Francesco Totti

Personal information
Full name Francesco Totti
Date of birth 27 September 1976 (1976-09-27) (age 30)
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder, Forward
Club information
Current club A.S. Roma
Number 10
Youth clubs
1988
1989-1993 A.S. Lodigiani

A.S. Roma
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993- A.S. Roma 372 (152)
National team2


1998-2006 Italy 058 00(9)
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 02 September 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 28 May 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Francesco Totti, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI,[1][2] (born 27 September 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, and is widely recognized as one of the most talented players in the past two decades. He plays for A.S. Roma in Italy's Serie A, a league where he also stands as the top active scorer, with over one hundred goals. Between 1998 and 2006 he was a regular member of the Italian national team, with whom he won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Francesco Totti's position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as the trequartista (or second striker), a compromise between the two positions where the player acts as a link between midfield and attack. He is also Roma's first choice to take free kicks and penalties, having scored a number of goals from dead-ball situations.

Totti is widely recognised as the symbol of Roma, having never left the team despite the possibility of playing in stronger and richer clubs, and being the number one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history. On 7 June 2007 Totti was declared the winner of the prestigious European Golden Boot, the award given to the top scorer in all the European leagues.

Childhood
Totti was born and raised in Rome, in the Porta Metronia city neighborhood. His parents are Enzo and Fiorella Totti. Unlike other children his age who preferred to watch cartoons, Totti was always more interested in watching football matches instead. Totti constantly played football with older boys. His mother refused a big deal for her son from A.C. Milan while waiting for a deal from his favourite club A.S. Roma. His mother intended to never let her son set foot out of the "Eternal City". Totti finally joined the A.S. Roma junior team in 1989.


AS Roma
Francesco Totti was just 16 when he made his first appearance for AS Roma in a 2-0 away victory at Brescia Calcio on 28 March 1993. He scored four goals in twenty one outings in 1994-95 and over the ensuing seasons became a team regular. He was named Serie A Player of the Year in 2000 and in 2003. The following season (2000-01) he helped AS Roma secure their first league title since 1982-83, having scored thirteen Serie A goals. In the 2001-02 campaign Roma finished runners-up to Juventus, but Totti returned with a then personal-best of fourteen goals during the 2002-03 season.

2003-04: Playing in a more advanced role, Totti hit a career-high twenty goals as Roma finished second in Serie A behind A.C. Milan.
2004-05: A very disappointing season, the only bright side of which was Roma finishing second in the Italian Cup and thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In the 2004-05 season Roma had to replace four coaches. Despite all the problems, Totti scored twelve goals, and helped Vincenzo Montella score 21 with numerous assists. On 19 December 2004, Totti broke A.S. Roma's goal scoring record when he scored against Parma. It was Totti's 107th goal for the club, a record previously held by Roberto Pruzzo.
2005-06: A strange season for Roma and Totti. On 19 February the 2006, while playing in the Italian Championship against Empoli F.C., he suffered a fracture of his left fibula, and severed the interconnecting ligaments with the malleolus. He returned from his injury on 11 May 2006 as a substitute in Roma's 3-1 defeat to Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia. As in the 2004-05 season, A.S Roma came in second in the Italian Cup (again trailing to Inter Milan). In the Serie A they finished 5th, and only qualified for the Champions League after the Calciopoli verdicts stripped Juventus and Fiorentina of their Champions League spots. Roma were then awarded 2nd place.

Francesco Totti with AS Roma shirtThe team won eleven consecutive matches, beating previous record (ten consecutive matches by Juventus 1931-'32, Milan 1950-'51 and Bologna 1963-'64). The last match of the streak was a 2-0 victory against rivals S.S. Lazio, before a home draw thanks to a late goal from Inter ended the run. The record only lasted a matter of months as Inter beat it the following season. Coach Luciano Spalletti turned the team's line up from a defensive one to an attacking one (despite playing without strikers for most of the season, and for the last 8 or so games playing without Totti), and the team moved from fifteenth to fifth by the end of the season, with Totti scoring fifteen goals from midfielder or as a lone striker.

