saturday.

03:56Nothing is broken, but there's a lot of swelling.

04:01We'll have to wait and see.

04:04He couldn't play at all yesterday.

04:08After watching him score 25 times in 2001-2002, Leverkusen struggled to hold on to him.

04:16Looking to claim more titles, Michael ended up signing with Bayern Munich for a fee of

04:21close to €13 million.

04:25With an impressive 2002 World Cup behind him, Ballack was keen to keep on form with his

04:30new club.

04:31He didn't disappoint, scoring 15 goals in his first year and helping Munich claim the

04:36Bundesliga crown.

04:40Bayern also won the German Cup to top off a brilliant season for their new recruit.

04:44The following season saw both Michael and Bayern suffer from a Premiership hangover.

04:49Although they challenged for trophies, they were unable to win the big games and lost

04:54both titles to Werder Bremen.

04:57On a personal level, Michael scored just nine goals, his worst return in three years.

05:05But both he and the club once again found their top gear in 2004-2005, winning the double

05:11for the second time in three seasons.

05:15It seemed both Ballack and Bayern were on course to etch their names in the Bundesliga

05:20history books.

05:23The following season, Munich started strongly, but suffered a blow when their young midfielder

05:28left to test his skills in one of Europe's most lucrative leagues, the EPL.

05:34The time has come, or the last possibility for me at the age of 29, to dare and take

05:42this step.

05:45I've been thinking about it for a long time, and I think Chelsea is a top club which, when

05:50you look at the English league, they strongly dominate.

05:55Also, when you look at the points, and internationally too, they have played a lot of very good games.

06:03It's just a very interesting club.

06:06Having made the decision to move on, Michael was keen to leave Bayern Munich on a high.

06:12And what better way than to win the Bundesliga title for a third time in four years?

06:18Their title defence hopes looked promising, however it soon became clear that the battle

06:22for the Bundesliga 43rd title would be a tight race.

06:27Their closest rivals were Hamburg and 2003-2004 champions Werder Bremen.

06:34After a hard-fought title race, Bayern Munich were once again declared champions, but only

06:39just.

06:41Despite boasting a greater goal difference and outscoring Bayern, Werder Bremen finished

06:45the season in second place, five points behind Munich.

06:50This was the Bavarians' 20th league title, the most won by any German Division 1 club.

06:57Michael finished the season scoring 14 goals in the Premiership, the seventh highest tally

07:01in the league.

07:03The talented midfielder was leaving Bayern on the perfect note, however no amount of

07:08champagne could drown out the mixed emotions he felt on leaving the club.

07:13Even winning a third Bundesliga title with Bayern couldn't stem the tears, as he left

07:18the Munich change rooms for the last time.

07:20There's always a bit of melancholy when you say goodbye and lose such a talented player

07:25as we did today, but such is life.

07:29Sure, when you see this, it's obvious that Bayern has a huge amount of fans, not just

07:34in Munich, but also elsewhere.

07:38I will definitely miss something.

07:41During his time at Germany's most successful club, Michael cemented his reputation as one

07:46of the world's leading attacking midfielders, scoring 58 times in 154 games for the club.

07:53On May 15, 2006, the out-of-contract Ballack joined Chelsea on a free transfer.

07:59After making his EPL debut against Blackburn on August 27, Chelsea's new recruit went on

08:05to enjoy a solid first season.

08:07No mean feat against the top-flight players of the EPL.

08:10I feel that in the first training sessions, the tempo is high, it's very fast, and the

08:19good quality and high quality, I think it's no one special player.

08:25I am happy to play with all these good players and yes, they are very good teams in the Premier

08:33League.

08:34Not one, two, I think Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham.

08:38Despite his valiant efforts to mix it with the world's best, he was sidelined for an

08:42extended period in early 2007 with an ankle injury.

08:48He was out of the game for eight months, and although some feared the injury could

08:52end his career, he made his return in December 2007 during a 2-0 win over Liverpool.

09:01Michael went on to score vital goal after vital goal as the trophy season advanced.

09:07Unfortunately, however, Chelsea finished runners-up in the league, FA Cup and Champions League,

09:14leaving Michael with his second treble horror.

09:17The following season, he and Chelsea made amends by winning the FA Cup.

09:23By now in his 30s, the veteran star signed a new one-year contract in June 2009.

09:31Approaching his 500th professional football game, Michael Ballack's best performances

09:35to date have been at Bayern Munich, averaging more than one goal every three games.

09:47With his domestic career going from strength to strength at Chemnitzer FC, Michael was

09:52called up to play for Germany's under-21 team on March 26, 1996.

09:58The 19-year-old played a total of 19 matches for the national under-21 side before he was

10:04invited to play for the senior team just over three years later.

10:09His debut came on April 28, 1999 in a match against Scotland.

