Michael Ballack

Ballack assures that Chelsea made him a better player

2007-06-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

The talented Michael Ballack is convinced that he has improved as a footballer since moving to Chelsea. And the critics agree with him.

Although many pundits believe the Blue midfielder has been a flop since moving to Stamford Bridge from Bayern Munich last summer, the player is of the opinion he has further developed his game in the United Kingdom.

"It was pretty much as I expected it to be: very difficult," Ballack admitted Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "I went in search of a new challenge, and I found one. Highs and lows are just part of it, but that is great because that is how I can develop.

"In fact, I have not lost any of my strength. In fact, I have developed further while in England.” he concluded. The German National Team will increase their level with Ballack's best performance, and football lovers thank him.

Controversy over Ballack's surgery

2007-05-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

In a very controversial moment, the German Football Association have defended team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt, who decided to perform ankle surgery on captain Michael Ballack. According to them, the player is was in risk of a serious injury without immediate treatment.

“Indeed, our team doctor said that an immediate operation was unavoidable and urgently needed,” DFB spokesman Harald Stenger said on the official website.

As we know, mass media in England have criticised the timing of the operation that has deprived Chelsea of Ballack in the run-in to the end of the season with the club chasing three more titles.

“We must notice that any training or playing could have led to an aggravation and even endangered Ballack’s career,” Stenger assured.

British newspapers suggested that the talented midfielder chose to have the surgery without first consulting Chelsea officials, but Stenger added: “Dr Mueller-Wohlfahrt said he informed both Chelsea doctors in a telephone conversation and explained to them why an immediate operation was required.”

It's important, as we can see, to mention that Ballack injured his ankle against Newcastle United in a Premier League game on April 22. He also missed the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at home to Liverpool, which Chelsea won 1-0, and Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers.

The player said he flew to Munich to see Mueller-Wohlfahrt – the Germany National team doctor as well as his doctor at former club Bayern Munich over the last four years – for a second opinion after there was no improvement for four days.

Later, Ballack dismissed the criticism and said suggestions in the media that the DFB doctor wanted to ensure he would be ready for Germany’s European Championship qualifiers in June was absurd.

“It’s really ridiculous to see any connection between this operation and international matches in June,” Ballack assured. “No footballer in the world would risk missing an FA Cup final against Manchester (United), a Champions League semi-final against Liverpool, for a EuroCup qualifying game against San Marino.

Ballack: "Effenberg would be a great coach for Bayern Munich"

2007-03-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

From time to time, Michael Ballack feels like speaking like a coach. That's why he has tipped Stefan Effenberg to become the next coach of Bayern Munich coach if Ottmar Hitzfeld leaves at the end of the season.

"In fact, Effenberg has expert knowledge, he is identified with the club and he would come to the job fresh," Ballack admitted in a publication.

"He's a really strong personality and he carries natural authority."

We must remember that Effenberg had two spells with Bayern as a player and led the club to their Champions League triumph in 2001. When he left in 2002, Bayern signed Michaeñ Ballack as his direct replacement.

And even when Effenberg has no experience as a coach, Ballack believes he would be a natural for the important role.

"Yes, Juergen Klinsmann didn't have any experience before he became Germany coach," Ballack reminds us.

It's clever to notice that Hitzfeld returned for a second spell as Bayern coach in place of Felix Magath last month. However, he has yet to confirm whether he will continue in the role next season.

Ballack answers to Shearer's words

2007-02-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Michael Ballack has arguments to defend himself from the critics, and he assures he donesn't play thinking about it.

And we must consider that the latest in a long line of critics has been former England star Alan Shearer, who claims Michael Ballack is not showing enough effort or hunger to succeed in the Premier League.

The German captain makes no secret of his contempt for these critics, claiming he just needs some time to settle.

"I really don't care what people write or say about me," Ballack admitted. "It doesn't bother me. Shearer can say what he wants, but that's life."

"We msut remember that Chelsea are double champions and so expectations are high and the expectations grow, especially when you are slightly behind."

"Indeed, we have to live with that, especially the new players in the team. But I feel well-integrated within Chelsea FC and I am feeling completely comfortable here.

"In fact, I have found my role within the team and get sufficient acknowledgement and support from the team, especially from Mourinho. We are talking a lot together."

According to the numbers, Chelsea currently trail Manchester United by six points in the race for the Premiership title, and Ballack knows that it will be a tough task if the are to overhaul the Red devils.

"It will be really hard to catch Manchester United because they are playing constantly on a very good level," he continued. "We still have to play them at home.

"However, we know that we can't afford any more slip-ups and we have to put them under pressure whenever possible" the talented German concluded.

