Particulars

Name: Michael Ballack

DoB: 26 September 1976, Görlitz, DDR

Height: 188cm (6'2")

Weight: 85kg (13st 5lbs)

Position: Midfielder

Little Kaiser

The man dubbed “Little Kaiser” as an 18 year old has always been in the spotlight, even before his teenage years. As early as age 7 he joined local club Chemnitzer in East Germany and began to shine. His talent was obvious early on as young Ballack was showing equal ability with both feet.

He continued to excel and rise through the system and made his professional debut in 1995 in the Bundesliga 2 with his beloved Chemnitz.

One professional season was enough for the youngster to make his mark, and despite his side's being relegated to the country's third division Ballack was selected for the German U-21 side. The season 1996-1997 saw Ballack run out with Chemnitz in a huge bid to regain promotion. Now a first team regular, playing every game and amassing 10 goals in total, and as valiant as his efforts were, Chemnitz were unable to gain promotion and as a result Ballack was forced to move on to ultimately recognize his true potential.

Early Years

It was in the summer of 1997 when now Greek legend Otto Rehhagel signed the “Little Kaiser” to his newly promoted Kaiserslautern. His transition to the Bundesliga was gradual and he was warranted his first starting appearance against a Leverkusen club that he was later to make his name with.

His Kaiserslautern season was one of dreams and one of the most historic and memorable in German Bundesliga history as the Red Devils went on to become the first newly-promoted team to win the championship in their return season. Ballack made a total of 30 appearances the following year and would help guide Kaiserslautern to the Champions League quarter-finals where they were truly punching above their weight: they came up against Bayern Munich and went out 6-0 on aggregate.

Neverkusen

Realising that Kaiserslautern couldn't hold him. In 1999 Michael Ballack agreed personal terms with Bayer Leverkusen and it is here where his potential, and big break through as one of the world’s leading players came to fruition. At Leverkusen Michael Ballack was at the heart of everything, and over his 3 years he bossed the midfield, scored almost 30 goals, and led his team to the 2002 Champions League final before they where undone by the brilliance of Zidane and some spectacular play from Iker Casillas.

That this small club had come so close, yet fallen at the last hurdle, was all but impossible to take. The 2002 season was enough to scar any professional player, even more so the driven and ambitious Ballack, and the events of that year would earn Bayer the title of “Neverkusen”.

Despite playing an attractive quick brand of football that saw Leverkusen reach the heights of Europe and Germany, with players like Oliver Neuville, Carsten Ramelow, Bernd Schneider, Lucio and Ze Roberto, Leverkusen would blow a five point lead in the last 3 games of the season to give Dortmund the title, lose the aforementioned Champions League to Madrid and then fall in the German Cup to Schalke. And, if this, were not enough a Michael Ballack-led Germany would lose to Brazil in the World Cup in Asia.

From Bavaria To London

That year Michael Ballack would sign a contract with Bayern Munich as his thirst for silverware went unquenched. He spent a total of four years with the Bavarian giants and along the way would finally once again get his hands on the Bundesliga title. He won a total of 3 league and cup doubles and would score 47 goals for Bayern in 135 matches.

But after his four seasons, Ballack yearned to test himself abroad and despite interests from Europe’s elite he finally signed for Chelsea on a free transfer after the World Cup in 2006. At Chelsea, Ballack has yet to achieve the one true club trophy that has eluded him over the years: he joined the Blues solely with the Champions League in mind and in his first season in London, Chelsea would fall at the semi-final stage in a penalty shoot out with Liverpool.

This season Chelsea powered through the knock out rounds on the back of some impressive displays from the German and went one further than the previous year, but still came up short as John Terry’s miss in the final kick of the penalty shoot out against Man United handed the initiative back to United and they went on to complete a Premiership and Champions League double over the London club.