10:15After playing for just 63 minutes in Euro 2000, the young midfielder made the most of

10:20his chances in his next international tournament, the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

10:27With more game time, he scored three times in the competition.

10:32Although his first two goals were pivotal in Germany's success, his third goal would

10:37go down as the most important international goal of his career so far.

10:43Scoring in the 75th minute of their semi-final clash with South Korea, Ballack kept a cool

10:47head under pressure and sent his country to the World Cup final with a 1-0 victory.

10:54Unfortunately, it was a final that Michael would miss, as a yellow card in the latter

10:58stages of the game resulted in a suspension.

11:03Germany eventually went down to Brazil, 2-0 in the final.

11:07Despite his suspension, Michael went home from Asia a World Cup Euro.

11:13Following Euro 2004, after Germany's poor results, he was handed the captaincy by newly

11:19appointed manager Jürgen Klinsmann.

11:24Another important thing, which I spoke to the players about, especially Oliver Kahn

11:30and Michael Ballack, is that Michael Ballack will be captain of the German national team,

11:38and Oliver Kahn will be his deputy.

11:42For me, there's a simple reason for this.

11:46I wanted to have an outfield player who was in contact with all members of the team on

11:50the field.

11:54Now pushing 30, Ballack was overwhelmed by the honour of captaining his country.

12:01It makes me happy that he has such confidence in me, and has given me so much responsibility.

12:07For me, it's a big honour to be captain of the national team, and that's why I was very

12:16happy.

12:19With the 2006 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, Michael's role as captain was to knock his

12:24side into the best possible shape ahead of their greatest challenge.

12:31He led from the front of the 2005 Confederations Cup, scoring four goals and leading his country

12:37to a third place finish.

12:40He and his German side were in peak form, and with Germany playing host to the World

12:45Cup, local expectations were high.

12:48However, Michael's campaign didn't get off to the best start, as he missed their first

12:54game with a calf strain.

12:57He soon overcame the injury and appeared in all of Germany's remaining matches.

13:04In his second game, he was named Man of the Match, with Germany thrashing Ecuador 3-0

13:09and progressing through to the knockout stage undefeated.

13:14After downing Sweden 2-0, Germany met Argentina in the quarter-finals.

13:20With the score won all at the end of extra time, it was Michael's DFB 11 that came through

13:254-2 on penalties.

13:28Once again, he was named Man of the Match.

13:32The semi-finals saw Germany lose 2-0 to a venture winner's Italy.

13:38With the scores level for 118 minutes, the Italians broke the hearts of the host nation

13:43by scoring twice in two minutes.

13:47Despite the loss, the Germans recouped.

13:50And in front of 52,000 fans at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart Michael's men won

13:55the third-place play-off 3-1 against Portugal.

14:01After a reasonably successful World Cup campaign, where he was named in FIFA's World Cup All-Star

14:06Team, Michael was struck down with an ankle injury.

14:10He returned in 2008 and was a hugely influential figure in the midfield for Germany at Euro

14:1608.

14:18After missing the first game, he steered Germany all the way to the final, where they eventually

14:23lost 1-0 to Spain.

14:25Nevertheless, he was named in the team of the tournament.

14:29Now with all eyes set on the next World Cup, the boy from Gorlitz will be hoping to lead

14:34his country to their fourth World Cup title.

14:38Having played for his country nearly 100 times, Ballack has come close to winning major international

14:43tournaments on four occasions.

14:51Although most of Ballack's time is taken up by training, playing and travelling to football

14:55games, over his career he has been more than proactive with the little time that he has

15:00away from the game.

15:03On July 14, 2008, Ballack tied the knot with his long-term girlfriend, Simone Lamb.

15:09The couple, who already have three children together, Louis born in 2001, Emilio born

15:15in 2002 and Jordi in 2005, were married at a yacht club in the posh southern German town

15:21of Starnberg.

15:22Lamb, who wore a white wedding gown, could thank Ballack's former coach at Kaiserslautern,

15:28Otto Rehagel, for Ballack's steady lifestyle.

15:32Before Michael was with Kaiserslautern, he suggested that the German captain should get

15:36into a stable relationship.

15:39The Tuesday wedding was met with unseasonal rain, as the guests were seated in a beautiful

15:44marquee on the water's edge.

15:46The A-list guests included German Football Association sports director Michael Sammer

15:51and coach of FC Cologne Christoph Dahl.

15:55Despite being the middle of the off-season, the newlywed couple could only enjoy a short

15:59period of each other's company, as the 31-year-old midfielder was due back at training with Chelsea

16:05immediately after their honeymoon.

16:08Two years prior to the big day, Ballack was busy with other off-field activities.

16:13During 2006, the Chelsea midfielder released his biography, simply titled Michael Ballack

16:19– The Biography.

16:21Written by Ewan Reedy, the book gives a fascinating insight into his philosophy on football and

16:26life, as well as the ups and downs of his career.