Ballack says team tactics are not helping him

2007-01-06T23:24:00.000-08:00

In a very controversial statement, Michael Ballack assured that the coach's tactics as the reason why he has not made a bigger impact at Chelsea Football Club.

The talented midfielder was expected to be a key performer for the Blues this season after his summer switch from German team Bayern Munich on a free transfer but is struggling to hit peak form.

Despite many critics, Ballack believes that the Blues are not playing to his strengths. He expressed: "I would have hoped there would be more crosses in the air for me to score from. I remember that at Munich the tactics were similar but there were far more crosses.

"The kind of football play is slightly different from what I was used to. The full-backs do not press forward as they did at Bayern.

"What's more, if we sometimes change and play with forwards on the wings, they are the type of players that like to get the ball into the box and try to score rather than pass it on.

"I think that situation makes it more difficult for me to play to my strengths, like heading the ball into the net." he concluded.

We must mention that his words come after many angry statements from some team mates.

Chelsea can't beat Reading and tie 2-2

2006-12-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

Chelsea had a bad performance and helped Manchester United extend their lead at the top of the English Premiership to four points. Ferguson's team cruised to a 3-1 win over Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford while Chelsea were held 2-2 by Reading at Stamford Bridge.

The "Blues" lost ground on the leaders after a real struggle against Reading. African striker Didier Drogba twice put Chelsea ahead but Leroy Lita and an own goal from Michael Essien gave Reading a share of the spoils and left Chelsea four points off the pace.

Michael Ballack had a regular performance, which was not enough to lift his team over the rival.

Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho admitted that the draw was probably a fair result.

“We did enough to get the triumph because we scored two goals and could have scored more — I can’t complain about my footballers.

“For instance, the match at Wigan was easy but we made it hard for ourselves. Yes, I had reason to be unhappy with them then. But today, no, because Reading made it really hard for us.”

Starting players to rest against Newcastle

2006-12-20T00:17:00.000-08:00

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho is likely to rest some of his more important footballers against Newcastle in the Carling Cup quarter-final on Tyneside on Wednesday night.

That's why Wayne Bridge, Paulo Ferreira and Shaun Wright-Phillips are all in with a chance of being included in the starting line-up.

But the Portuguese manager must check on the fitness of captain John Terry (back) before naming his side. Terry missed the game with Everton and if he remains unfit, Khalid Boulahrouz will continue to deputise.

Striker Joe Cole is out with a broken foot and Carlo Cudicini remains doubtful with a thigh problem.

Newcastle United boss Glenn Roeder will make late checks on Nolberto Solano and Emre.

Peruvian talented wing Solano has missed the last two games with a groin problem, while Emre limped off during the 2-1 Barclays Premiership win over Watford at the weekend with an ankle injury.

What's more, Celestine Babayaro is suspended, and that means Damien Duff could once again be used at left-back provided he has suffered no reaction to his return from knee surgery.

DEspite those facts, Charles N'Zogbia is set to miss the entire holiday campaign with a medial ligament injury which has proved more serious than was first thought, while Michael Owen and Tim Krul (both knee), Shola Ameobi and Olivier Bernard (both hip), Craig Moore (hamstring), Titus Bramble (calf), Stephen Carr (foot) and Steve Harper (groin) remain on the sidelines.

Line ups:

Chelsea: Hilario, Hedman, Cudicini, Ferreira, Boulahrouz, Geremi, Carvalho, A Cole, Bridge, Essien, Ballack, Makelele, Lampard, Drogba, Shevchenko, Diarra, Wright-Phillips, Robben, Kalou.

Newcastle: Given, Srnicek, Solano, Taylor, Ramage, Huntington, Parker, Butt, Emre, Milner, Duff, Pattison, Troisi, Gate, Edgar, Martins, Dyer, Sibierski, Luque, Rossi, Carroll.

Chelsea is ready to face the match against Levski Sofia

2006-12-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

Chelsea is working hard this season to get as many titles as possible. And at least in the Champions League, they are in the right way.

In fact, the hard work has been accomplished so it is only natural that the "Blues" coach Jose Mourinho should be looking beyond Chelsea FC's final Group A fixture against PFC Levski Sofia and towards the knockout rounds that follow in the new year. Winning the section, he says, is not so important in terms of what opposition they will face in the last 16; rather it will guarantee that they stage the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

As we know, Ballack's team slipped six points behind Manchester United FC in their Premiership title defence as they were without a game at the weekend, and for this match they will make changes with skipper John Terry suspended. Claude Makelele will take a rest and Wayne Bridge will replace Ashley Cole at left-back. Mourinho added that he was sorry to see fourth-placed Levski bowing out of Europe altogether, because the campaign had provided valuable experience. "They would have done very well if they got through to the UEFA Cup and I hope to see them again very soon in the Champions League," he said.