In the 2006-07 season, A.S. Roma won the Italian Cup beating Inter Milan in the finals. Totti also hit a career high of 26 goals in that season winning the Capocannoniere title (Serie A top scorer) as well as winning the ESM European Golden Boot award.
On June 2, 2007, Totti visited Dr. Paolo Mariani, the surgeon who operated on him after he broke his ankle in February of 2006. The doctor examined him and they both decided not to operate on the ankle again to remove the metal plate. Totti was reassured by the doctor that the plate will not cause any problems for next season. There were concerns that the plate could change the positioning of the bone and tendons in the area, but after testing everything was clear.[1]


National team
Totti scored in Italy's 4-1 defeat by Spain in the final of the UEFA European Under-18 Championship in July 1995. In the final of the Under-21 competition in 1996, Totti opened the scoring in a 1-1 draw against the Spanish before triumphing on penalties.

Totti made his senior Azzurri debut in the Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on 10 October 1998. He played in the finals tournament and scored against Romania and Belgium and played in the final; losing to France. Although he was on the losing side, Totti was named Man of the Match in the final[3] and described by many footballing legends, including Michel Platini (France), as the best player of the tournament.

Disappointment followed at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off as Italy lost to South Korea in the second round, when he received a second yellow card for diving in the penalty area by referee Byron Moreno.

At Euro 2004, Totti garnered negative media attention when he spat at Christian Poulsen, a midfielder playing for Denmark. Totti was subsequently banned until the semi-finals, but did not play in the tournament again, as Italy failed to qualify for the next round.

On 20 July 2007, Totti announced his retirement from the national team after he had made it clear that his intention was to retire from the national team after the World Cup. He plans to concentrate solely on playing for AS Roma.[4]. He also stated that he has been often criticized by the press because he is Roman and that players such as Paolo Maldini and Roberto Baggio were not treated as bad as he was, when they decided to retire.[5] About Roman players in the national team he also added that they are not treated in the same way of players from North Italy and that also Daniele De Rossi and Alberto Aquilani may have the same problems.[6]


2006 World Cup
Totti's participation in the 2006 FIFA World Cup was put at risk by the broken ankle he suffered a few months before the tournament. He recovered in time to join the national team, although he was far from his best, and played with metal plates in his ankle that had yet to be removed. During the match with Australia, he scored from the penalty spot in the closing seconds of regulation time to give Italy a 1-0 victory. Italy then went on to face Ukraine, a match in which Totti provided an assist to defender Gianluca Zambrotta. Italy won the match 3-0 and moved on to the semifinals to face Germany. Totti started the game against Germany and played the entire match in which Italy defeated Germany 2-0. He also started in the final against France, but came off after 61 minutes for Daniele De Rossi. Italy went on to win the World Cup. Totti was selected for the 23-man Mastercard All-Star Team.


Celebration
Francesco Totti uses a variety of celebrations for special occasions. His most famous celebration was in the Rome derby of the 1998/1999 season. Totti scored the third and final goal for Roma in the final minutes of the game, and celebrated by flashing a t-shirt which read, "Vi ho purgato ancora". This translates to, "I've purged you guys again". This was in reference to the fact that he scored a goal against Lazio in the previous derby on November 29th, 1998. Another memorable celebration was when he took his shirt off and had a shirt under that said "6 (sei) Unica!" meaning "you are unique", he flashed this to Ilary Blasi, his wife. His most common celebrations are the one where he runs to the side, kissing his ring finger in honor of his wife and, then pointing upwards with his finger, thanking God. When his son, Christian, was born, he began sucking his thumb as a celebration to dedicate his goals to him.

