Ballack's Legacy

Germans love their talismanic soccer players, especially those who can control games and lead with passion and by example. Germany's soccer history is full of men who drove their nation towards greatness while sweeping all before them at club level. Most of them enjoyed hugely successful careers and finished their playing days having achieved everything, and in some cases more, than had been expected of them.

Michael Ballack has always been expected to join the likes of Beckenbauer, Rummenigge, Matthäus, et al. in the pantheon of German soccer greats. Ever since a young Ballack first arrived on the professional soccer scene in 1995, he has been spoken of in the most glowing of terms. His destiny as a German legend has always been discussed in absolutes. No one who has watched Ballack's rise has been anything other than convinced that he would become a German icon.

So what, then, would all those observers make of news that Ballack pack it in in a year's time and end a career that has yet to reach the heights expected of it?

Ballack hints at early retirement

"What comes when my contract expires, we'll just have to see," British media have quoted him as saying. "Whether I stay another year, go somewhere else or hang up my boots -- you never know in soccer."

While the player himself has not actually confirmed that this statement, reported in his adopted homeland of the UK this week, is a sign of his impending retirement at the end of the 2008/2009 season, the mere fact that he has spoken of ending his career at the young age of 31 raises questions about Ballack's legacy.

From those early days at FC Chemnitzer, where his precocious, driving midfield performances led to a transfer to the Bundesliga's Kaiserslautern and then Leverkusen, through his trophy-laden days at Bayern Munich to his multi-million-euro move to Chelsea, Ballack has been reaching for the status and titles which would assure his place in Germany's history.

Trophy haul lacking international sparkle

Ballack has collected a fair haul of silverware in his time, picking up four Bundesliga titles, three German Cups and one League Cup with Bayern Munich and an FA Cup and League Cup in England with Chelsea. But, one Champions League runners-up medal aside, Ballack has yet to make his stamp on European club soccer like those his legendary compatriots left behind.

If his career ends in the blue of Chelsea, will observers look back and wonder whether Ballack would have achieved more at, say, Real Madrid or either of the Milan teams?

It was obvious in his first year in London that the Premiership was a more brutal and quicker beast than the Bundesliga he had been used to. Ballack's clever eye and languid style may have flourished faster and with more confidence in the slower Italian league and the Spanish game may have suited his creative flair. Who knows what he could have achieved if he had moved to either country from Bayern Munich in 2006?

Ballack's collection of consolation trophies

Away from the domestic and European scene, Ballack has also been building a legacy on the international level. Since making his Germany debut in 1999, Ballack has won 77 caps and scored 35 goals. He has played in two World Cup semi-finals -- missing out on the 2002 World Cup final through suspension -- and one Confederations Cup semi-final. He has led his country as captain since 2004.

And yet, for all the celebrations and plaudits, Germany have not won an international tournament since the 1996 European Championships. Ballack has led the side in some great victories but as yet, none of these victories resulted in a trophy [other than a third-place consolation] being lifted by the captain.

So what would Ballack be leaving behind in terms of a record if he were to retire in a year's time? Well, he could spend his free time polishing a clutch of German domestic trophies, a couple of English cups and a handful of reminders of some international near-misses. But would this be enough to warrant his own pedestal in Germany's Hall of Fame?

Compared with Franz Beckenbauer's one World Cup, one European Championship and three European Cups, Rummenigge's one European Championship and two European Cups, and Matthäus with his one World Cup and one European Championship, Ballack would struggle to make the list in terms of significant titles.

Ballack's performances rate highly -- but high enough?

Trophies aside, could any of Ballack's individual performances stand out in much the same way as the Kaiser's mercurial domination of the 1974 World Cup final, or the way Matthäus outshone Maradona in the 1990 final in Rome?

The closest would be his performances during the 2002 World Cup -- among his finest in a Germany jersey. It would not be an exaggeration to say Ballack won the quarter and semi-finals for his country on his own, not only through his deciding goals but through his overall commitment. Again, would this be enough?

If Ballack does retire without any further major honors to his name and a season of workmanlike performances behind him, he will forever be known as a "good" German player. By prolonging his career past this hypothetical end-date and giving himself more opportunities to show what he can clearly do very well when the mood takes him, Michael Ballack could still be in with a chance of joining the greats.