Line ups:

Chelsea FC: Carlo Cudicini; Geremi, Ricardo Carvalho, Khalid Boulahrouz, Wayne Bridge; Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole; Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko.

Levski: Bozhidar Mitrev; Zhivko Milanov, Elin Topuzakov, Igor Tomašić, Stanislav Angelov; Richard Eromoigbe, Daniel Borimirov, Cédric Bardon; Nikolay Dimitrov, Valeri Domovchiyski, Hristo Yovov.

Chelsea and Manchester United fought for a 1-1 draw

2006-11-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

This was a good point for Chelsea, one they are convinced will be a turning point in the title race. All draws are equal, but some are more equal than others.

Indeed, Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford by Mourinho's side on Sunday. United opened the scoring just before the half hour through Louis Saha, while Ricardo Carvalho equalised for the visitors on 69 minutes.

It was a game of two halves, United dominating the first 45 minutes while Chelsea took a deserved point by bossing the second period.

Michael Ballack played an important role in the midfield, covering the strikes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Giggs.

Ferguson's team created the first chance on two minutes, a Ryan Giggs free-kick whipped into the box from the right, Rooney rising with the header which looped over the bar.

Portuguese talent Cristiano Ronaldo forced a save from Carlo Cudicini on 18 minutes, hammering a free-kick over the wall from 30 yards, and it was United's early pressure that finally told on 29 minutes when Saha buried the ghosts of his injury-time Champions League penalty miss against Celtic midweek with a fine finish from the edge of the box after good work from Ronaldo and Rooney.

In fact, Chelsea's only real shot on target in the first half fell to Geremi, who cracked in a powerful shot from distance that forced Edwin Van de Sar to parry.

We must say that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho changed things around at half-time, taking right-back Geremi off for Arjen Robben, moving Michael Essien into defence.

And it was a good thing that his move paid dividends, in terms of possession and opportunity at least, with Chelsea dominating possession and United sitting back and hoping for counter attacks and even moving Rooney to a left-midfield position to try to stifle Robben.

It was United, however, who created the two best chances of the opening phase of the second part despite Chelsea's dominance, first on 48 minutes when Louis Saha mis-hit Rooney's cross to Ronaldo who could not quite reach the ball with the goal at their mercy.

Then the same players combined again, Gabriel Heinze's great left-wing cross chested down by Ronaldo at the far post but Chelsea defender John Terry doing just enough to put the Frenchman off.

Midfielder Frank Lampard had a vicious shot flash wide just before the hour and after two more chances to Drogba and Lampard again the Champions did eventually make their statistical advantage count in typical fashion ten minutes later, Lampard sending a corner to help Carvalho's header, the thumping finish going in off the bar via a helpless Saha on the far post.

Paul Scholes then went close with a drive that was deflected wide by team-mate Saha who was lying on the ground after he initially tried to shoot on goal, before Andriy Shevchenko - anonymous again - came off with 15 minutes remaining for Joe Cole.

Soon after Lampard sent a shot over after neat interplay with Robben, while Drogba credited himself by staying on his feet when nudged by Heinze in the box with 12 minutes left.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a late effort deflected wide, but the second half was Chelsea's as the first was United's, the 1-1 a fair result and Sir Alex Ferguson's men staying top three points clear of Chelsea Football Club.

"I am at my limit"

2006-11-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has told German newwspapers he is on the verge of struggling with his club's busy playing schedule. And we must consider that Germany take on Cyprus tonight in a Euro 2008 qualifier.

In fact, the former Bayern Munich player fears the lack of a winter break in England, but also said he came to London to prove himself.

"I am not on my reserves yet, but physically I am at my limit," Michael admitted. "We will see how it will go in the spring without a pause in the winter."

As we know, he did admitted he left Munich for a new challenge, but also because of the tougher schedule.

"I deliberately switched from the lighter match in Munich to prove myself," he added.

"I don't enjoy the same privileges here as I did in Germany. Great performances are important for us to play, but I'm glad I took the step."

"Mourinho convinced me to move to Chelsea"

2006-11-05T09:41:00.000-08:00

Chelsea FC player Michael Ballack has revealed how the personal effort from coach Jose Mourinho convinced the German to choose Stamford Bridge over the summer.

Indeed, Ballack told a local newspaper: "He sent me text messages, wishing me luck, and another message of congratulations each time we won.