He had a few celebrations that were unique. One time he put the ball under his shirt and he lay on his back as his teammates pulled the ball out. That of course was a skit of childbirth for his newborn son. Another time after he scored in the derby against Lazio he ran to the camera and started filming the crowd.



Personal life
Totti is married to Ilary Blasi, a former showgirl, who currently works as commentator and host on several RAI TV programs. The couple had their first baby, named Cristian, on 6 November 2005. Their second child, a daughter, Chanel, was born on 13 May 2007.

Totti also runs a football school, named Number Ten, and owns a motorcycle racing team called "Totti Top Sport".

His best friend is his brother, Riccardo. However, Totti always says that his brother was the better player when they were kids, but he was unlucky on his way. Totti had a strong bond with Riccardo so today, Riccardo is Totti's agent.

He also had a bad relationship with his previous coach Fabio Capello. Totti accused Capello of being a traitor for leaving Roma suddenly without a warning, and left the Roman team in a very bad shape which had them almost relegated to the second division in 2004-05 season. This rift started on Capello's last days with Roma: according to Totti, his behaviour to most of the players changed, and he once advised the younger players not to take Totti as their role model player, but to take Brazilian Emerson as an idol for his hard work. Several months later, Capello, Emerson and Frenchman Jonathan Zebina all left AS Roma for rivals Juventus suddenly.

His close friendship with former teammate Antonio Cassano was ended as well when Cassano created a ton of problems for AS Roma before moving off to join Real Madrid where he was later joined by Capello and Emerson. Currently Totti and Cassano are not on talking terms. In a public bust up with Capello, Cassano claimed that he was wrong to leave Roma and he hopes that Roma and Totti will forgive him.


Honours



Decal of Francesco Totti, on the wall of a house in Rione Monti, in Rome. It celebrates the 2000-01 scudetto won by Totti's club, A.S. Roma.
A.S. Roma
Serie A:
Winner: 2001
Runner-up: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007
Coppa Italia:
Winner: 2007
Runner-up: 2003, 2005, 2006
Supercoppa Italiana:
Winner: 2001, 2007
Runner-up: 2006

National Team
FIFA World Cup:
Winner: 2006
UEFA European Championship:
Runner-up: 2000
UEFA Under-21 European Championship:
Winner: 1996

Personal
FIFA 100 (125 greatest living players, as selected by Pelé)
2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
EURO 2000 Team of the Tournament
Italian Footballer of the Year:
2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
Serie A Young Footballer of the Year:
1999
Serie A top scorer
2006-07
European Golden Boot:
2007

Career statistics
Correct as of 2 September 2007.
Season Team League Domestic League Domestic Cups European Games Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
1992-93 A.S. Roma Serie A 2 0 - - - - 2 0
1993-94 A.S. Roma Serie A 8 0 2 0 - - 10 0
1994-95 A.S. Roma Serie A 21 4 4 3 - - 25 7
1995-96 A.S. Roma Serie A 28 2 1 0 7 2 36 4
1996-97 A.S. Roma Serie A 26 5 1 0 3 0 30 5
1997-98 A.S. Roma Serie A 30 13 6 1 - - 36 14
1998-99 A.S. Roma Serie A 31 12 3 1 8 3 42 16
1999-00 A.S. Roma Serie A 27 7 2 0 4 1 33 8
2000-01 A.S. Roma Serie A 30 13 2 1 2 2 34 16
2001-02 A.S. Roma Serie A 24 8 1 1 11 3 36 12
2002-03 A.S. Roma Serie A 24 14 5 3 6 3 35 20
2003-04 A.S. Roma Serie A 31 20 - - 1 0 32 20
2004-05 A.S. Roma Serie A 29 12 7 3 4 0 40 15
2005-06 A.S. Roma Serie A 24 15 2 0 3 2 29 17
2006-07 A.S. Roma Serie A 35 26 6 2 9 4 50 32
2007-08 A.S. Roma Serie A 2 1 1 0 - - 3 1
Total 372 152 43 15 58 20 473 187


Additional information
A goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, Totti published two self-effacing joke books in order to raise money for a children's charity. They were bestsellers for many months. Some of the jokes were filmed into short clips that were acted out by Totti himself, along with some of his national team mates such as Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon, Marco Delvecchio, Alessandro Nesta and Antonio Cassano.

