Mesut Özil (German pronunciation: [ˈmeːzut ˈøːzil]; born 15 October 1988 in Gelsenkirchen) is a German footballer of kurdish descent, who plays for Real Madrid and internationally for the German national team. Özil, who has been involved with the national team since 2006, gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated for the Golden Ball Award.

Club career

Gelsenkirchen and Rot-Weiss Essen

Özil began his youth career playing for different clubs in Gelsenkirchen and five years for Rot-Weiss Essen.

Schalke 04

In 2005, he moved to the youth department of FC Schalke 04. He is a midfielder and wears 11 as his squad number, after starting as playmaker and central attacking midfielder in the place of the suspended Lincoln in Ligapokal matches against Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich for Schalke.[2]

Werder Bremen

On 31 January 2008, he moved to Werder Bremen for a reported fee of €4.3 million, signing a contract with the German club until 30 June 2011.[3]

Real Madrid

On 17 August 2010 Werder Bremen announced that it had reached an agreement with Real Madrid[4]. The transfer fee is believed to be in the region of €15m.[5]

International career

In September 2006, Özil was called up for the Germany U-17 team. Özil has been a member of the German U-21 team since 2007. On 29 June 2009, Özil was the catalyst in a 4–0 win over England during the U-21 European Championship final.[citation needed]

He made his debut for the Germany national football team during a friendly match against Norway on 11 February 2009. He scored his first goal for the senior team in his third appearance, another friendly, against South Africa on 5 September in Leverkusen.

2010 World Cup

He was selected for the Germany national squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, starting in the team's first four games. He scored a left-footed half-volley from the edge of the 18 yard box against Ghana in the final group game, ensuring Germany progressed to the second round as group winners.[6] On 27 June 2010, he played in Germany's win over England in the last 16 match, setting up the fourth goal with a cross to Thomas Mueller as Germany triumphed 4–1.[7] During the quarter-final match against Argentina he assisted the second goal for Miroslav Klose with a low cross to make it 4-0 to the Germans. Germany went on to win the match 4–0. FIFA announced him as one of the ten nominations for the Golden Ball.

Honours

Club

Werder Bremen

DFB-Pokal: 2009

Country

Germany

FIFA World Cup: Third place - Bronze medal (2010)

UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2009

Personal life

Özil's brother Mutlu is also a footballer who is playing for Heßler 06 in Gelsenkirchen.[9]

Özil is a third-generation member of the Turkish community in Germany.[10] His ancestors are from from Devrek, Zonguldak in Northern Turkey.[11]

Özil recites the Qur'an before all his matches to help him focus. Talking to the Berlin-based daily Der Tagesspiegel, Özil said, "I always do that before I go out (on the pitch). I pray and my team-mates know that they cannot talk to me during this brief period." [12]

Sami Khedira (German pronunciation: [ˈsami kəˈdiːʁa]; Arabic: سامي خضيرة‎; born 4 April 1987) is a German footballer currently playing for Real Madrid. He is considered a dynamic midfielder with 'flawless aerial ability' who can cover a lot of ground and quickly join in the team attacks with his powerful mid-range shooting.[1]

Club career

VfB Stuttgart

Khedira was born in Stuttgart, to a Tunisian father and a German mother. Before joining the youth team of VfB Stuttgart in 1995, he played at TV Oeffingen. In the first months of the 2006–07 season, he was called up into VfB's Bundesliga squad by manager Armin Veh. His debut followed on 1 October 2006 against Hertha BSC. He scored his first two goals on 29 October in a game against Schalke 04. On 29 January 2007 he signed his first professional contract at VfB, valid until June 2009.[2]

On 9 July 2008 he extended his contract until the summer of 2011.[3]

Real Madrid

On 30 July 2010 Khedira moved to Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee.[4][5] Khedira will play in the number "24" jersey. Khedira made his debut for Real Madrid on 13 August 2010 in a friendly match against Bayern Munich, which Real Madrid won 4–2 in penalties. This resulted in Real Madrid winning the Franz-Beckenbauer-Cup.

International career

Khedira, who usually plays in midfield, has appeared 30 times in several German youth national teams, he captained the side during the 2009 European Under-21 Championship, which Germany won.

Khedira made his debut for the senior national squad on 5 September 2009 in a friendly match against South Africa. He was substituted on in the 73rd minute for Simon Rolfes.

He was called up to the Germany squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and started in their opening game against Australia. On 10 July 2010, he scored the game-winning header in a 3-2 win against Uruguay in the 3rd place play-off match.[8]

Mario Gómez García (born 10 July 1985 in Riedlingen) is a German footballer of German-Spanish descent (his father is a Spaniard from Granada and his mother is German). Gómez plays for Bayern Munich and the German national team. Gómez was brought up in Unlingen, an Upper Swabian village. Club career VfB Stuttgart In 2004, he played 10 minutes for VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League in a game against Chelsea on 9 March and made his debut in the Bundesliga on 8 May. In the 2004–05 season, playing for the Regionalliga side, he scored 15 times in 24 games and was to be capped eight times in the first team. In the 2005–06 season, Gómez joined the first team permanently. He played 30 times in the Bundesliga, scoring six times at this level, his first goal coming on 17 September 2005. The striker also played five times in the UEFA Cup, scoring twice, and in three times in the League Cup. In the 2006–07 season the youngster established himself as one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga. However, he broke his hand on 10 March 2007 and suffered a torn ligament in his left knee. He made his comeback on 12 May 2007, and immediately scored after coming on from the bench. In that game, VfB Stuttgart defeated VfL Bochum (3–2) and went two points clear heading into the Bundesliga's final weekend where they won at home against Energie Cottbus, thus becoming German champions. Furthermore, VfB Stuttgart also reached final of the DFB-Pokal, where Gómez participated, but VfB Stuttgart lost to 1. FC Nuremberg. After the season, he was named German Footballer of the Year for 2007. Mario Gómez with Stuttgart In July 2007, Gómez extended his contract at VfB Stuttgart until 2012. While, in the 2007–08 season, the rest of his team struggled to keep performing at their 06–07 season standards, Gómez remained at an astonishingly high level, scoring 19 goals in 25 appearances, second in the Bundesliga's Top Scorer list, just behind Bayern Munich's Luca Toni who scored 25 times. In the cup he actually scored the most goals of players.[1] Because of his recent development, many big clubs have been interested in the 23 year old forward. Gómez has recently gained the nickname “Mr. Zuverlässig” (lit. “Mr. Reliable”), as seen in his second of three goals against Bundesliga rival Werder Bremen (final score 6–3), where he managed to net in a virtually unreachable pass by teammate Yıldıray Baştürk. In the 2008-2009 season Gomez hit four goals to inspire VfB Stuttgart to a 4-1 victory over Bundesliga leaders VfL Wolfsburg. Bayern Munich On 26 May 2009, he transferred to Bayern Munich on a Bundesliga record transfer fee. The amount of the transfer fee varies from 30–35 million euro, depending on different sources.[2][3][4] National team Gómez has both German and Spanish nationality, but played for all German youth national teams from age 17. He made his debut for the German national team against Switzerland on 7 February 2007. Germany won the match 3–1, with Gómez scoring Germany's second goal. Gómez gained his second cap for Germany, coming on as a substitute for Kevin Kurányi in a Euro 2008 qualifier against San Marino, scoring two goals that contributed to a final 6–0 victory. After Gómez impressed in pre-tournament friendlies, Joachim Löw called him up to the German squad for Euro 2008. Löw broke up the strike partnership of Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose with Podolski moving out to the left wing at the expense of talismanic midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and Gómez partnering Klose up front. Unfortunately, he was not able to reproduce his club form and missed several clear-cut chances including a crucial one in the last group match against Austria. Germany eventually won courtesy of a Michael Ballack free kick to seal a place in the knock-out stages but Löw dropped him to the bench and reverted back to the Podolski-Klose partnership. He was an unused substitute was the quarterfinal and semifinal and later came off the bench in the final of Euro 2008 for Miroslav Klose but could not prevent Germany from losing 1-0 to Spain. In a friendly match against the United Arab Emirates played on 2 June 2009, Gómez netted four goals, ending his 15-game goal drought for the national team,[5] in Germany's 7–2 thrashing.