"After our loss to Italy he told me we could be proud of the way we'd played. It definitely came across that he was the manager who wanted me most.

"I think he is not at all as I imagined after reading about him in the papers. Yes, he stands up for his team at all times, but he is not arrogant, he can be relaxed and very amusing. Most of all, I've noticed that he expresses exactly what he is thinking, he is very truthful like that and you always know where you stand with him. That's good. Unfortunately it's not normal in football."

"Pressure is on Barcelona and not on us"

2006-10-30T15:27:00.000-08:00

Michael Ballack feels really happy in Chelsea, and he says the pressure will be on FC Barcelona when the two powerful teams meet at Camp Nou in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

We must remember that Chelsea beat Ronaldinho's team with one goal netted by Drogba. "With nine points out of three matches, we have every chance of finishing top in this group," Ballack told to a news source. "Looking at the standings, Barcelona will have a tough time, because Bremen have also got four points.

"However, I believe that Barcelona are the favourites in their next two home encounters against Chelsea and Bremen particularly as they also lost against Real Madrid and have something to prove. As for us, we can wait and see. The pressure on us is much less as we beat Barcelona in the first leg. I'm sure that now the pressure is on them and it will be hard for them to reach the next round."

African star Didier Drogba scored the winner at Stamford Bridge on Matchday 3 and Ballack feels that result has given a "real boost" as the group stage reaches its climax. "Beating Barcelona was vital and has given our confidence a real boost, especially as we played such great football. I think we were highly concentrated and it was a great game to watch. Every season you have two or three very special matches and this one against the Spanish team was one of them. If you win such a crucial clash, the boost is huge."

It's good to mention that Michael Ballack scored his second Premiership goal since signing from FC Bayern München in Chelsea's 2-0 win against Sheffield United FC on Saturday, and the "Blues" are in great form as they chase their third straight crown.

Chelsea defeated Barcelona with an excellent Drogba

2006-10-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

In a really intense match, Didier Drogba's superb goal saw Chelsea defeat Barcelona to maintain The Blues' 100 percent start to Group A.

The great African striker Drogba's turn and shot from the edge of the area just seconds after the interval gave Jose Mourinho's squad a deserved 1-0 victory as the group rivals resumed hostilities at Stamford Bridge.

It's important to say that twenty-four hours earlier, José Mourinho had listed Drogba as a fitness concern, but he plus Ashley Cole and Claude Makelele were declared fit enough to start.

That meant all change at full-back from the Reading match with Khalid Boulahrouz moving across the right side and Ricardo Carvalho restored to the centre.

With Michael Ballack fit for the game as well, the diamond midfield was restored with Andriy Shevchenko and Drogba paired up front.

"From a pure sports point of view, it is a really good victory, not just the three points, but the way we got the three points," said Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who dedicated the victory to Cech and Cudicini.

"I just feel sorry we could not kill the clash off before, because we had many, many chances to score the second goal. For the difference between the two sides tonight, I think 1-0 is short" he admitted.

German victory in international football match

2006-10-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

The German National team played another international friendly and the performance made fans happy. With two long-range goals, a 10-man Germany got a 2-0 win over Georgia on Saturday. Bastian Schweinsteiger slammed home a shot from 25 metres in the 24th minutes - having been set up captain Michael Ballack - to give Germany the lead.

A really ugly kick against Georgia defender Zurab Khizanishvili resulted in Lukas Podolski being sent off early in the second half.

However, we must notice that just 15 minutes later Georgia were also reduced to 10-men as Austrain referee Gerald Lehner dismissed Khizanishvili for a second bookable offence.

Bayern Munich's Schweinsteiger then returned the favour for Ballack, finding his captain open on the left for a 22-metre blast to double their lead.

More often than not Germany looked comfortable but struggled in defence at times and were lucky that Georgia had two goals disallowed for offside.

"It was an entertaining match but we naturally made a number of mistakes," said Loew, who fielded two young newcomers in his team - Piotr Trochowski of Hamburg SV and Werder Bremen's Clemens Fritz - and a total of seven second-string players.

Loew rested regulars plaeyrs Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Bernd Schneider, Torsten Frings and goalkeeper Jens Lehmann for the Slovakia match while defenders Per Mertesacker and Christoph Metzelder were left out of the squad due to injuries.

"We had to integrate a lot of younger players going into their first match and had some problems in coordination," Loew said.

"In fact, we wanted to give some people a chance to show what they can do. We were a bit lucky that we kept a clean sheet."

Right after Schweinsteiger's goal, Germany shifted down a gear and were lucky that Otar Martsvaladze's header from a free kick in first-half stoppage time was disallowed in a close offside call. And Germany came back to life only after Podolski was sent off.