Totti's idol player in his childhood was ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini, whom he considers as his elder brother: he always wished to just shake hands with Giannini, and was one of his biggest fans. Several years after, Totti himself had the opportunity to play alongside Giannini on the pitch in the AS Roma kit.

Totti is famous for his chipping technique, called in Italian il cucchiaio (in English, "spoon" or in his Roman dialect (Romanesco), "er cucchiaio"). He has scored many beautiful goals using this technique. His famous early goals using this technique was in a shoot-out against Netherlands in the Euro 2000 semi-final when he scored against Netherlands keeper Edwin van der Sar, he also scored a second famous goal two years later against Lazio in the derby, which ended 5-1 to A.S. Roma, and against Inter a few years later after dribbling Marco Materazzi. Consequently, his autobiography is entitled "Mo' Je Faccio Er Cucchiaio", which is Roman dialect (Romanesco) for "I'll Chip Him".

He was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations in March 2004.

Totti also collects sports shirts from teams around the world. In 2003 after a Six Nations rugby game between Italy and Ireland, two Irish players Brian O'Driscoll and Denis Hickie were approached by one of Totti's representitives offering two Totti shirts for each of theirs, the players duly accepted the honourable exchange.





A.S. Roma – current squad
1 Curci • 2 Panucci • 3 Cicinho • 4 Juan • 5 Mexès • 7 Pizarro • 8 Aquilani • 9 Vučinić • 10 Totti • 11 Taddei • 13 Andreolli • 14 Giuly • 15 Antunes • 16 De Rossi • 18 Esposito • 20 Perrotta • 21 Ferrari • 22 Tonetto • 25 Zotti • 26 Piţ • 27 Júlio Sérgio • 29 Barusso • 30 Mancini • 32 Doni • 33 Brighi • 77 Cassetti • Coach: Spalletti

v • d • eItaly squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Maldini • 4 Coco • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Zanetti • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Inzaghi • 10 Totti • 11 Doni • 12 Abbiati • 13 Nesta • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Iuliano • 16 Di Livio • 17 Tommasi • 18 Delvecchio • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Montella • 21 Vieri • 22 Toldo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Trapattoni
[show]v • d • eItaly squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Champions (4th Title)
1 Buffon • 2 Zaccardo • 3 Grosso • 4 De Rossi • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 Totti • 11 Gilardino • 12 Peruzzi • 13 Nesta • 14 Amelia • 15 Iaquinta • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Barone • 18 Inzaghi • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Oddo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Lippi

ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO

Andriy Shevchenko

Personal information
Full name Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko
Date of birth September 29, 1976 (1976-09-29) (age 30)
Place of birth Dvirkivschyna, Ukraine
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Chelsea
Number 7
Youth clubs
1986-1994 Dynamo Kyiv
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994-1999
1999-2006
2006- Dynamo Kyiv
A.C. Milan


Chelsea
Career 117 0(60)
208 (127)
030 00(4)
355 (191)
National team2
1994-1995
1994-1995
1995- Ukraine U18
Ukraine U21
Ukraine 008 00(5)
007 00(6)
074 0(33)
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of March 31, 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of September 1, 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, Andrij Mykolajovyč Ševčenko, born 29 September 1976, Dvirkivschyna, Kiev Oblast) is a Ukrainian football striker who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League.

Shevchenko began his career in the youth team at Dynamo Kyiv and soon played in the first team. He won five consecutive domestic league titles from 1994–99. Shevchenko played for A.C. Milan from 1999–2006, scoring 127 goals in 208 appearances and becoming the club's second-highest all-time goal scorer. He joined Chelsea in 2006.