About this sound Bastian Schweinsteiger (help·info) (born 1 August 1984 in Kolbermoor) is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bayern Munich and Germany. A right-footed player, he usually plays as a left winger but can also play on the right and is especially dangerous when outside the penalty box, where he will assist the strikers with pin-point crosses or have an effort at goal, but recently he has been put in a central midfield role under Louis Van Gaal. At only 25 years old, he is one of the longest-serving players at Bayern, having been at the club since he was a teenager. Career Club career Schweinsteiger signed for Bayern Munich as a youth team player on 1 July 1998 and rose through the club's youth sides. A talented youth ski racer, he had to decide between pursuing a professional career in skiing or football at the age of 14. Having won the German youth championship in July 2002, Schweinsteiger quickly earned a place in the reserves, producing a string of solid third division displays. He initially earned a reputation for being a rebel off the pitch making headlines for the wrong reasons but has since settled down .[2] A left midfielder, who can also play on the right, he has a hard shot, great dribbling skills and is a specialist at set pieces. He can also play as a defensive midfielder or just behind the strikers. After just two training sessions with the first team, coach Ottmar Hitzfeld gave Schweinsteiger his debut as a late substitute in a UEFA Champions League game against RC Lens in November 2002, and the youngster made an immediate impact, creating a goal for Markus Feulner within minutes. He signed a professional contract the following month and went on to appear in 14 Bundesliga games in 2002–03, helping Bayern to a league and cup double. The next season he played 26 Bundesliga games. He scored his first Bayern goal against VfL Wolfsburg in September 2003. Surprisingly sent back to Bayern's reserve team by new coach Felix Magath at the beginning of the 2004–05 season despite his international exploits of the summer in the Confederations Cup, Schweinsteiger swiftly returned to play a role in the double-winning campaign and scored in Bayern's Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat at Chelsea. Over the next three seasons, up until the end of 2007–08, Bastian made 135 appearances in all competitions for Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup), scoring 10 goals in the process. On 15 August 2008, Schweinsteiger scored the first Bundesliga goal of the 2008–09 season. He had intended to extend his contract after the previous season but failed to agree to terms.[3] In the end, he extended his contract at Bayern until 2012 on 18 November 2008. International career Schweinsteiger made his international debut in 2004 in a friendly against Hungary. Right after taking part in the U-21's disappointing run at the 2004 European Championships, he was called-up for the Euro 2004. Bayern's number 31 earned rave reviews for his performances in Portugal, showing combative skills and even setting up the opening goal for former Bayern teammate Michael Ballack in Germany's 2-1 loss against the Czech Republic. He scored his first two international goals on 8 June 2005 against Russia and scored his first goal at a major tournament against Tunisia on June 18, 2005 at the Confederations Cup in Germany.[4] He was called-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup on home soil and shot into prominence at the tournament with his two brilliant long-range strikes in the third place match against Portugal, which won him the Man of the Match award.[5] The match ended 3-1 with the twenty two-year-old nearly claiming a hat-trick but his deflected free kick was credited as an own-goal to Armando Petit. During Euro 2008 qualifiers, he scored two goals en route to a record 13-0 win over San Marino in San Marino. He scored the third goal in Germany's 4-1 win over Slovakia in Bratislava. At the age of 22, he had already played 41 matches for the German national team, a record for any German player at the time. This record was soon broken, however, by Lukas Podolski who was capped 44 times at the age of 22. At the same age, Lothar Matthäus (the German all-time record holder with 150 caps) had only played 13 times for the German national team. To this day Germany have never lost a game when he has scored. Schweinsteiger initially lost his place in the starting eleven when manager Joachim Löw moved striker Lukas Podolski to his usual position on the left wing to accommodate the strike partnership of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gómez and he made two substitute appearances in the group stages. In the second match against Croatia, he was shown a straight red card for reacting to a challenge from Jerko Leko as Germany succumbed to a shock 2-1 defeat. After serving his suspension by missing the game against Austria, he returned to the starting line-up in the quarterfinal against Portugal when Löw reverted back to the old 4-4-2 formation when Gómez was benched after failing to make an impression. Once again he was instrumental in their 3-2 win, scoring one and setting up Miroslav Klose's equaliser and Michael Ballack's winner. He also scored his country's first goal in the 3-2 semi-final victory against Turkey. He captained the team for the first time in a friendly against the United Arab Emirates. Schweinsteiger was again ever-present in 2010 World Cup qualifying, playing 9 of the 10 games and contributing 3 goals.