"I believe that we played well against a very good Germany team," said Georgia's German coach Klaus Toppmoeller.

"We're moving in the right direction. We wanted to show we can compete with the best squads and I think we accomplished that." he concluded with a smile.

Ballack wants the glory in the Champions League

2006-09-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

The most important German player made a Bosman free transfer move to Stamford Bridge this summer, citing a desire to win trophies as the reason behind his exit from Bayern Munich.

In the other hand, Chelsea have twice come unstuck at Europe's top table under Jose Mourinho, being beaten by eventual winners Liverpool and Barcelona in the last two seasons.

So, we can say that the Premiership is a primary objective for many, but Ballack is eyeing glory on the European front.

"If I didn't think Chelsea were strong enough to win the Champions League, I wouldn't have moved here," said Ballack. "But it will be very difficult for us and it is far too soon to say we're going to reach the final.

"The ambition to get the Champions League title is certainly here but we know it will not be so easy.

"I think that in the last few years, Chelsea have reached the semi-finals and the last 16 and gone out of the competition.

"We have seen that there are some new players at Chelsea this time but it's not about two or three signings. It is about everyone delivering together.

"Even if you have a good group of players, this doesn't guarantee things will click and you will automatically have success.

"We are not the only club to have strengthened our squad.

"Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan - to name just a few - are all better this year."

Ballack showed his class with a commanding display in Saturday's win over Charlton and he is targeting midfielder Frank Lampard's role as Chelsea's penalty taker after the England man fluffed his lines.

"Maybe I will take the next penalty because Frank didn't make it. Maybe we will take turns," Ballack concluded.

Germany crushed San Marino 13-0

2006-09-07T01:38:00.000-07:00

Records fell as Germany football team romped to a 13-0 triumph over weak San Marino, who suffered the biggest defeat in European Championship history at the hands of Joachim Low’s side in Serravalle.

The game was a procession from start to finish as Lukas Podolski grabbed four goals and second-half substitute Thomas Hitzlsperger helped himself to two to condemn the Group D minnows to a humiliating defeat.

Bayern Munich player Bastian Schweinsteiger (two), World Cup golden shoe winner Miroslav Klose (two), Michael Ballack, Manuel Friedrich and Bernd Schneider all joined them on the scoresheet as the Germans queued up to try and break their previous record win of 16-0 against Russia over 90 years ago.

In fact, it took just 10 minutes for the much-anticipated avalanche of goals to begin with Bayern Munich striker Podolski the first to get his name on the scoresheet.

The talented Podolski, voted as the best young player at the World Cup this summer, grabbed the first heading home Schneider’s right-wing cross before Schweinsteiger followed up after 27 minutes by turning in a pass from Borussia Monchengladbach youngster Marcell Jansen.

Podolski snared his second to make it 5-0 just before half time with Schneider once again setting up a shooting chance with some good work on the flank.

San Marino goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini had a torrid time for the home side, failing to keep a hungry German side at bay despite good saves from Klose, Schneider and Torsten Frings while the score was still 1-0.

Klose, who struck five times in the World Cup, did not want to miss out on what were becoming easy pickings and chipped in with two first-half efforts.

Simoncini offered him significant help with one, spilling the ball at his feet to allow him a free run on goal and he also chipped in with a neat finish from 12 yards.

Captain Ballack, substituted early in the second period along with Klose as Low gave run-outs to Gerald Asamoah and Odonkor, was also on target.

There was no let-up from the Germans and the second period was less than two minutes old when Schweinsteiger kept the scoreboard moving, finding the top-right corner from 20 yards with a blistering effort.

Podolski’s third and fourth goals became an inevitability as the striker continued to take up good positions in an increasingly porous back-line tucking the ball goalwards on two occasions following neat interplay with Odonkor and Schweinsteiger.

Hitzlsperger then put in a thrilling cameo of as he added two in six minutes.

His first – both of the day and for Germany – came after only three minutes on the pitch and flew into the bottom corner as he volleyed a loose ball past the hapless Simoncini.

The Stuttgart midfielder then doubled his international tally with a vicious, curling effort six minutes later, leaving the keeper with no chance.

Friedrich headed home the 12th three minutes from time from another Schneider cross to give Germany their biggest win in the competition and record the largest away win in European Championship history but they already had designs on the overall record.

That came in stoppage time when Schneider shot the ball high to the right-hand corner from the penalty spot to cap a fine night’s work for the powerful Germans.

Ballack admits pressure

2006-08-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Michael Ballack had his official debut against Blackburn. And after the victory, he has admitted Chelsea are already feeling the pressure of Manchester United’s winning start to the Premiership season.