Shevchenko won the 2004 European Footballer of the Year award, and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in 2004. He was named a starting striker on the 2005 FIFPro World XI team, and is the second-highest goal scorer of all-time in European club competitions with 59 goals, behind only Gerd Müller.[1]

Biography
Andriy was nine when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in April 1986. His village, not far from Chernobyl, was also affected by the disaster, and his family was one amongst the thousands who had to abandon their homes and relocate to the coast to escape the after effects.[2] At an early age, he was a competitive boxer in the LLWI Ukrainian junior league, but due to his size, he was forced to move on to football, where he flourished.


Club career

Dynamo Kyiv
In 1986, after his family relocated to escape the Chernobyl disaster, Shevchenko failed a dribbling test for entrance to a specialist sports school in Kiev. However, he happened to catch the eye of a Dynamo Kyiv scout while playing in a youth tournament, and was thus brought to the club. He was extremely successful in the youth system at the club, honing his skills on the junior teams. In 1990, Shevchenko, playing for the Dynamo Kyiv under-14 team in the Ian Rush Cup in Wales, was top scorer in the tournament, and was awarded a pair of Rush's boots as a prize by the Liverpool F.C. player himself.[2]

In 1992-93, he was the top scorer for Dynamo-2 with twelve goals, and he made an appearance in the first team list, taking Dynamo to their second successive league victory. He scored his first international goal in May 1996, in a friendly against Turkey, at Samsun. Shevchenko won the league again next season with Dynamo, scoring 6 goals in 20 games. The next two seasons, 1997-98 and 1998-99, were abundantly productive for Shevchenko. The highlight of his 1997-98 season was his first-half hat-trick against FC Barcelona in the 1997-98 Champions League, helping Dynamo produce a shock 4-0 away win. His 19 goals in 23 league matches, 6 goals in 10 Champions League matches, and another league victory with Dynamo in 1997-98 were followed by 28 goals in all competitions in 1998-99, and the league top-scorer award for his 18 goals there. Shevchenko's exploits in the Champions League took Dynamo to the semi-final stage of the tournament, before they lost to Bayern Munich 3-4 on aggregate.

Shevchenko won the domestic league title with Dynamo in each of his five seasons with the club. Under the guidance of Valeri Lobanovsky, the Dynamo manager from January 1997 to May 2002, Shevchenko flourished into one of the team's most prominent and skillful players.


A.C. Milan
In 1999, Shevchenko joined the then five-time European Cup champions A.C. Milan for $25 million, breaking the club's transfer record (it was later broken by Manuel Rui Costa in 2001) and instantly became one of their top players. He made his Serie A debut on 28 August 1999 in a 2-2 away draw with U.S. Lecce. His impressive haul of 24 league goals in 32 matches earned him the Serie A scoring title, becoming the first non-Italian player to accomplish the feat in his debut season. Over the next two seasons, Shevchenko scored 34 goals in 51 matches then 17 goals in 38 matches in all competitions, but Milan could not win any silverware in either season.

The disappointment of those two seasons was overcome in 2002-03 when Milan won the Coppa Italia, as well as the Champions League, making Shevchenko the first Ukrainian-born player ever to win a Champions League title. Though Shevchenko was not in top offensive form, netting only five times in 24 matches, he scored the winning penalty kick in the shoot out against arch-rivals Juventus in the final, giving the Rossoneri their sixth title. 2003-04 was another successful season for both Milan and Shevchenko. He was the Serie A scoring champion for the second time in his career, duplicating his previous effort of 24 goals in 32 matches en route to Milan winning the Scudetto after a four-year drought. He also scored the winning goal in the UEFA Super Cup victory over F.C. Porto, leading to Milan's second trophy of the season. In August 2004, he scored three goals against S.S. Lazio as Milan won the Italian Super Cup. He capped off the year in dramatic fashion by being named the 2004 European Player of the Year and thus becoming the third Ukrainian player ever to win the Golden Ball, following Oleg Blokhin in 1975 and Igor Belanov in 1986 (latter two won the award as Soviet internationals).

