PLAYER PROFILE

Michael Ballack

Position: Midfield

Height: 6'3

Weight: 12st 8lbs

Date of Birth: 1976-09-26 Gorlitz, Germany

Michael Ballack

Michael Ballack signed for Chelsea in May 2006 on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, whom he had played for since 2002.

He began his career with BSG Motor at the tender age of just seven. He trained with the side and eventually made it into their youth team in October 1983. After continuing to impress in this first season, he went on to score a massive 57 goals in 16 games in his third season before moving onto a bigger club in the shape of Karl-Marx Stadt, who later became Chemitz FC.

Here, nurtured by coaches Juergen Haeuberer and Eberhard Schuster, he won the district indoor championship and the full Under-19 championship of the federal state.

Given all this success it was hardly a surprise when he signed his first professional contract in 1995 and earned himself the nickname the 'Little Kaiser', a flattering comparison to Franz Beckenbauer.

But, by the end of his first season as a professional, Ballack had only made fifteen appearances and, even worse, Chemnitz were relegated to the regional third division. On the upside though, in March 1996, he made his debut for the German Under-21 team.

A successful season followed from then on as Ballack became a regular in the Chemnitz team, scoring ten goals along the way. This wasn't enough for the side to gain automatic promotion, but it did attract the attention of Kaiserslautern, who signed him in the summer of 1997.

Ballack made sixteen appearances for the side in his first season for the club and made history as he helped the side become the first ever newly promoted team to win the Bundesliga.

The 1998/99 season continued in much the same vein, as he became a regular, helping steer the club to the Champions' League quarter finals. It was hardly a surprise then when he moved to Bayer Leverkusen in July 1999, just two months after making his full international debut.

This move proved to be the making of Ballack. He was the heart of an efficient side, protecting the back four, marshalling the midfield and even banging a few in up front. Unfortunately, the season ended in heartbreak as, needing just a draw in their final game to secure the title, Ballack scored an own goal which sealed a defeat and gave the title away.

The 2001/02 season proved just as tough as Leverkusen finished second once again and lost out in finals of both the Champions' League and German Cup. He was named the German Footballer of the Year, but that didn€t make up for another defeat as Germany lost in the 2002 World Cup final against Brazil. Eager to start afresh, Ballack decided to move on, joining Bayen Munich in a deal worth 12.9million euros.

Here he settled in immediately, helping the club win the Bundesliga and scoring twice in a 3-1 German Cup final victory over, aptly enough, Kaiserslautern.

All in all he won three league and cup doubles with Bayern, scoring 44 goals in 107 matches and being named German Footballer of the Year twice more along the way.

However, he rarely looked like emulating this form during his first season in the Barclays Premiership. He may have played 42 games and scored seven goals, but he never sparked into life as Jose Mourinho struggled to fit both he and Frank Lampard into his star-studded midfield.

Ballack came into his own under the management of Avram Grant in 2007/08, however, eventually proving himself a vital member of the Chelsea team.

It all ended in tears though, as Ballack finished the season trophyless, having lost the league on the final day and tasted defeat in the finals of the League Cup, the Champions League and Euro 2008.

Things didn't improve in 2008/09. An early injury set him back, and it wasn't until an FA Cup third round replay against Southend United in January that he scored his first goal of the season. It took until April for him to score his first Premier League goal.