Philipp Lahm (born 11 November 1983 in Munich, Bavaria) is a German footballer who plays as a defender for Bayern Munich and Germany. General information Philipp Lahm has played for VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich in Bundesliga and for Germany at Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008, and scored the opening goal of aforementioned world cup. He is considered one of the best full backs in the world, as is shown by his inclusion in the Mastercard All Star Team in 2006 and the UEFA Team of the Tournament in 2008. He is well known for his pace, dribbling and crossing abilities as well as his small stature. Although Lahm is right-footed, and while he played as a right back as a youth, he has also been played effectively at left back, where his runs with the ball from the left flank and swift cut-ins towards the centre, where he could then shoot with his strong right foot, has been a potent weapon for both Bayern and Germany. Club career Early career Lahm developed into a professional football player within the Bayern Munich Junior Team. He came to the team at the age of 11 after a junior coach, Jan Pienta, had scouted him several times while he was playing for the local junior team in Gern, Munich, his hometown.[1] He was considered very talented already as a junior by his coaches, one of them, Herman Hummels even once saying "If Philipp Lahm will not make it in the Bundesliga, nobody will anymore."[2] He won twice the A-junior Bundesliga, second time as a captain of the team[1] and was taken into the amateur side at the age of 17 (2001). His amateur coach Herman Gerland considers Lahm as the most talented player he has ever coached[3] and made him the captain of the amateur team during his second season. During his junior and amateur years Lahm mostly played as a defensive midfielder, right midfielder or right full-back.[4] As Willy Sagnol was playing as a right back, Bixente Lizarazu was the main left back for Bayern Munich and their midfield was also well covered, Lahm was loaned to Stuttgart for the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. VfB Stuttgart Lahm was originally signed as a back-up for Andreas Hinkel to the right defensive position, but coach Felix Magath tried him out on different positions and he finally ended up playing as a left back, a position on which he toppled the German international Heiko Gerber.[5] He made his Bundesliga debut on the first day of the season 2003–04 against Hansa Rostock as he came in as a substitute in the 76th minute for the midfielder Silvio Meissner. His first professional game as a left back he played on the fourth round as a 63rd minute substitute for Gerber and his first game over full 90 minutes followed on the sixth round against Borussia Dortmund. Thereafter he established his role as a regular for Stuttgart.[6] His first UEFA Champions League appearance Lahm had already made the previous season with Bayern Munich as a late substitute against RC Lens, but his first Champions League game in the starting line-up came on the 29 September, 2003, against Manchester United. During the 2003–04 season Lahm eventually appeared for Stuttgart in 31 Bundesliga and seven Champions League matches and came second in the election for the German footballer of the year. During the second season in Stuttgart (2004–2005) Lahm was having substantially more difficult time.[5] After the Euro 2004 tournament and the resulting shorter vacation and pre-season training he was having difficulties getting off the ground and also in conforming with the tactics and system of the new trainer Matthias Sammer. However, he still made 16 Bundesliga appearances for Stuttgart before the Christmas break, 14 of them over the full 90 minutes, and six appearances in the UEFA Cup.[7] In January 2005 Lahm suffered a stress-fracture on his right foot and was thus sidelined for four months, making his comeback on 9 April 2005, against FC Schalke 04. Only around five weeks later (17 May 2005) he however injured himself again, this time suffering a torn cruciate ligament which ended his season and simultaneously also his career in Stuttgart.[1] FC Bayern Munich In July 2005, Lahm returned to Bayern Munich. However, the torn cruciate ligament he had suffered just before his return, forced him to start his professional time in FC Bayern on rehabilitation. He returned to the field at the end of November playing first twice for the amateur side of Bayern and thereafter making his first professional Bundesliga appearance for Bayern in November 2005 against Arminia Bielefeld.[8] During the season he appeared for Bayern 20 times in Bundesliga and thrice in Champions League, contending over field-time evenly with Bixente Lizarazu. During the season 2006–07 Lahm played in all of Bayern's 34 Bundesliga games and in nine of the ten Champions League games and was only substituted twice, mainly because he was the only left back in the team but also due to his sufficiently solid performances during a season that was one of the worst for Bayern in many years. For the season 2007–08 Bayern bought the German international left back Marcell Jansen and Lahm was supposed to be reverted to right, both to accommodate Jansen and to replace French right back Willy Sagnol. Due to injuries (both his and Jansen's) he still mainly ended up playing left for Bayern and has since also remained left, although he uttered his wish to play on right several times during the year 2008. During the whole season there were various rumors suggesting that Lahm would leave Bayern in the summer of 2008 to join FC Barcelona and the transfer seemed to be almost a done deal.[9] However, on 16 May 2008 FC Bayern signed a new contract with Lahm. His new contract will keep him in Munich until 20 June 2012.[10] As reasons for his decision to stay true to Bayern he stated i.e. the good discussion with the manager Uli Hoeneß and new coach Jürgen Klinsmann and the desire not to pass the reform started in the club.[11] International career Lahm started his international career in the U19 national team. He was part of the team that won silver for Germany in the 2002 U19 European championship playing in all games in the final tournament and scoring a crucial goal in the 90th minute (2–3) against England in a game that ended 3–3.[12] After that he played a few U20 and U21 games for Germany but impressed Rudi Völler enough to hand the youngster his debut on 18 February 2004. His first game was a 2–1 win over Croatia, where he played the full 90 minutes and was chosen as the man of the match by German football magazine Kicker.[13] He was also part of Germany's team in the Euro 2004 in Portugal and played full 90 minutes in all three games. Although Germany didn't make it past the group stage, Lahm's performance was considered very promising and many German papers saw it as the only positive thing about the tournament. Lahm missed over a year in the international football between January 2005 and March 2006 due to injuries (stress-fracture on foot and a torn cruciate ligament), therefore also missing the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, but after his recovery he immediately made it back to the starting line-up. Even though he injured his elbow in a friendly game right before the World Cup 2006 and thus had to wear a special cast on his left arm,[14] Jürgen Klinsmann still saw him as the first option for the left defensive position. He scored the opening goal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany against Costa Rica in the sixth minute, cutting inside the area and launching a right foot shot into the top-right corner of the net and was nominated Man of the Match for his performance in the game Germany versus Poland. He was also the only German player to play all 690 minutes of the 2006 World Cup and was also elected to the 2006 Mastercard All Star Team. During the Euro 2008 he was in the starting line-up of Germany in all the games and was only substituted in the final after getting a cut needing stitches on his foot. Lahm started the tournament as a right back but replaced the under-performing Jansen as left back after 1.5 games. On 25 June 2008, he scored the winning goal of the Euro 2008 semi-final against Turkey in the 90th minute. He described this as the most important goal of his career and although he was elected the Man of the Match, he himself considered that not as well-deserved.[15] On 29 June 2008 Lahm played part in the Euro 2008 final against Spain. On 33 minutes Xavi Hernandez played a piercing ball through the German defence and a lack of communication between Lahm and German Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann let Fernando Torres in behind with a sublime dink over Lehmann and the Torres goal was the decisive factor with Spain prevailing 1-0 to win its first European Championship in 44 years. Lahm was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year 2006 following his outstanding performance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and again 2007. 2006 he was in contention alongside fellow Germans Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose and Jens Lehmann, but the award was won on 18 December 2006 by the Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro. However, he was chosen as the left back for the UEFA Team of the Year 2006 and came second in the same election next year, losing only by less than 1% of the given votes to the winner Eric Abidal. 2008 Lahm was again voted as the left back for the UEFA Team of the Year. Lahm has been a candidate for the UEFA Team of the Year in all of his professional years when he has been fit (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008) and is therefore alongside Michael Ballack most often nominated German player for the aforementioned team and the second German having been elected more than once. In 2008, Lahm was also chosen as the left back for the FIFA Team of the Year, winning the election before Manchester United left back Patrice Evra by 2% of the given votes [16]. Lahm was ever present during Germany's 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and was the only player to play all 90 minutes in all ten matches. Personal Information Lahm does a lot of charity work and has taken part on several charity campaigns and events. In June 2007, FIFA announced that Lahm and Owen Hargreaves would visit South Africa in advance to support the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[17] Although Hargreaves never managed to take part in the trip due to injury, Lahm and a fellow German national teammate, Piotr Trochowski, visited the country taking time not only to visit the 2010 FIFA World Cup organizers but, also to visit a local SOS Children's Village and to take part in the Kick-AIDS event.[18] He has established a foundation, Philipp-Lahm-Stiftung, to support underprivileged children and is also an official ambassador representing "FIFA for SOS Children's Villages".[19] In addition he was an ambassador of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 World AIDS Day. He has also taken part on a campaign against speeding and various others such as Bündnis für Kinder against child abuse.[9][20] Lahm was awarded a Tolerantia-Preis on 20 September 2008, due to his outstanding contribution against intolerance and homophobia in sports, particularly in football.[21] On 8 November 2009 Lahm was given the highest fine in the history of Bayern Munich to date (estimated to be over €25,000) after giving an unauthorised interview in Süddeutsche Zeitung. He criticised the transfer policy of the club and the lack of game philosophy and strategic planning.[22][23][24] This incident drew mixed reactions from fans and the media, both local and foreign, with some saying that Lahm should have kept his opinions to himself and others praising him for his honesty.[25] Nonetheless, he kept his place in the Bayern starting line-up.

Christoph Tobias Metzelder (born 5 November 1980 in Haltern, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German footballer who plays for Real Madrid, as a central defender. His career has been blighted by regular injuries. His younger brother Malte is also a footballer (and a centre back), and both played for Borussia Dortmund. Football career In the summer of 2000, Metzelder signed for Borussia Dortmund, and he was an instant success. At the end of his first season, he won his first cap for Germany, playing the second half of a 5-2 friendly win in Hungary, on August 15, 2001. Metzelder at Dortmund The second season at Dortmund brought him the 2002 national title, and 14 matches with Germany, all the way to the 2002 FIFA World Cup final with Germany. However, he missed the entire 2003-04 due to an Achilles tendon injury,[1]and only took part in 16 league contests in the following campaign. After over two years out of the national squad, Metzelder was called by new boss Jürgen Klinsmann for a friendly with China, in October 2005.[2]He also netted his first two league goals, in 1-1 draws against Mainz 05 and Hamburger SV, and would be Germany's undisputed starter at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, partnering with Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker. On 18 April 2007, after failing to renew his contract at Borussia,[3]Metzelder transferred to Real Madrid at the end of the season on a free transfer.[4][5] In February 2008, after managing to be injury-free in the first months of his Spanish adventure, Metzelder had surgery on the sole of his foot, resulting in him missing nearly two months of action.[6]On 11 May, after having already missed the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash against Roma, he returned and played the full 90 minutes against Real Zaragoza (2-2 away draw). Despite his lack of playing time, Metzelder featured in all of Germany's matches (all the minutes) at Euro 2008, again partnering Mertesacker. In 2008-09's Spanish League, he was the main benefitiary of a 10-match suspension handed to Real's Pepe; after a stellar performance in a 4-2 win at Sevilla FC, he also started in the 2-6 home defeat at the hands of FC Barcelona.