The talented player, a summer signing from Bayern Munich, confessed last week’s defeat at Middlesbrough and United’s maximum haul of nine points from nine affected the champions’ first-half performance during Sunday’s journey to Blackburn.

As we said, Ballack made his Premiership debut in the game, which Chelsea went on to win 2-0.

“It was a very important triumph for us because before the game we had only three points and United had nine,” Ballack said in a local newspaper.

“Yes, maybe we were a little nervous because we had lost the previous match and United won on Saturday.

“As a result, we made too many mistakes in the first half. But then we improved and we made enough chances to get the victory.”

Chelsea crushed Manchester City without Ballack

2006-08-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

Michael Ballack was present at the stadium but he couldn't take part of Chelsea's win over a weak Manchester City by 3-0. An injury left the German captain out of the match.

However, it's good to say that the game was really good for the blues. Indeed, Drogba and Lampard were appreciably improved, but plaudits went to Wayne Bridge who was absolutely excellent. He has a cult status amongst many fans, and this first encounter of the season saw the former Southampton man play like his place depended on it. His performance could scarcely have been bettered by left back Ashley Cole in his prime for Arsenal or England, with neat touches, composure on the ball, intelligent positioning, and some marauding, but nonetheless well-timed runs down the left. His assist for Drogba's dramatic diving header to put Mourinho's side out of sight at 3-0 was particularly telling. Granted, this season Bridge will face far more potent threats than the paucity of offerings that Manchester City cobbled together yesterday, but defensively he coped well. It would not be churlish to suggest that he seems to have taken a long look at Paulo Ferreira's quiet, efficient, effective mastery of his full-back berthing, and there does seem to be a new composure and assuredness to Bridge's calmness and awareness. Anbody who suggests that a certain Arsenal and England full-back will be a guaranteed starter either at Stamford Bridge, as he is surely destined for, or for his country, may, on this display at least, be in for a surprise.

We can say that Chelsea's first goal, like Bridge's performance, had England stamped all over it, as the similarities with England's first goal against Greece national team were not lost on the Stamford Bridge faithful. As with midweek, a peach of a cross, and John Terry rose imperiously to crash the header past a stranded Nicky Weaver in the City goal. Taking advantage of a small but crucial deflection wrongfooting Weaver once more, the smart Lampard carried on the England theme with a twenty yard drive that nestled in the corner and gave Chelsea an unassailable lead.

If Chelsea's initial brace was England class, their third had more of a Brazilian flavour, with a sumptuous cross from Wayne Bridge for Drogba, who had worked hard for little reward up to that point, to place a thunderbolt diving header for 3-0. Such Shevchenko-esque devastating finishing and honest endeavour from Drogba has not always been obvious in the past, but as with dutch striker Arjen Robben, there appears to have been a metaphorical pulling up of one's socks. Robben was also much-improved, with a workrate to game his obvious talents going forward that must have raised a few eyebrows. How Mourinho and the rest of Chelsea faithful must wish for a similar uplift for Shaun Wright-Phillips, who was decent enough yesterday, did not make any mistakes, and looked more like the threat of a threat. His time will come soon enough.

In the past, a great many column inches have ruminated on 'Chelsea, spurred on from the midfield with another dynamic display of midfield mastery of...' and the contribution of Frank Lampard, but yesterday saw a slightly altered piece of prose. After what can only be described as a colossal World Cup, Michael Essien has returned from Germany with fire in his belly, and his equally colossal midfield performance eclipsed even the amazing Frank Lampard who was by no means pedestrian. Tireless running, power, and raw aggression box to box were the watchwords, and Essien can consider himself unlucky not to have scored for Chelsea with a swerving 25 yard volley flew tantalisingly wide. Indeed, such was the angry industry of the Ghanaian, that were it not for a bizarre booking for pulling the petulant Bernardo Corradi's hair in an ugly exchange that saw the Italian dismissed on a nightmare debut for a second yellow card, that he would surely have got man-of-the-match. Jose Mourinho was distinctly unamused by the 'stupidity' of Essien's moment of madness in the middle, and all deserved plaudits aside, Essien must consider himself lucky not to have been sent off. His youthful exuberance will serve as an excuse only so far, and he will surely have to stamp out the daft bookings if he is to maintain his youthful progress at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester City clearly came to Stamford Bridge with a plan to restrict Chelsea. Despite those efforts, Terry's early goal opened the game up, and in truth Stuart Pearce's side never looked like getting back into it, with some inventive play from Trevor Sinclair coming to precious little, and Corradi's sending-off completely snuffing out any hope of an unlikely point. Better teams than Pearce's side will come to Stamford Bridge and get more than a three goal hiding if Chelsea keep on improving, and it is unlikely that Pearce will be worrying too much about this game and on workrate alone it is likely that Pearce will not have to worry too much about a relegation battle come May next year.