Big In (Korea And) Japan

With Germany, Michael Ballack has without doubt been the banner player. Since his debut for the national team against Scotland in 1999 Ballack has since earned 85 caps and has scored 38 goals up to the quarter final in the 2008 Euros over Portugal. Under Erich Ribeck in 2000, Ballack was a bit part player at the Euros, where Germany lost to England and Portugal and where held by Romania. This result signaled the emergence of former great Rudi Voller, who Ballack would flourish under. It was a tough qualifying campaign for Germany to reach the 2002 World Cup, as they fell quite embarrassingly at home to a Michael Owen inspired England 5-1.

This result helped to condemn the Germans into a play-off with Ukraine with the winner over two legs advancing to the Finals. It was Ballack’s stage, he would score in the first leg in Kiev to take a 1-1 back home to Dortmund, here he would score a further 2 goals to give Germany their tickets to the World Cup.

At the 2002 World Cup Ballack would lead his team by example to the finals, later scoring the winning goal in the Semi-final against Korea but would miss the big show itself as a result of a brave challenge to prevent a Korean goal scoring opportunity, he would receive a yellow card and thus earn a suspension for amassing two many yellow cards and would go on to miss the final against the favourites Brazil. Germany would fall 2-0 to Brazil.

Klinsmann Influence

Germany would qualify reasonably well for the Euros in Portugal, but again its short comings were easily exposed and despite scoring a spectacular goal against the Czechs they where to ultimately fall 2-1, combined with a 0-0 against Latvia and a 1-1 with Holland, Germany would timidly limp out of the Euro 2004. This result was in retrospect seen as a blessing as it heralded the appointment of one Jurgen Klinsmann as the new German coach, tasked with leading the national team to success in the World Cup on German soil.

Under the Klinsmann era, Ballack was made National Team captain and thrived in his new role. He would score in every game in the 2005 Confederations Cup as they fell short in the semis against Brazil. But the National team’s new confidence echoed the drive and ambition being displayed by Ballack as he thrived in the new attacking style of football being played by Klinsmann. In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Ballack would led his team to the Semi-finals once again but will fall at the feet of the wily Italians in the second period of extra time 2-0.

After easily negotiating the qualifying phase to reach the 2008 Euros in Austria and Switzerland Germany came in as heavy favourties to win it all. A poor display in their second game saw the doubters and critics come running to the forefront, but it was Ballack’s goal-scoring captains display against Austria that sent the Germans into a Quarterfinal against new favourties Portugal. Here once again at their time of need, Michael Ballack delivered. He scores the third German and game-winning goal to send the Portuguese packing and Germany into a Semi-final against the Turks.

His rise to stardom has been hard and difficult but as is often the case with Germans, Michael Ballack has thrived under these circumstances. He remains the only player to reach a Champions League quarterfinal with 4 different teams. His drive and ambition have led him to one international final and various semis, and he is more driven than ever before as he is undoubtedly playing the best football of his life to finally land international honours in the white and black of Germany.

ACN 2010/ 2010 World Cup South Africa
qualifiers weekend results

Djibouti0-6Congo DR

Mauritania0-1 Ethiopia

Malawi1-0Egypt

Namibia1-2Guinea

Botswana1-1Côte d’Ivoire

Gabon2-0Ghana

Rwanda3-1Morocco

Tanzania0-0Cameroon

Kenya2-0Zimbabwe

Uganda3-1Angola

Niger0-2Benin

Sierra Leone1-0South Africa

Seychelles2-3Burkina Faso

Gambia1-0Algeria

Sudan3-2Mali

Madagascar1-1Mozambique15/06/08 14:30

Mauritius0-1Cape Verde 15/06/08 15:00

Lesotho0-1Libya15/06/08 15:00

Burundi0-1Tunisia15/06/08 15:00

Swaziland0-0Zambia15/06/08 15:00

Equ. Guinea0-1Nigeria15/06/08 15:30

Liberia2-2Senegal15/06/08 16:00[endif][endif]

All the African stadiums under threat in recent months of being barred from hosting World Cup qualifying matches have been passed by Fifa.