In 2004–05, Milan finished runner-up to Juventus in the Serie A standings, helped in part by the seventeen goals of Shevchenko, but Milan's domestic success was promptly deflated in the wake of the 2005 Champions League final, in which they lost a 3-0 lead to Liverpool F.C. during a six-minute span in the second half. The match ended 3–3 after extra time. Shevchenko's decisive penalty was blocked by Liverpool goalie Jerzy Dudek in the shoot-out, which gave the English side the title.

Shevchenko scored 19 goals in the 22 games that he played in the 2005-06 Serie A campaign to go with nine goals in 12 total matches in the Champions League, making history along the way. On 23 November 2005, Shevchenko scored all four goals in Milan's 4-0 drubbing of Fenerbahçe SK, becoming only the fifth player to do so in a CL match (his company includes Marco van Basten, Simone Inzaghi, Dado Pršo and Ruud van Nistelrooy). However, he scored only once in the last four matches of the quarter-final and semi-final stages as Milan eliminated Olympique Lyonnais thanks to a last-minute comeback, but were then held scoreless in both semi-final legs en route to falling to eventual winners, Barcelona. He ended the season as the CL's fourth-highest scorer with a total of 43 career goals, in addition to ten qualifying-round scores.

On 8 February 2006, he became Milan's second all-time goalscorer, behind legend Gunnar Nordahl, after netting against Treviso.[3]


Chelsea
It is useless hiding things — I was with the president, we talked of many things and also about the possibility that I could leave. There hasn't been a definitive decision. I want to be clear, we are only talking. This has nothing to do with my relationship with Milan, there has always been a great deal of affection, as with my team mates and coaches. The decision that I am considering regards above all my family...
Andriy Shevchenko[4]
During the summer of 2004, there were persistent reports that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich offered a record sum of £50 million and striker Hernán Crespo to A.C. Milan in exchange for Shevchenko. Milan refused the monetary offer but took Crespo on loan. Abramovich upped his offer to £85 million to AC Milan, in addition to a record weekly wage of £225,000, to transfer him to Chelsea, but he was again refused.[citation needed] Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was quoted as saying, "I think Shevchenko is the type of player we would like. At the end of the day to improve what we have got, it has to be a great player and Shevchenko certainly comes into that class."[5] Meanwhile, Shevchenko repeatedly denied that he wanted to leave, claiming that he wanted to become a Milan legend like Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini.[citation needed] But on 11 May 2006, Shevchenko publicly announced that he would be leaving the club after all, to join the Premier League holders.

On May 14, 2006, during the last Serie A encounter between Milan and Roma, Shevchenko watched the first half in the stands with Milan supporters; two weeks later, he left Milan for Chelsea. [6] The fee was disclosed on the official website of UEFA as £30 million, which would make it the most expensive transfer in English football. Shevchenko joined up with his new team after the 2006 World Cup. He received the number seven shirt, as Chelsea coach José Mourinho said that Shevchenko could continue wearing it.[7]

Shevchenko made his debut for Chelsea on August 13, 2006 in the FA Community Shield, scoring his side's goal in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool. On August 23, he scored his first FA Premier League goal — and his 300th in top-flight and international football — in a 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough. He scored goals sporadically throughout the season, including crucial equalisers against FC Porto and Valencia CF in the UEFA Champions League and another against Tottenham Hotspur to help take his side into the FA Cup semi-finals. He finished with a total of 14 from 51 games.