In the end we can say that it was another brutally-efficient Chelsea performance, evocative of their Title-winning tilts of seasons past. Same Chelsea, same efficiency, same emphatic three points, but some different faces and some new stars in the squad.

Ballack will miss the first match against Manchester City

2006-08-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

According to the latest reports. Michael Ballack is unlikely to make his Premier League debut on Sunday in the match between Chelsea ahd Manchester City as he has failed to recover from a hip injury. Jose Mourinho noticed that on Friday.

In fact, Ballack, who joined the English champions on a free transfer in May, picked up a hip injury during the 2-1 Community Shield defeat by FC Liverpool last week.

"I really think that Michael will not be fit to play," Mourinho announced. "I know his improvement since last Sunday has been very small and has not trained with the team.

"And he trained on his own on Thursday so I really don't believe he can fit unless he improves a lot.

"The objective from the beginning was to play Ballack and (Frank) Lampard together but I must confess that we have not had many chances to work on it."

It's good to mention that Mourinho said his side were not ready for the start of the season as their preparations have been hit by the World Cup.

Sad debut for Ballack

2006-08-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Chelsea is on America in order to have some pre-season games. And they lost 1-0 to a Major League Soccer Allstars side in Chicago on Saturday.

It was a expected debut for new signings Michael Ballack of Germany and Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko. However, it was one of the London club's established stars, Frank Lampard, who nearly put them ahead in the first half with a curling freekick which was well saved by goalkeeper Troy Perkins.

We must remember that defender Chris Albright had a great chance to put the hosts into the lead when he outpaced defender Wayne Bridge but put his left foot shot wide of Carlo Cudicini's goal.

And in the second half only alert defending by Eddie Robinson kept the Allstars in the game, sprinting back to clear after Facundo Erpen managed to knock the ball through his own goalkeeper's legs towards the only goal.

In the end, MLS coach Peter Nowak brought on young star Freddy Adu, rumoured to be a transfer target for both Chelsea and rivals Manchester United, but it was Dwayne Rosario who got the winner, controlling neatly before whipping a fierce shot past substitute goalkeeper Henrique Hilario to delight most of the 21,000 fans in the stadium.

Ballack takes Gallas' shirt number

2006-08-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

An interesting dispute is brewing at Chelsea after Jose Mourinho gained revenge on the wayward defender William Gallas by taking away his lucky No 13 shirt and giving it to Michael Ballack instead.

Indeed, Gallas, who incurred the wrath of Mourinho by failing to turn up for Chelsea's pre-season training camp here, had expected an £80,000 fine for his misdemeanour, which his agent still describes as a "misunderstanding ". However, rather like a cheating husband who opens his wardrobe to find his suits and ties cut into pieces, Gallas had a shock when he sat down to watch television last night. What he saw was a beaming Michael Ballack holding up his new Chelsea shirt, with Gallas' own No 13 printed on the back.

We must remember that the number is special to the Frenchman because he has worn it ever since arriving in London from Marseilles in May 2001.

Anyone tempted to think it was all a coincidence was quickly convinced otherwise by Ballack's own comments on the subject. "Initially, I wanted 13 and I was sad because it had already been taken," said the German midfielder, who wore No 13 for Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. " I had accepted No 19, but two days ago the coach came and said, 'OK, it's fine for you to have the 13 after all'."

That change of heart coincided with Gallas' failure to turn up in America and his agent, Pierre Frelot, is not impressed. He said: "It is not possible for them to give Ballack the No 13 shirt without talking to William first. William has been wearing that number for five years and it is the shirt he expects to be in. As far as we are concerned William's absence is still a misunderstanding. I am very surprised they haven't waited to hear the explanation of the player first before taking action against him."

Michael Ballack has spoken of the potential of his midfield partnership with Frank Lampard after three training sessions together, even though critics say their styles are similar. He said: "We haven't talked about our compatibility, we only met two days ago, but in every training session we're closer in terms of tactics."

Magath talks about Ballack's move to Chelsea

2006-07-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

The most important transfer of the season was not the best news for him, but there is a good side. Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath feels that Michael Ballack leaving Bavaria to go to the English football will work in the club's favour.

As we all know, the Germany captain joined Bayern in 2002 from Bayer Leverkusen and has helped the German giants claim three Bundesliga titles in his time at the cteam, while he has also developed into Germany's best soccer player during the same period.