Stadiums in Gambia, Congo, DR Congo, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Zambia will be allowed to host matches in the next few weeks after having upgrades or starting improvements demanded by Fifa.

But football's ruling body has warned it might clamp down again if the improvements ordered are not in place by the start of the second phase of group qualifiers in November.

"In order to play 2010 World Cup qualifiers in stadiums at the level of such a competition, Fifa took the initiative to inspect several stadiums in Africa in the past months," a Fifa spokesman said.  

"Based on the inspections and thanks to the works already realised since then, Fifa has authorised that these stadiums be used for the preliminary competition matches of the 2010 World Cup.  "However, in most cases, Fifa has decided that the present authorisation is conditioned by the mandatory completion of some works by the end of November."

Many African countries were under the threat of having to move their upcoming home matches to neutral venues but now only Lesotho and Togo are playing home matches outside their borders.

Lesotho have moved matches to Bloemfontein in neighbouring South Africa because of renovations to their only stadium.

Togo have been given a four-match home ban after violence at the last qualifier they hosted in last year's African Nations Cup qualifiers, when supporters attacked Mali's players.

Togo, surprise World Cup finalists in 2006, have moved their matches from Accra to neighbouring Ghana.

Personal Information

Born in Cameroon in 1952; married; children. Played semi-professionally with Eclaire de Douala. Played professionally in France for several teams, including Valenciennes, Montpellier, Saint-Etienne, Bastia, and Monaco; played for Cameroon on the 1982 and 1990 World Cup teams. Player and coach for semi-professional team St. Pierre de la Reunion in the late 1980s.

Life's Work

International soccer star Roger Milla of Cameroon has probably done more for African soccer than any individual in this century. In both literal and figurative terms he has promoted African soccer to the level shared by the elite of the world soccer community. Prior to the 1990 World Cup, African soccer was considered primitive and underdeveloped by the ruling elite of international soccer, and African participation was limited to two teams that were expected to do little more than show up.

But in June of 1990, Milla and Cameroon turned the soccer world upside down for three weeks as they advanced to the quarter-finals of the tournament before finally losing 3-2 in a dramatic overtime encounter with England, the nation credited with inventing the game. Milla, at 38 years old, was the hero, scoring four goals. He was heralded around the world as the "heroic patriarch" not only of Cameroon, but for all of Sub-Saharan Africa. "He is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of the World Cup," commented London Times reporter David Miller.

The immediate outcome of the 1990 showdown was that Africa is now to be awarded an additional slot for the World Cup. The long-range result was that African soccer in general is now considered the fastest developing game in the world, and certainly worthy of more attention. As London Times correspondent Simon Barnes wrote, "The only thing that emerged from the {1990} World Cup was African Football."

When he was a small boy, Milla could be found kicking a soccer ball around the town of Douala where he grew up. Eventually he went on to play at the highest level in Cameroon, for Eclaire de Douala, and, according to Pierre Lemmonier of Football Clubs, "caused panic in the African defenses." In 1975 he helped Eclaire to win the African Cup, a tournament of all the champions of the respective leagues in Africa. Then in 1977 he was named the African Footballer of the Year as the continent's best player. He had gone as far as he could at home.

So Milla took his considerable skills to one of the most prestigious leagues in the world, the French First Division. In France Milla became well known for his aggressive play and ability to create opportunities out of nothing, and he turned out to be a great scorer for several teams, including Valenciennes, Montpellier, Saint-Etienne, and particularly Bastia and Monaco. All told, he played on three teams that reached the finals of the championship of France.

Milla played three World Cups, notably 1982, 1990 and 1994. In 1982, when he was only 30, Milla was described in the London Times as "by far the most experienced and impressive forward" on the Cameroon team. That year, at the World Cup in Spain, Cameroon first surprised the world by going undefeated in their three games. Unfortunately they also failed to win a game, leaving after the first round with no wins, no losses, and three ties.