Lukas Podolski (German pronunciation: [ˈluːkas poˈdɔlski]; born as Łukasz Podolski on 4 June 1985) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Köln and is a member of the German national team. Early life Podolski was born to Krystyna Podolska, a former member of the Polish national handball team and Waldemar Podolski, former Polish football professional and the 1980 champion of Poland with Szombierki Bytom, in the Silesian industrial town of Gliwice (near Katowice), Poland. In 1987, when Łukasz Podolski was two years old, his family emigrated from Poland to West Germany and got the status as Aussiedler[4], but Podolski said in 2008 that he has Polish blood in him.[5] Podolski grew up in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, and later in Pulheim, both near Cologne.[6] He still has Polish citizenship, but he travels with a German passport.[7][8][9][10] Club career Köln Podolski began playing football at the age of six in the youth team of FC Bergheim, where he played until he joined Köln in 1995. It was there where Podolski's talents were first noticed. In 2003, at the age of 18, Podolski was still part of the club's youth side. At this time the club found itself in dire straits battling to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga. First team boss Marcel Koller, working on a shoestring budget, invited Podolski to train with the senior players and he made his top flight debut shortly afterwards on 22 November 2003. Even though Köln failed to avoid a drop to the 2nd division, Podolski had shown what he could do, scoring 10 goals in his first 19 senior appearances. This was the best tally by an 18-year-old in the history of the Bundesliga[citation needed]. Though his call up to the German Euro 2004 squad brought along interest from several top clubs, Podolski stayed at Köln to help the club gain promotion in the 2004–05 season. With 24 goals, Podolski advanced to become the league's best scorer. Somewhat unusually, Podolski remained part of the Germany squad, even though he did not play in the national top-tier league. After Köln were promoted, the pressure was on Podolski to keep the club in the Bundesliga practically singlehandedly. Podolski managed to score 12 goals in the 2005–06 season, but eventually, Köln were relegated again. It became clear that Podolski would not stay again to push them through the 2006–07 season—even more so, as Podolski was becoming an integral part of the national team. Bayern Munich In 2006, clubs such as Bayern Munich, HSV Hamburg, Werder Bremen and even Real Madrid manifested their interest in Podolski, even though he had a contract with FC Köln through 2007. On 1 June 2006, Podolski announced that a transfer agreement had been reached with Bayern Munich, allowing him to join the Bavarian side for the 2006–07 season. Financial details of the deal were not immediately available, but the transfer fee was speculated to be around €10 million. He made his Bundesliga debut for Bayern on 11 August 2006 with a 2–0 victory against Borussia Dortmund, coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute. On 9 September 2006, he came on as a second half substitute in a DFB cup game versus FC St Pauli. Only 26 seconds after the second half started, he scored the equaliser, evening the match 1–1. On 14 October 2006, with his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern, Podolski helped to secure the club's 4–2 win over Hertha Berlin. On 26 October 2006, Podolski suffered a serious injury to his right ankle joint caused by teammate, Mark van Bommel, during a training session. Consequently, Podolski missed more than five match weeks. He returned from this injury and scored against Alemannia Aachen. He sometimes communicates with fellow Bayern and national team striker Miroslav Klose, who is also Polish-born, in Polish to hinder their opposition's understanding of their conversation.[11] When Bayern brought in Italian striker Luca Toni, "Poldi" was moved down the pecking order and received less playing time due to the coach's preference to partner Klose and Toni together instead. After a rather unhappy season at Bayern, he returned to former club Köln on 1 July 2009[12]. Return to Köln After Podolski was assured by national team coach Joachim Löw that a return to Köln would not harm his chances of international football, an agreement to sign him was agreed between Bayern Munich and Köln on 20 January 2009, although he would not return to Köln until the start of the summer transfer window, on July 1. Podolski will return to Köln on a four-year contract, and the transfer is speculated to be around €10 million, equivalent to the fee Bayern paid to sign him in 2006.[13][14] Köln created a website where people were able to buy pixels of an image of Lukas Podolski for €25 per 8x8 pixel square, in order to gather €1 million to reduce the cost of the transfer.[15][16] International career Lukas Podolski during a friendly game against South Africa International debut and breakthrough In late 2003, after several impressive performances in his first few Bundesliga games, Polish media suggested then-Polish national team coach Paweł Janas to check Podolski out, as he was still eligible to play for Poland. Janas ignored the request stating in one of the press interviews that "as for today we have much better strikers in Poland and I don't see a reason to call up a player just because he played one or two good matches in the Bundesliga. He's not even a regular starter at his club." By that time Podolski was still interested in representing Poland, but as the season progressed more and more German media started to suggest to call up the striker to their national team. When his full potential was finally unveiled, he had already been persuaded to represent Germany. At the end of the season Köln were relegated, but Podolski impressed so much, that he celebrated his debut for Rudi Völler's Germany on 6 June 2004 in Kaiserslautern against Hungary with a late substitute appearance. He had become the first second-division player since 1975 to break into the national team. Euro 2004 Podolski played for Germany at Euro 2004, where he was the squad's youngest player. He made one substitute appearance in the game against the Czech Republic, when he came on for Torsten Frings at half-time. World Cup 2006 Podolski was selected in the Germany squad for the 2006 World Cup, where he partnered Miroslav Klose in attack. He scored his first ever World Cup goal in Germany's third group match against Ecuador, and both goals in the 2–0 win over Sweden in the round of 16. By this, he became the first player since 1962 to score two goals in the first 12 minutes of a World Cup match and only the third man ever to accomplish the feat. Germany went to the semi-finals and lost to Italy 2–0 in extra time. They eventually won the third place match against Portugal. His three goals in the tournament tied him for second in the Golden Boot competition, which was won by his teammate Miroslav Klose with five goals. Podolski was tied with Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Maxi Rodriguez, Hernán Crespo, and FIFA World Cup MVP (winner of the Golden Ball) Zinedine Zidane. Podolski was named the World Cup's Best Young Player before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Euro 2008 In Euro 2008 qualifying game against San Marino in Serravalle Podolski netted four goals in Germany's record 13–0 thrashing. He is one of only four German players to score four goals in an international match. He was the third after Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack, and since this, Mario Gómez has accomplished this feat. In Germany's 4–1 win against Slovakia in Bratislava on 11 October 2006, he scored the first and the last German goal, both on assists by Miroslav Klose. He has continued to score goals at an astonishing rate. On 17 November 2007, in a Euro qualifier match against Cyprus, Podolski was involved in every goal in Germany's 4–0 victory. This was one of Podolski's best performances for the national team. Even though he played out of his natural position, playing at left midfield, he netted one goal himself and was voted Man of the Match. On 8 June 2008, Podolski made his Euro 2008 entrance against debutants Poland in a Group B match in Klagenfurt, Austria. He scored both goals in a 2–0 victory. He avoided celebrating his goals, however, to show respect for his country of birth. After the game he gave an emotional interview on Polish television. The goals put him in the lead in the Euro 2008 goal-scoring list for two days until David Villa scored a hat-trick for Spain against Russia.[17] On 12 June, Germany played Croatia in their second Group B match, again in Klagenfurt. Podolski scored the German team's only goal of the game in the 79th minute, by which time the Croatians were already leading 2–0. He did not celebrate this goal either despite it putting him joint first on the Euro 2008 goal-scoring list with David Villa. Podolski's goal was not enough to snatch a draw, with Croatia holding out for a 2–1 victory over Germany.[18] On 19 June, Germany played Portugal in the quarterfinal in Basel, Podolski was instrumental in the first goal, whipping a cross into the penalty box that slotted home by Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 22nd minute to give Germany a 1–0 lead. On the international scene, Podolski seems to be gravitating towards an attacking left midfield role from his traditional place as a striker. Initially, Löw had moved him to the wing in order to accommodate the partnership of Klose and Mario Gómez up front. When this backfired, he resumed his forward position in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final, but was unable to prevent Germany losing 1–0 to Spain. In a controversial incident, Podolski was headbutted by Spanish midfielder David Silva, although this went unnoticed by the referee and his assistants, and went unpenalised. Lukas Podolski was named in the 23 man squad as one of the players of the tournament along with countrymen Michael Ballack and Philipp Lahm. World Cup 2010 On 6 September 2008, Podolski scored the opening two goals in Germany's first World Cup 2010 qualifying game against Liechtenstein in Vaduz; a match that ended in a 6-0 victory for the Germans. He scored the opener in the 2-1 home win over Russia on 11 October, when he turned Vasily Berezutsky on the edge of the penalty area, before unleashing a powerful shot past Russia's goalkeeper Akinfeev. As of 10 June 2009, he is currently the joint-top scorer in Group 4 with 4 goals. During one of the qualifying matches, he was involved in a bust-up with team captain Michael Ballack. Despite enduring an unhappy domestic 2008-09 season, Podolski still maintained his scoring streak at international level, many times partnering Miroslav Klose to great effect.