16:30Although this may not have been the happiest day of his life, it certainly was a huge achievement,

16:35and will no doubt give some extra green to his bank balance.

16:40Ballack joined the campaign against AIDS in May 2006, via joining UNAIDS.

16:45UNAIDS, with the help of celebrities the likes of Ballack, hopes that they can inform today's

16:50youth about the dangers of the disease.

16:53Michael was more than happy to help out.

16:57Well I think AIDS is everybody's business and they ask me and of course I will help.

17:03I think football is the most popular sport in the world and a lot of people know football,

17:12they look up to us and so I think we should fight AIDS together.

17:19UNAIDS aims to break down the stigma around people who suffer from the illness, while

17:23also promoting safe sex.

17:32Over the course of his exciting career, Michael Ballack has played alongside and been inspired

17:36by some of the greatest players of the modern era.

17:41His Chelsea team-mate and fellow midfielder Frank Lampard has enjoyed a career in professional

17:45football that has spanned almost 15 years.

17:50Starting out at West Ham, he moved to Chelsea in 2001 after six seasons with the Hammers.

17:57Two years before joining Chelsea, he debuted for England in October 1999 against Belgium.

18:04Named the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2007-2008, he has played a pivotal role

18:11in Chelsea's recent success, winning an impressive eight titles with the club.

18:18Former Chelsea team-mate and Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko made his senior football

18:23debut in 1994 for Dynamo Kiev.

18:26In 1999, after 117 games with Kiev, he moved to AC Milan.

18:33He followed up successful stints at Kiev and Milan with a transfer to Chelsea in 2006.

18:39However poor form at Stamford Bridge saw him return to Dynamo Kiev in 2009.

18:46Fellow countryman Lukas Podolsky took the world by storm in the 2006 FIFA World Cup,

18:52where he was named the Gillette Best Young Player and scored three goals, including a

18:56double against Sweden.

18:58Podolsky began his club career with Cologne in 2003, where he scored 46 times from 81

19:05appearances.

19:06Shortly before his World Cup heroics, he agreed to a transfer to Bayern Munich.

19:11However, his time at the powerful club didn't live up to expectations, and after a few average

19:16seasons he returned to Cologne in 2009.

19:20Internationally, however, Podolsky held his good form in Euro 2008 and was named in the

19:26team of the tournament.

19:28One of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Oliver Kahn started his career with Karlsruhe

19:33SC in 1987, before moving to Bayern Munich in 1994.

19:38Kahn is recognised as one of the most successful German footballers of the modern era, winning

19:4317 club titles, including 8 German Championships, 6 German Cups and the UEFA Champions League.

19:51Playing 86 times for his country, his greatest achievement was undoubtedly receiving the

19:55FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 2002 for the best player in the tournament.

20:00Kahn retired from football in 2008.

20:05Known as the greatest German footballer to grace a football pitch, Franz Beckenbauer

20:09is most renowned for his part in two World Cup victories, his first as a player in 1974

20:15and the second as manager in 1990.

20:18He played the majority of his club career with Bayern Munich, where he spent most of

20:22his time in defence, and has often been credited with inventing the role of sweeper.

20:27Winning 20 club titles, he also received over 15 individual honours, including two Ballon

20:33d'Ors.

20:34With a successful career coming to a close, Michael Ballack now has time to enjoy the

20:44fruits of his football labours.

20:47Not only does he earn a handy salary of 7.6 million euros a year at Chelsea, he has also

20:52made a tidy sum from sponsors, such as sportswear manufacturer Adidas, which promotes a line

20:59of Ballack products as part of their lucrative Predator range.

21:04Aside from Adidas, Michael is also sponsored by Coca-Cola, McDonald's and T-Mobile, adding

21:10an extra 2 million euros to his annual income.

21:16His salary at Chelsea puts him at number five on the footballers' money list.

21:22Blues teammate Frank Lampard comes at close sixth, while Barcelona's Lionel Messi is way

21:28out in front, earning 12 million euros a year.

21:33With close to 500 club games to his name, Michael has achieved an amazing amount of

21:38team honours.

21:40Participating in 13 title wins, including three Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich

21:46and two FA Cups with Chelsea.

21:49Playing for his country, he has finished a respectable second and third in the past two

21:53World Cups.

21:57Individually, he has amassed a list of personal honours any footballer would be proud of,

22:03such as winning the German Footballer of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2005.

22:11He has been named in FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players and was included in the team of the

22:16tournament in Euro 2004 and 2008, and the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup.

22:25His best playing years may be behind him, but Michael Ballack will no doubt be giving

22:30his all in the lead-up to the upcoming World Cup.

22:34Renowned for his ability to step up when his country needs him most, his experience will

22:39count for a lot come World Cup time.

22:43While his future at Chelsea remains uncertain, there is no doubt that a whole range of clubs

22:48will be queuing to sign him if he leaves the Blues.

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