10 Things About Michael Ballack

If it’s often said that number 13 brings bad luck, Michael Ballack is probably the one who wore it the best. Here are some things you might not know about Michael Ballack.

10 Things About Michael Ballack

1️⃣ “The little Kaiser” — this was the nickname given to Ballack by the press at the very beginning of his career. He played with his head held high and was considered the next great star of German football. That’s why he was compared to the legend Franz Beckenbauer.

2️⃣ Michael Ballack is certainly one of the biggest losers in football.

• 2002: a cruel season for Michael Ballack.He finishes 2nd in the Bundesliga, loses the DFB-Pokal final, the Champions League final (hello Zidane 👋) and the 2002 World Cup final (hello Ronaldo 👋).

  
  

• 2008: same story with ChelseaHe finishes 2nd in the Premier League, League Cup finalist, Champions League finalist, and Euro 2008 finalist with Germany.

  
  

Losing, we know about it in France, but pulling off two quadruples of losing is still quite something!

3️⃣ Chelsea vs Barca matches have given us a host of iconic moments, like in 2009. Michael Ballack is also one of the protagonists of memes, being behind one of the first football gifs to become popular on social media.

10 Things About Michael Ballack

4️⃣ In 2010, at the wedding of Philip Lahm, Ballack criticized him because Lahm wanted to keep the captain’s armband after the World Cup. The story made a lot of noise and Ballack would never wear the German national team jersey again after this incident.

5️⃣ Chilavert revealed that Ballack smelled very strong. “You couldn’t get close to him,” the Paraguayan told ESPN. “His smell was terrible,” absolutely terrible. “He smelled like a goat.” He should have used more deodorant or lemon. But maybe it was a tactic, who knows?

6️⃣ On August 5, 2021, a tragic event shook the life of the German player. His son Emilio died in a tragic quad accident.

7️⃣ It was at Chelsea that Michael Ballack played the most matches. However, for many people he is mainly associated with Bayer Leverkusen, where he emerged and where he finished his career, as well as the great Bayern Munich. In total he played 155 matches with Leverkusen, 154 with Bayern, and 10 more with Chelsea, making the London club the one where he played the most.

8️⃣ Condom in one hand, red card in the other. It’s our favorite advertisement from the German midfielder.

9️⃣ Ballack criticized people saying that Van Dijk is the best defender in Premier League history."There’s no more Drogba, Lampard, Shearer, Henry, Rooney, RVP, Tévez, Adebayor. It’s not surprising people think he’s the best defender in Premier League history."

🔟 During an interview, Michael Ballack was asked to name the best player he had played with at Chelsea. His answer: “Probably Claude Makélélé, I like intelligent players.”