About this sound Miroslav Klose (help·info) (born Mirosław Marian Kloze on 9 June 1978 in Opole) is a German association footballer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. He has a good scoring record in both domestic and international football as well as a decent assists tally. Since bursting into the international stage at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he has become well-known for his knack of scoring headers and his front-flip goal celebration. Born in Polish part of Silesia, Klose plays for the German national team. He is German and Polish by birth and qualified for selection by the German national team because of the German nationality of his father. He was the top scorer and thus the Golden Boot winner at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with five goals. Klose also scored five goals in his debut World Cup, the 2002 World Cup hosted jointly by the Korea Republic and Japan, giving him a total of ten goals in World Cup finals. He is the first player since the reunification of Germany to finish as the World Cup's top scorer, and the only player to have scored five or more goals in consecutive World Cups. Biography Background Klose was born in Opole, Upper Silesia, Poland. Both of his parents were active in sports; his mother, Barbara Jeż, was a member of the Poland women's national handball team. His father Josef Klose played professional football in Poland for Odra Opole, before leaving communist Poland in 1978 and moving to France to play for clubs like AJ Auxerre. In 1985, Miroslav and his mother joined him in Kusel, Germany. Klose's father is from an ethnic German family and thus they were permitted to settle as Aussiedler in West Germany. In 2006 interviews for German Süddeutsche Zeitung[1] and Polish tabloid Fakt, Josef Klose stated that he absolutely does not want to be regarded as Polish, declaring himself rather as an Silesian and a European, and stating that the success of his son is due to himself and German clubs. Klose himself said in a recent interview to Przegląd Sportowy that it would be best for him not to be called German or Polish, but European.[2] As he stated in an interview to Der Spiegel in 2007, his family at home speaks Polish to each other, with his twin sons learning German in Kindergarten.[3] He has a Polish-born wife Sylwia Klose[4] and is the father of twins Luan and Noah.[5] Football career Klose learned his football at a village club, Blaubach-Diedelkopf, in the German seventh division. Klose had also successfully completed an apprenticeship to become a carpenter and had worked in this profession until joining the professional team of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Klose was something of a late bloomer compared to many other professional footballers in his age bracket. He has in the past had many comparisons with various world class strikers such as Michael Owen and Ruud van Nistelrooy. When asked about the comparisons Klose expressed his flattery to be compared to the likes of van Nistelrooy, “It's an honour to be compared to Ruud. He's played in Europe for so long and has a great goal scoring record. I hope one day I can be as good as him.” This interview was conducted in June 2007 with Der Spiegel prior his move to Bayern Munich. Club career Kaiserslautern After a season at FC Homburg, he eventually joined the reserve team of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. A year after joining the club he made it into the first team. In his first 67 matches, Klose scored 33 goals. The 2002–03 season was a comparatively disappointing one as Klose found the back of the net a mere seven times. Werder Bremen Miroslav Klose at Werder Bremen Klose transferred to Werder Bremen in 2004 for a sum of €5 million. After a lackluster start, Klose formed an impressive attacking triangle with French midfielder Johan Micoud and Croatian forward Ivan Klasnić as well as, though less frequently, Paraguayan forward Nelson Valdez, scoring 15 goals in the Bundesliga. In the 2005–06 season, he scored 25 goals, the highest that season, and registered 16 assists in just 26 games in the Bundesliga. After his strong performance at the 2006 World Cup, Klose was linked by newspapers with a move away from the Weserstadion. European giants Barcelona and Juventus were listed among his potential suitors. Klose was also heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich, with Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer an admirer of Klose. On 7 June 2007, Klose confirmed that he would leave Werder Bremen for Bayern Munich either before the 2007–08 season or upon the expiration of his contract with Werder at the end of the 2007–08 season.[6] Bayern Munich Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose (18), Olympiastadion, Hertha BSC Berlin vs Bayern München, 2009. On 26 June 2007, club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that Bayern Munich had reached an agreement with Werder Bremen regarding the transfer of the player. Klose completed his medical with Bayern on 28 June 2007 before signing a four-year contract. Klose made his first competitive appearance for Bayern in a 4–1 victory against old team Werder Bremen in the first round of the DFB-Ligapokal. After missing the semi-final victory over VfB Stuttgart due to injury, Klose returned in the final against Schalke, scoring his first competitive goal for Bayern to win the title. Klose made his Bundesliga debut in the game against Hansa Rostock on 11 August 2007 in which he scored two goals. The game ended 3–0 for Bayern Munich with Klose's striking partner Luca Toni scoring the third goal. In late September, he claimed his first hat-trick for the club in a 5-0 League success over Energie Cottbus. After that bright start to his Bayern career, Klose struggled during the latter half of the Bundesliga season. His total of 20 goals in all competitions - with an impressive DFB Cup record - did however play a significant role in helping the club to a league and cup double. Klose's second season at the club was a positive one. He finished as Bayern's top scorer in all competitions with 20 goals, a figure that could have been higher but for an injury sustained in March. 7 of his tally came in the Champions' League, making him the second-best goalscorer in that year's competition. International career Miroslav Klose during the 2006 FIFA World Cup Klose's consistency as a goal-scorer in his first Bundesliga season at Kaiserslautern earned him attention. In January 2001, the then national coach Jerzy Engel of the Polish national team travelled to Germany to persuade Klose to choose playing for Poland. This request was declined by Klose who said that: “I have a German passport, and if things are still running this way, I have a chance to play for Rudi Völler”. In fact, he soon was capped and made his debut for Germany against Albania on 24 March 2001. Klose came on as a substitute and headed in from close range the winning 2-1 goal two minutes from time.[7] In an interview given to Przegląd Sportowy on 9 June 2008, Klose stated that the decision to play for Germany instead of Poland was not an easy one, and if Polish officials had been faster, he would be playing for Poland now. Furthermore, he added that he does not regret the choice, as with Germany he has won medals in the World Cup tournaments.[2] The German national team has never lost a game in which Klose has scored. Since 9 September 2009 he is with Rudi Völler and Jürgen Klinsmann second in the all-time German topscorer list.[8] 2002 World Cup Klose came to international prominence at the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan. He scored five headed goals for the German national team, finishing joint second highest goal scorer along with Rivaldo. This tally included a hat trick in Germany's 8–0 hammering of Saudi Arabia. Klose's trademark goal celebration is a front-flip which he did five times during the 2002 World Cup, earning him the nickname “Salto-Klose” from fans. 2006 World Cup Miroslav Klose in 2006 World Cup Klose was named to his second successive World Cup team for the 2006 World Cup. In the opening match against Costa Rica, coinciding with his 28th birthday, Klose scored two goals, in the 17th and 61st minutes. This led to Germany's 4–2 win over Costa Rica. Klose played against the country of his birth, Poland, in Germany's second match. During the tournament, he formed a formidable strike partnership with Poland-born Lukas Podolski scoring 8 goals between them as Germany topped the scoring charts with 13 goals in 6 matches. He scored another two goals against Ecuador on 20 June, putting him on top of the tournament top scorer list with four goals. Klose also played a major part in Germany's 2–0 win over Sweden in the first knockout round, demonstrating his ability to provide assists as he set up strike partner Lukas Podolski for both goals. Klose scored the equaliser against Argentina in the quarterfinal game played on June 30, 2006, with Germany going on to win 4–2 on penalties. Klose is the first German since Gerd Müller in the 1970s to become the top scorer at a World Cup, and the first World Cup finals top scorer from unified Germany (Müller represented the former West Germany). Klose has scored ten goals in World Cup finals, and is six goals away from overtaking Brazilian forward Ronaldo as the all-time highest scorer in the World Cup. Klose's five 2002 World Cup goals were all headers; only the fifth of his five goals in the 2006 matches was a header (his first in two years). Three of the first four were scored with his favoured right foot. Klose and team-mate Michael Ballack became the only two All-Star Team Players of the 2006 World Cup to be in the previous All-Star Team of 2002. Klose also holds the record for being the only player to score 5 goals in consecutive World Cups. His ten goals puts him third in the list of German top scorers in World Cup history, behind the legendary Gerd Müller and former manager Jürgen Klinsmann, and first from the reunified Germany. Euro 2008 On 6 September 2006, Klose scored two away goals against San Marino in a 13–0 Euro 2008 Qualifying win which took his international goal tally to 33, the same amount as his idol Fritz Walter and to joint 7th in the list of all-time goalscorers for Germany. He had a goal drought for a long time with the national team, causing speculation that he may be dropped from the starting line-up. But German coach Joachim Löw has denied this. Another highlight in Klose's career came on 8 September 2007, as he captained Germany for the first time and celebrated this honour by scoring both of his country's goals in a 2–0 victory over Wales. The next day, one of the headlines in the UEFA official website was “Captain Klose Takes Germany Closer (to qualifying).” In the main tournament, Klose started the opening group game against Poland and assisted Lukas Podolski's two goals in a 2-0 victory. He played the remaining two group games against Croatia and Austria with no goals. He finally broke his duck during the knockout stages, scoring the second goal for Germany during both quarter final and semi-final against Portugal and Turkey. However he was unable to score during the final against Spain.