But this was still considered a remarkable feat for a nation that has no professional league. Milla assisted on the goal against Italy (the team that went on to win the World Cup that year) that allowed Cameroon to tie them 1-1. He was considered a national hero, finishing out his career in full glory.

In 1986 Cameroon failed to qualify for the World Cup in Mexico. Milla continued to be an outstanding player in the French League, but by 1988 he was back with Cameroon as they prepared to qualify for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. While Milla was on a trip with the team to Saudi Arabia, though, his mother died. According to Paul Gardner of Sports Illustrated, "He quit the team because the country's soccer federation had failed to take care of his dying mother while he was away with the team in Saudi Arabia."

Milla's wife had also become pregnant with another child, and he decided it was time to stop playing and traveling. During this period of retirement, Milla and a friend started an athletic shirt company that was relatively successful. But, despite his age, Milla still felt he had some soccer-playing years left. He went to the tiny Indian Ocean island of Reunion to be a player-coach for a semi-professional team called St. Pierre de la Reunion.

Milla received very little money or attention in Reunion. Indeed, Barnes referred to the activity as "small time footy." But for Milla it was a chance to play the game he loved without the extraneous pressures and distractions that are so prevalent in the European leagues and particularly in international competition.

When Cameroon finally qualified for the 1990 World Cup by beating Tunisia, there were few expectations for Milla to come out of retirement and play for his country. In fact, virtually none of the thousands of magazines and programs rolling off printing presses around the world included Milla on the Cameroonian roster. But just prior to the beginning of the tournament, the Soviet coach of the team, Valerie Nepomniachi, announced that Milla, at 38 years old, would indeed be on the team.

There was great speculation about his inclusion. Many have asserted that Cameroon president Paul Biya demanded that Nepomniachi take Milla along to Italy, but the more likely scenario is that Biya made a special request to Milla that he accept an invitation to play. All Milla said on the subject, as quoted in Le Monde, was, "I returned to the national team because I felt the recall of the people." Whatever the case, there is no doubt that all parties concerned were more than delighted with the outcome. According to Nepomniachi, Milla's presence alone was enough to lift the team. "He enlivens the game," said the coach of his star forward. "Every time he comes on he enthuses the players around him."

In their first game Cameroon achieved one of the greatest upsets in the history of the World Cup by defeating previous champions Argentina 1-0 on a goal by Omam-Biyik. It was Cameroon's first win in the World Cup, and their fourth game without a loss. As a team they were instant heros, but the stage was still to be set for the "Super Hero" Roger Milla.

Cameroon's second game was against European power, Romania. Because Milla was 38 years old at the time, the strategy decided on by Nepomniachi was to bring him in as a substitute player. Milla waited on the bench for the first 60 minutes until the sun went down over the hot Italian sky. Then, with only a third of the game left he managed to score twice, leading his countrymen to a 2-0 win, making them the first Sub-Saharan country ever to qualify for the second-round, and becoming the oldest man ever to score in the World Cup.

Against Colombia in the eighth-finals Milla again came off the bench and scored two goals in overtime as Cameroon continued to establish records, this time becoming the first African team to reach the quarter-finals. The strategy of playing him as a sub was working. "All I did was be in good physical condition," explained Milla to a London Times reporter after the game, "and help the national team. If I had come on earlier I would not have been quite the same. I am happy for myself and my companions. I simply tried to profit from the situation."

He reached his peak at age 38 during the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, carrying his country to a colorful quarter finals. He was in magic form throughout the competition, showing exceptional but quick dribbling and great vision, thus winning him a place in the hearts of football fans the world over.

It has been said that Milla is the best substitute player in the history of the World Cup. In fact, coming in as a substitute, he scored four goals at the 1990 tournament and initiated the two other Cameroon goals against England in the quarter finals. Interestingly, prior to the 1990 tournament, Milla had retired. But on the eve of the competition, he received a phone call from the president of Cameroon who pleaded with him to come out of retirement and put on the national jersey. He accepted the plea.

