Michael Ballack

ABOUT MICHAEL BALLACK

Former German midfielder who played for Chelsea and Bayern Munich amongst other teams while serving as captain of the German national team; named UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002 and German Footballer of the Year in 2002, 2003, and 2005; became a sports analyst for ESPN after retirement.

He began his youth career with Chemnitz in 1983.

He had a very successful career with the German national team, scoring 2 game-winning goals to help lead Germany to the World Cup finals in 2002, and also took the team to the semi-finals at the 2006 World Cup.

He and his wife Simone Lambe had three children. His son Emilio passed away in a quad bike crash in August 2021.

He played alongside Frank Lampard on Chelsea from 2006 to 2010.