Michael Ballack (born 26 September 1976) is a German football midfielder who plays for Chelsea of the English Premier League and is the captain of the German national team. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He was selected as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He has won the German Footballer of the Year award three times 2002, 2003 and 2005. Ballack began his career as a youth at Chemnitzer FC, his local team, and made his professional debut in 1995. Although the team were relegated in his first season, his performances in the Regionalliga the following season led to a transfer to Kaiserslautern in 1997. He won the Bundesliga in his first season at the club; his first major honour. He became a first team regular in 1998–99 season and also earned his first senior national cap for Germany. He moved to Bayer Leverkusen for €4.1 million in 1999. The 2002 season saw him win a slew of runners-up medals: Bayer Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga, German Cup, UEFA Champions League and Germany lost to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup Final. A €12.9 million move to Bayern Munich led to further honours: the team won the Bundesliga and German Cup double in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Ballack had become a prolific goalscorer from midfield, scoring 58 goals for Bayern Munich between 2002 and 2006. He joined Premier League side Chelsea in mid-2006 and won his first English honours, the FA Cup and Football League Cup, in his first season at the club. Injury ruled out much of 2007 but he returned the following season, helping Chelsea reach their first ever Champions League Final. Internationally, Ballack has played in the European Championships in 2000, 2004 and 2008, and the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and 2006. Jürgen Klinsmann appointed him captain of the national team in 2004. He captained his country in the Euro 2008 Final but the team lost to Spain. Early life Michael Ballack was born in Görlitz, a small town in East Germany. He is the only child of Stephan and Karin Ballack, an engineer and a secretary respectively. The family moved to Chemnitz when Ballack was very young and it was there that he started to play football. [edit] Club career [edit] Chemnitz Ballack's parents sent him to train with the side when he was seven years old. He later moved on to FC Karl-Marx-Stadt (renamed Chemnitzer FC in 1990). His father had played second-division football himself in Germany. Unusual for his early age was Ballack's ability to use both feet with equal authority. In 1995, Ballack earned his first professional contract, thanks to his performances in the role of central midfielder. He was dubbed the "Little Kaiser," in reference to Franz Beckenbauer, who was nicknamed "The Kaiser". His professional debut came on 4 August 1995, on the first day of the new 2. Bundesliga season. Chemnitz lost the game 2-1, against VfB Leipzig. At the end of the season, during which Ballack made fifteen appearances, Chemnitz were relegated to the multi-tiered, regional third division. On 26 March 1996, Ballack made his debut for Germany's Under-21 side. The following season, Ballack became a regular first-team player as Chemnitz missed out on an immediate return to the Bundesliga. He did not miss a game and scored ten goals for the "Sky Blues". It was not enough for Chemnitz to be promoted, but in the summer of 1997, coach Otto Rehhagel of just-promoted 1. FC Kaiserslautern signed Ballack at their return to top flight football. [edit] Kaiserslautern It was during the seventh game of the 1997–98 season, away to Karlsruher SC, that Rehhagel decided to throw Ballack into the Bundesliga for the first time, if only for the final five minutes of the encounter. On 28 March 1998, Ballack made his first-team debut against Bayer Leverkusen. Ballack made 16 appearances for his new team during the season as the club became the first-ever newly promoted team to lift the league title. In the following season, Ballack became both a regular (he made 30 appearances, scoring four goals) and one of the side's leading players. Kaiserslautern reached the quarter finals of the Champions League, but were knocked out by Bayern Munich. On 1 July 1999, Ballack moved to Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 22, for a transfer fee of €4.1 million. [edit] Bayer Leverkusen It was at Bayer Leverkusen that Ballack made his breakthrough. Coaches Christoph Daum and Klaus Toppmöller granted him an attacking role in the midfield. Ballack was instrumental to the success of Leverkusen, scoring 27 goals in the league and nine in Europe over the course of his three seasons at the BayArena. In 2000, Bayer Leverkusen needed only a draw against minnows Unterhaching to win the title, but an own goal by Ballack helped send the team to a crushing 0-2 defeat, while Bayern Munich clinched the title with a 3-1 victory over Werder Bremen. 2002 was a season of disappointment for Bayer Leverkusen. In the German Bundesliga, the team surrendered a five point lead at the top of the table over the last three games of the season to finish second behind Borussia Dortmund, lost the UEFA Champions League final 2-1 to Real Madrid, and lost the German Cup final 4-2 to Schalke 04. These three runner-up finishes were dubbed a "Treble Horror". Ballack and Leverkusen teammates Bernd Schneider, Carsten Ramelow, and Oliver Neuville were even beaten finalists with Germany in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, although Ballack was suspended for the final itself. Ballack finished with 17 league goals, and his performance over the season led to him being voted into the UEFA.com users' Team of 2002 as well being named German Footballer of the Year. [edit] Bayern Munich Ballack playing for Bayern Munich In spite of Real Madrid's interest, Ballack decided to sign with Bayern Munich in a €12.9 million deal in 2002 after his impressive performances in the World Cup. Bayern won the Bundesliga in his first season with 75 points, they also won the German Cup. In his second season however, Bayern lost their Bundesliga crown to Werder Bremen along with the cup. In his third season with the Bavarians, Ballack enjoyed success in the 2004-05 season as Bayern Munich completed another double. New coach Felix Magath stated he was the only automatic starter in their midfield.[2] In four seasons at Bayern, Ballack won three Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal doubles and scored 47 goals in 135 matches. Between 1998 and 2005, Ballack notched up 61 goals in his domestic league. However, Ballack's critics noted his frequent "choking" in important Champions League matches. This resulted in open public criticism from club general manager Uli Hoeneß, communications director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and club president Franz Beckenbauer, all former Bayern players. Beckenbauer later went as far as to accuse Ballack of "saving his strength" for prospective employers after Ballack turned in an average performance in the 2006 DFB Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt.[3] [edit] Chelsea Ballack agreed to join Chelsea on a free transfer on 15 May 2006.[4] During his last season as a Bayern player there were rumours of interest from Manchester United, Real Madrid, Internazionale and A.C. Milan,[5] but Ballack instead chose to go to Stamford Bridge. Shortly after arriving at Chelsea, Ballack stated that he hoped to end his career for Chelsea. Ballack's debut for Chelsea came on 31 July 2006, during a practice match at UCLA's intramural football pitch. Chelsea presented him to the media the following day where the club also gave him his favoured number 13 shirt, worn throughout his career. Upon doing so, William Gallas, who previously wore the number 13 shirt for Chelsea, was given the number 3 shirt. This move created animosity between Gallas and the club as Gallas felt that he was underappreciated.