In the match between England and Cameroon--one of the most dramatic games of the tournament--both teams came back from deficits to tie the game until England finally won 3-2 in overtime. Milla, unable to score in the game, still assisted on one of the Cameroon goals to solidify his reputation. "Milla's performance in Italy," wrote a Le Monde reporter, "was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of this sport."

Barnes, in his evaluation of the World Cup, was reluctant to dole out praise, except in the case of Milla and his team. "Cameroon," he wrote, was "the team of the tournament and Milla was its heart, soul, mascot and cutting edge. {They} provided the world with all the things we look for in sport: excitement, joy ... and above all, hope." But for the hero himself, it was a very simple matter. He explained to Barnes: "I do it for the love of my country and the love of football."

Just weeks away from the start of their 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa qualifying campaign, The Gambia have been boosted by a jump into the top 100 on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. It is the first time the Scorpions have ventured into double figures on the world ladder, their previous best having been the 101st position they achieved in the Septembers of 1994 and 1995.

The Scorpions will begin their campaign for a place at South Africa 2010 in Liberia on  June 1, and they will also host Senegal and face Algeria home and away before the month is out.

Gambia climbed 19 places to 83rd on the latest Ranking, and are now rated as the 16th best team in Africa. It is a fillip that will spur them on ahead of a testing preliminary section, which includes two teams who have previously qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals.

However, The Gambia are still waiting to appoint a new coach to replace the Spaniard Jose Martinez, who steered the country to impressive results at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2008. Peter Bonu Johnson has been appointed as caretaker coach while the country's top football officials seek a foreign coach to take charge.

The Gambia have a solid base on which to build for the future, having represented Africa at two recent FIFA youth competitions. The Baby Scorpions won the African U-17 Championship, which they hosted, in 2005 and went on to play at the FIFA U-17 World cup in Peru. Last year, the same generation continued on the same path and also qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.  Bonu Johnson was coach of the team that progressed beyond the first phase in Canada, before losing to Austria in the last 16.

Recently, the players that won the continental championship three years ago finally received promised plots of land, which the Gambian leader, Dr Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, a fanatical football follower, had promised them as reward for bringing The Gambia their first footballing title at continental level.

While the younger players like Pa Modou Jagne and Ousman Jallow have risen from the U-20 side to represent the country at full international level, there is still a strong base of experienced competitors. Versatile Mustapha Jarju is now with Lierse in Belgium and Pa Demba Touray keeps goal for Swedish club Djurgardens.

On paper, booking a place at South Africa 2010 appears a tall order for the Gambians. However, following the break into the top 100 on the Ranking, group favourites Algeria and Senegal will not be taking their challenge lightly.

The Gambia Scorpions are set to take on fellow west African nation Mauritania in an international football friendly, Observer Sports can reveal.

The match, which will mark the start of Scorpions preparation for South Africa 2008 World Cup qualifier campaign, is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, in Banjul.

Seedy Kinteh, president of The Gambia Football Association, confirmed the proposed friendly and revealed that Mauritania are planning to come with almost twelve professionals for the game.  He said The Gambia Football Association will extend invitations to over twenty Gambian professional players for the March 26 friendly.

Kinteh expressed football association’s resolve to stage at least two more international friendly for the Scorpions ahead of their first World Cup qualifier campaign against Liberia on May 31, 2008.

“We are proposing two more international friendly matches after the Mauritania tie. We are planning to have a friendly with Angola and then Zimbabwe before Gambia’s away qualifier match against Liberia,” he said.

The Gambia have been paired in Group Six with their french-speaking neighbours Senegal, Liberia and Algeria for South Africa 2010 qualifier.

The Scorpions first match will see them travel to Liberia between May 30 and June 1, 2007.

Just one week after, the Scorpions will travel to Dakar to face bitter rivals the Terenga Lions.