During the campaign he netted his 57th career goal in European competitions, leaving him 2nd in the all-time European goalscorers list, behind Gerd Muller.[8] Shevchenko's 2006/07 season was cut short due to injury and a hernia operation. He missed the Champions League semi-finals against Liverpool and the FA Cup Final against Manchester United at the new Wembley Stadium on May 19, 2007.[9]

In January 2007 ex-Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino suggested that Shevchenko might end up being the biggest flop in British football.[10]

Shevchenko has vowed that he will find his true form in the 2007-08 season[11], reiterating his desire to remain in London despite interest from Milan president Adriano Galliani to bring Shevchenko back to Italy.[12] Despite it, rumors are speculating that AC Milan are close to bringing back Shevchenko to AC Milan, with his wife stating that she "misses Italy" and that she "wants to go back home."[13] Dynamo Kyiv revealed they wanted to sign Shevchenko on loan.[14]


International career

Shevchenko post stamp in celebration of UEFA's 50th anniversaryShevchenko has 74 caps and 33 goals for the Ukraine national team, whom he represented at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In March 2000, Dynamo manager Valeri Lobanovsky became the Ukraine coach, with the aim to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. Shevchenko scored 10 goals in the qualifiers, but Ukraine failed to qualify after losing a play-off against Germany. In the Euro Cup 2008 qualifiers, Shevchenko has scored two goals.



Personal life
Shevchenko is married to American model Kristen Pazik. The couple met at a Giorgio Armani afterparty in 2002, and married on July 14, 2004 in a private ceremony on a golf course in Washington, DC.[15][16] They communicate with each other in Italian,[17] though Shevchenko has made public his desire to learn English.[18] Media commentators have speculated that Pazik was a major influence on Shevchenko's decision to sign with Chelsea, citing her friendship with Abramovich's wife and her desire to raise their children in an English-speaking culture. Shevchenko has stated that his move to Chelsea was "a family decision" about what was best for their children.[15]

The couple has two sons, Jordan (named after NBA legend Michael Jordan),[17] born on 29 October 2004, and Christian, born on 10 November 2006. Andriy commemorated Jordan's birth by scoring against Sampdoria the following day (AC Milan won 1-0).[19] AC Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi is the Godfather of Andriy's first son, Jordan.[citation needed] The day after Christian's birth, Shevchenko scored in a 4-0 Chelsea victory over Watford, and he and several of his teammates gathered and performed the popular "rock-the-baby" goal celebration as a tribute.[20]

Shevchenko is a close friend of fashion designer Giorgio Armani, and has modelled for Armani and opened two boutiques with him in Kyiv.[15]

In June 2005, Shevchenko became an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages charity.[21]


Name
Shevchenko's first name (Андрій in Ukrainian) does not have a single way of being transliterated from its original spelling in the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet. Andriy is the spelling used throughout the player's official web site ([1]). It has also been adopted by UEFA and FIFA and is the preferred spelling in most English publications (although Andrii is used by World Soccer magazine and Andrei by Sky Sports). The correct pronunciation is [an.ˈdrij]. Dynamo Kyiv fans gave him the nickname Sheva,[citation needed] a contraction of Shevchenko.


Career statistics

Club career
All-Time Club Performance Club Season Domestic League Domestic Cups1 Europe2 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dynamo Kyiv 1994/95 17 1 4 1 2 1 23 3
1995/96 31 16 5 1 2 2 38 19
1996/97 20 6 0 0 0 0 20 6
1997/98 23 19 8 8 10 6 41 33
1998/99 26 18 4 5 14 10 44 33
Total 117 60 21 15 28 19 166 94
Milan 1999/00 32 24 5a 4 6 1 43 29
2000/01 34 24 3 1 14 9 51 34
2001/02 29 14 3 0 6 3 38 17
2002/03 24 5 4 1 11 4 39 10
2003/04 32 24 2a 0 11b 5b 45 29
2004/05 29 17 1c 3c 10 6 40 26
2005/06 28 19 0 0 12 9 40 28
Total 208 127 18 9 70 37 296 173
Chelsea 2006/07 30 4 11d 7d 10 3 51 14
Total 30 4 11 7 10 3 51 14
Career Totals 355 191 50 31 108 59 513 281

1 Domestic Cup, League Cup and Super Cup
2 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup
a Includes 1 game in the Italian Super Cup
b Includes 1 game and 1 goal in the European Super Cup and 1 game in the Intercontinental Cup
c Includes 1 game and 3 goals in the Italian Super Cup
d Includes 4 games and 3 goals in the League Cup and 1 game.