And then Ballack completed a move to English Premiership champions FC Chelsea after his contract in Bavaria ran out this summer, which has left a huge void in Bayern's midfield to fill.

According to rumours, Magath is still looking at the best way forward without the attacking midfielder but feels that the rest of the team will now raise their game, making them a better side than before.

"I admit that if a player like him leaves, then it is a loss. But new options have opened up, and that's good" he noticed.

New coaches suggested by Ballack

2006-07-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Local teams' coaches Juergen Klopp and Thomas Doll have been suggested by Michael Ballack as possible successors of Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann.

In a very interesting statement, Ballack mentioned the names in a column for Stern magazine, to be published on Thursday, before Klinsmann's post-World Cup retirement was confirmed by the ruling body DFB in the early hours of Wednesday.

"Coaches like Juergen Klopp and Thomas Doll could do the job," the popular midfielder said.

We must mention that Doll led SV Hamburg to third place in the Bundesliga last season, while Klopp is a popular coach at Mainz 05 and also got lots of attention as a World Cup analyst for ZDF television.

In fact, the DFB has announced a news conference for later Wednesday at its Frankfurt headquarters in which a possible successor could be presented. The stronger candidate appears to be Klinsmann's assistant Joachim Loew.

However, it was not known whether Klinsmann will remain involved in one way or another in the national squad affairs.

It's important to mention that Klinsmann told DFB co-president Theo Zwanziger on Tuesday that he will not continue despite a national euphoria around himself and the team at the World Cup which Germany finished in third place on Saturday.

Indeed, Klinsmann, 41, reportedly cited family reasons (he resides in California) and also allegedly told Zwanziger that he had not forgotten the massive pre-World Cup criticism on his training methods and the changes he enforced within the DFB structures.

Ballack admitted that he was cautious as well when Klinsmann started the job in 2004 after Germany's winless Euro 2004 exit.

"I am not thrilled simply because something is new. I was a bit hesitant, maybe even sceptical, for instance concerning training methods," Ballack wrote in the colum.

But the Chelsea midfielder Ballack, 29, was among those who wanted the coach to go on because the World Cup showed that "Juergen Klinsmann was right".

In fact, Ballack said that Klinsmann's philosophy of attacking football must "definitely" be continued, a view seemingly shared by the entire German football community.

"Whoever takes over the job from Juergen Klinsmann must continue in the same way," DFB co-president Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder announced.

Ballack's thoughts after the World Cup

2006-07-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

The World Cup is over, but in Michael Ballack's head, the sad memories of the defeat against Italy are still present. And he fears his chance of lifting the World Cup disappeared when his side were beaten in the semi-finals.

According to Ballack, Germany reached the last four but it is unlikely he will be able to lead his country in South Africa in 2010.

"I will be almost 34 and at that age there is no guarantee I will be there," Ballack expressed with a sad look in his eyes. "I was aware that this could be my last chance to be a world champion."

The German midfielder, who has won 70 caps, skippered the Germans to the final of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea but was suspended and had to watch from the sidelines as they lost 2-0 against Ronaldo's Brazil.

And Ballack played a significant part in Germany's run to this year's semi-finals before they were edged out by the Italians in extra-time.

Germany then triumphed in the third-place play-off with a 3-1 victory over Portugal.

However, he says he will make up for disappointment at missing out on football's biggest prize by turning his attention to bringing Champions League success to Chelsea.

"It is great that I have a new challenge after the World Cup," said Ballack.

"After this highlight I do not have the routine at Bayern Munich but a new motivation. I want to win the Champions League at Chelsea.

"As usual, I will go to Italy on holiday and on July 30 I start with Chelsea."

Ballack thinks Italy deserved win over Germany

2006-07-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

After his saddest night, Michael Ballack was quick to admit that Italy had deserved the World Cup semi-final win that eliminated Germany.

Indeed, Italy defeated the hosts 2-0 in Dortmund thanks to a 119th-minute strike from Fabio Grosso and an Alessandro Del Piero goal in the final minute of extra-time, just seconds away from the penalty shootouts.

This defeat was particularly tough for Ballack to take, as he missed the 2002 final against Brazil because of a suspension.

"I'm sure that it just is not meant to be for me," said the Chelsea player.

"It is really bitter for us to get eliminated like this, one minute from time. It is bitter but not undeserved. We started out rather slowly, even though we did a much better job in the second half."

"I think that the match was well-balanced. The Italians had the better chances in extra-time as they hit woodwork twice. But we also had some good opportunities afterwards, with the lastheader."