[6] On 27 August 2006, Ballack earned his English League debut for Chelsea against Blackburn Rovers, and his UEFA Champions League debut for Chelsea against Werder Bremen. Michael Ballac 2005.JPG Ballack scored his first goal for Chelsea on 21 September 2006 in the latter match against Werder Bremen. He received his first straight red card of his career in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Liverpool on 17 September 2006, after being judged to have stamped on Mohamed Sissoko's leg. Ballack scored his first goal in the English League on 21 October 2006 against Portsmouth at home with a header. His first FA Cup goal came in the 109th minute in a match against Blackburn Rovers on 15 April 2007. This goal resulted in Chelsea progressing into the FA Cup final. He scored eight goals in all competitions for the club in the 2006–07 season, including a free-kick against Everton at Goodison Park, as well as a half-volley against F.C. Porto which sent Chelsea through to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. On 28 April 2007, Chelsea released a statement on their official website, informing fans that Ballack had undergone ankle surgery in Munich. As a result of the surgery, Ballack did not play in the FA Cup Final against Manchester United, which Chelsea won 1–0 through Didier Drogba's extra time goal. This was Ballack's second trophy this season, his first being the League Cup, the final of which he started. Chelsea left Ballack out of their Champions League squad for the 2007–08 group stage as they realised that his injury would prevent him from playing any useful part and preferred to select the fully fit Steve Sidwell. The German international had an ankle operation in the summer and Chelsea could not take the risk of him not regaining full fitness before the end of the Group Stage. Thus, Ballack could not play in the Champions League before the knockout stages began in February.[7] The club was only able to select 23 out of a possible 25 players for their Champions League squad due to the new UEFA regulations on 'association-trained players' and 'club-trained players'. Due to this regulation, Chelsea were also unable to select young player Scott Sinclair and could only pick 23 players as their only 'club-trained player' was John Terry. For this reason, it was deemed unwise to gamble on Ballack being fit at some point.[8] Ballack was absent for eight months with an ankle injury, during which he feared that his football career might be in danger of ending as he was getting older. He made his return to the side in Chelsea's 2–0 League Cup win over Liverpool on 19 December. Ballack tallied an assist late in the game to striker Andriy Shevchenko. On 26 December, Ballack made his league return in a thrilling game against Aston Villa which ended 4–4. He came on for Frank Lampard in the 26th minute after the latter had picked up a thigh injury. In first-half stoppage time, he won a penalty after being brought down in the box by Zat Knight, which Andriy Shevchenko converted. In the 88th minute, with the score tied at 3–3, Ballack stepped up to take a free-kick, which he buried into the bottom left corner of the goal, but the match ended in a 4–4 draw. Ballack playing against Tottenham Hotpsur. Ballack captained the Chelsea team in the absence of captain John Terry and vice captain Frank Lampard in a 2–1 win over Newcastle United on 29 December 2007. Ballack then played his 50th game in a Chelsea shirt in a 2–1 win against Fulham in which he scored the winning goal for Chelsea. He also scored the only goal that won the match for Chelsea against Reading to extend the blues' winning streak to a record of nine. And, on 5 March, he scored again, this time against Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 in a 3-0 win. He scored the winning goal in the 2-0 win in the 2nd leg of the Quarter-Finals against Fenerbahçe, a victory that secured Chelsea a place in the semi-finals. Ballack continued to score vital goals and, on 26 April 2008, he scored a header and a penalty to give Chelsea a 2-1 win over Manchester United. He was named Man of The Match for his performance. It brought the two teams level in the race for the Premier League title only two matchdays before the end of the season. Chelsea players after a match in 2009.Players from left to right(Ballack, Alex, Essien, and Ashley Cole.) The season ended on a low note for Ballack as Chelsea finished runners up in the League Cup, Premier League and UEFA Champions League. This completed another treble horror for Ballack and his club. On 29 June 2008, Germany, captained by Ballack, lost to Spain 1-0 in the final of the UEFA Euro 2008 championship. This became the second season in Ballack's career that he was runner-up for four major trophies. The 2008–09 season started well for Ballack, he set up Joe Cole to score the first goal in a 4-0 win over Portsmouth in the first game of the season. Ballack was injured shortly after missing the games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Ballack's return from injury has been a lift for Chelsea as he set up Deco to score a scissor kick in a 2-0 win against Bolton Wanderers. Ballack's first goal of the '09 season came against Southend United in their FA Cup replay, a match which Chelsea went on to win 4-1. Ballack's first Premier League goal of the '09 Season came on 11 April 2009 in a match against Bolton Wanderers, ending 4-3 for Chelsea. He came on as a second half substitute as Chelsea won the 2009 FA Cup Final. On 2 June, Ballack signed a one-year contract extension with Chelsea.[9] In Chelsea's second game of the season, away at Sunderland, Ballack scored his first goal of the 2009–10 campaign in their 3–1 win. Ballack also scored against Burnley in a 3-0 win. Ballack made his Champions league appearance against Portuguese side Porto. On September 20, 2009, he scored his third league goal, against Tottenham Hotspur. [edit] International career Ballack converting a penalty for Germany at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in a match against Australia On 26 March 1996, Ballack debuted for the national U21 team against Denmark, shortly after signing for Chemnitz. In all, he played 19 matches for this side, scoring four goals. Then, following his move to Kaiserslautern, national coach Berti Vogts called him up to the senior team. Ballack's first appearance, however, did not come until 28 April 1999, when he came on as a substitute for Dietmar Hamann in a match against Scotland. Ballack only played 63 minutes at the UEFA Euro 2000 championship. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored in matches against the United States and South Korea during the knock-out rounds as Germany reached the final. However, he was booked for a tactical foul during the semi-final match against South Korea and was suspended for the final which Germany went on to lose 2-0 to Brazil. Following the UEFA Euro 2004 championship, Jürgen Klinsmann replaced Rudi Völler at the helm of the national team and Ballack took over Oliver Kahn as captain. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was unable to start in Germany's first game against Costa Rica due to a calf strain, but appeared in the following five matches. Germany were eliminated in the semi-finals, but they managed to clinch 3rd place in a match against Portugal. He was named Man of the Match in the games against Ecuador and Argentina,[10] and was included in FIFA's World Cup All Star Team. On 6 February 2008, Ballack played his first match since returning from injury in a 3-0 friendly win over Austria. Ballack started and captained Germany's first game of the UEFA Euro 2008 championship against Poland. He proved to be an influential figure in the midfield as Germany came back from a shock defeat to Croatia to make it to the final. scored a free kick against Austria to secure Germany a 1-0 win and a place in the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, he scored a controversial header against Portugal to make the score 3-1 in their 3-2 win after an assist by Bastian Schweinsteiger's 60th minute free kick, helping Germany to advance to the semi-finals. Germany went on to beat Turkey 3-2 in the semifinals. Prior to the final, Ballack sustained a calf injury but eventually overcame it in time. However, Germany ended up losing 1-0 to Spain. Nevertheless, he was named in the Team of the Tournament. Ballack can boast that, dating back to June 2005, Germany has never lost a game when he has scored. So far, he has scored 4 goals for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. [edit] Personal life Ballack married his long-term girlfriend, Simone Lambe,[11] on 14 July 2008. The couple have three children together - Louis (born 2001), Emilio (born 2002) and Jordi (born 2005).[12]

khan

Oliver Rolf Kahn (born 15 June 1969) is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career at Karlsruher SC and in 1994 was transferred to Bayern Munich, his last professional club. He is one of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight German championships, six German cups, the UEFA Cup (1996), the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup (both 2001). His individual contributions have earned him four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, three IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year awards, the Golden Ball at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and two German "Footballer of the Year" trophies. He played for the German national team (from 1994 to 2006), where he was starting goalkeeper of the 2002 World Cup squad which reached the Finals and won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball for his performance. Kahn is nicknamed "King Kahn"[2] or "The Titan"[3] due to his formidable presence and influence. He made his last professional appearance for Bayern Munich on 27 May 2008 at the Salt Lake Stadium (Yuvabharati Krirangam), Kolkata in a friendly against Mohun Bagan of India during Bayern's Asian tour of 2008. Around 120,000 people turned up for the match. The match ended 0-3 in favour of Bayern and Michael Rensing substituted 'King Kahn' in the 55th minute.[4] He is considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time and is the only goalkeeper in the history of football to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (in World Cup 2002). Career [edit] Karlsruher SC Kahn signed his first professional contract at Karlsruher SC in the 1987–88 season, at first being the reserve goalkeeper behind Alexander Famulla. However, he had to wait until 1990 until KSC coach Winfried Schäfer decided to start Kahn over Famulla. In the following years, Kahn established himself as a quality goalkeeper, greatly contributing in establishing KSC as a force to reckon with in the Bundesliga. He was a key player in the fondly-remembered KSC team which reached the semi finals in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, the most memorable moment being a historic 7-0 rout of Valencia after losing the first match 1-3. [edit] Bayern Munich Kahn was first signed by Bayern Munich at the beginning of the 1994–95 season, and has since gone on to win multiple honors, both at the domestic and international level. The Bavarian club paid him a then record fee for a goalkeeper of €2,385,000, and thus Kahn was firmly established as Bayern’s first-choice. Although suffering a rupture of his cruciate ligament in the next season, he developed into a formidable player. In 1999, he led Bayern to the Champions League final, although Manchester United scored two goals in injury time to win the title (called the "Tragedy of Camp Nou" by fans of Bayern Munich, and "Miracle of Camp Nou" by fans of Manchester United). He was named Man of the Match when he supported his club to the 2001 Champions League title, making several crucial saves in the penalty shootout that commenced after the teams remained tied 1-1 after extra time. He also received the UEFA Fair Play Award for this match, after he walked up to a devastated Santiago Cañizares after the penalties and attempted to comfort him.[5] Oliver Kahn at his testimonial match in September 2008 Due to injuries, personal problems and a lack of motivation according to himself, his game went into a rapid decline after the 2002–03 season. This culminated with Kahn allowing a seemingly soft shot into the net against Real Madrid in the 2004 Champions League season, contributing to the elimination of his team from the competition. However, since the 2003–04 season and despite advancing in age, Kahn’s performances have vastly improved and he has re-established himself as a reliable shot stopper. Kahn announced his intention to honor his contract and play through the 2007–08 season.[6] As of 2009, he is the all time clean sheet leader in the history of the Bundesliga with 197.[7] Milestones continued to fall for Kahn; on 2 September 2007, he played in his 535th Bundesliga match, becoming the league’s all time leader in matches played among goalkeepers. Kahn made his final European appearance for Bayern in a 4-0 defeat to Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA cup semi-final on 1 May 2008. Kahn played his last Bundesliga game on Saturday 17 May against Hertha Berlin.[8] Kahn captained his team to a 4–1 victory. He played a testimonial match with Bayern Munich versus the select Germany XI on 2 September 2008 which ended 1-1. [edit] International career Kahn’s international debut for Germany came in a match against Switzerland on 23 June 1995;[9] however, it was some time before he became the team’s primary goalkeeper. Initially Kahn was the reserve keeper as Germany were victorious in Euro 96 in England. He spent the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France on the bench, and it was not until Andreas Köpke announced his retirement at the end of the tournament that Kahn was finally given his chance in the No. 1 shirt. Euro 2000 was a difficult period for then-defending champions Germany, as they made an embarrassing exit in the group stage, having scored only one goal. The team drew with Romania and suffered losses to England and Portugal. Afterwards, Kahn became captain of the national team, succeeding Oliver Bierhoff. Kahn put in what was perhaps his worst performance of his international career against England in Munich in 2001. Germany were favored to win by many as they had beaten England in 2000 1-0 at Wembley stadium. Many in the media were touting Kahn's remarkably fast reflexes. Despite a strong start from Germany, they were routed 5-1 by a hat-trick by Michael Owen.[10] After the match, Kahn called the defeat a "catastrophe" but still was optimistic Germany would qualify. Kahn's German team managed to make the World Cup by winning a playoff against Ukraine. Despite criticism, Kahn remained as Germany's number one for the upcoming World Cup. Kahn was also named the best goalkeeper in the world by IFFHS for the second time in his career. Expectations for Germany were comparatively low entering the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but it was Kahn’s shot-stopping prowess and leadership that carried the team to a surprise appearance in the finals, and allowed only three goals in the course of the competition. Despite playing much of the final match with torn ligaments in his right ring finger, Kahn was still blamed by some (perhaps unfairly due to the injury) for losing the championship after allowing the first goal by Brazilian striker Ronaldo off a rebound in the 67th minute. Kahn nevertheless won the Lev Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament, and became the first goalkeeper in history to win the Golden Ball for the best individual performance.[11] He also became the first German goalkeeper to keep five clean sheets in a World Cup tournament. Kahn maintained his number one spot for Euro 2004, but Germany were once again eliminated in the group stage. Oliver Kahn gave up his captaincy to Michael Ballack after the tournament. Since then, Kahn had lost his status as the first choice goalkeeper for the national team, with team manager Jürgen Klinsmann rotating the number one spot between Kahn and his longtime competitor whom he had been attempting to fend off, Jens Lehmann of Arsenal. On 7 April 2006 Klinsmann announced Lehmann was his first-choice goalkeeper for the 2006 World Cup. Kahn decided to stay on as a backup for the competition. Despite their acrimonious pre-tournament battle for Germany’s starting role, Kahn openly accepted Klinsmann’s decision. Kahn and Lehmann embraced and shook hands as the former offered words of encouragement before the quarter-final penalty shootout against Argentina. In the postgame conference, Kahn publicly praised Lehmann for his two decisive penalty saves. After Germany was eliminated in the semi-finals by Italy, Kahn was given the start for the Third Place play-offs held on 8 July 2006. Kahn was also the captain of the team in the absence of the injured Michael Ballack, and so earned his last international appearance for Germany, who defeated Portugal 3-1. Although overshadowed by Bastian Schweinsteiger’s game-winning performance in the match, Kahn played to a high standard, pulling off several saves throughout the match. Kahn deflected a shot by Portuguese forward Pauleta after he beat the German defence, and he later saved Deco’s shot made from just inside the box.[12] Following the match, Oliver Kahn announced his retirement from the German National Team. Throughout his international career he earned 86 caps for Germany, including 50 as team captain. He never won a World Cup, but finished as runner-up in 2002 and third in 2006. [edit] Personal life Kahn was born in Karlsruhe. In 2003, Kahn split with his wife Simone, with whom he has had two children. In 2009 he announced that they will get a divorce.[13] His father Rolf Kahn is former professional player for Karlsruher SC. [edit] Popular culture Kahn is the subject of the song Olli Kahn by the German pop group Die Prinzen,[14] which was recorded during the 2002 World Cup. The song was later covered by Die Toten Hosen, another popular German band.