Awards and honours
Trophies
Ukrainian Premier League: 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99
Ukrainian Cup: 1996, 1998, 1999
Serie A: 2003-04
Italian Cup: 2002-03
Italian Super Cup: 2004
UEFA Champions League: 2003
UEFA Super Cup: 2003
English League Cup: 2007
FA Cup : 2007
Individual honours
Ukrainian Premier League Top Scorer: 1998-99
Serie A Top Scorer: 1999-2000, 2003-04
European Footballer of the Year: Winner in 2004, 3rd in 1999 and 2000, 4th in 2003, 5th in 2005, 8th in 2001, Nominated in 1998 and 2006
FIFA World Player of the Year: 3rd in 2004, 5th in 2000, 6th in 2005, 7th in 1999, 9th in 2001, 10th in 2003, 21st in 2006
UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 1998-99, 2000-01, 2005-06
Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005
UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 1998-99
Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2000
Member of the FIFA 100
Ukraine National Team Top Goalscorer
Second all-time scorer in the history of European club competitions[22]
Second all-time scorer in the history of A.C. Milan[23]


• d • eUkraine squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Shovkovskiy • 2 Nesmachniy • 3 Yatsenko • 4 Tymoschuk • 5 Yezerskiy • 6 Rusol • 7 Shevchenko • 8 Shelayev • 9 Husyev • 10 Voronin • 11 Rebrov • 12 Pyatov • 13 Chygrynskiy • 14 Husin • 15 Milevskiy • 16 Vorobei • 17 Vashchuk • 18 Nazarenko • 19 Kalynychenko • 20 Byelik • 21 Rotan • 22 Sviderskiy • 23 Shust • Coach: Blokhin


Chelsea F.C. – current squad
1 Čech • 3 A. Cole • 4 Makélélé • 5 Essien • 6 Carvalho • 7 Shevchenko • 8 Lampard • 9 Sidwell • 10 J. Cole • 11 Drogba • 12 Mikel • 13 Ballack • 14 Pizarro • 15 Malouda • 17 Sinclair • 18 Bridge • 20 Ferreira • 21 Kalou • 22 Ben Haim • 23 Cudicini • 24 Wright-Phillips • 26 Terry • 33 Alex • 35 Belletti • 40 Hilário • Manager: Mourinho

RYAN GIGGS

Personal information
Full name Ryan Joseph Giggs
Date of birth November 29, 1973 (1973-11-29) (age 33)
Place of birth Cardiff, Wales
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Left winger/Second striker
Club information


Current club Manchester United
Number 11
Youth clubs
Manchester City
Manchester United
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1990- Manchester United 508 (98)
National team2
1991-2007 Wales 064 (13)
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 13, 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of May 26, 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE[1] (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973 in Cardiff) is a Welsh footballer, currently playing for Manchester United in the English Premiership, and formerly for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on June 2, 2007. Giggs received an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, alongside his former team mate Teddy Sheringham, who received an MBE.

Giggs' father was Danny Wilson, a noted Rugby League player, and his mother was Lynne Giggs. Although born in Cardiff, he was raised in Pendlebury, England and speaks with a Mancunian accent. His father was of mixed race (of Sierra Leonean ancestry) and Giggs has always expressed pride at his mixed heritage.[2]

Giggs is Manchester United's longest-serving current player, having made his first appearance for the club during the 1990-91 season and been a regular player since the 1991-92 season. He has played the second highest number of competitive games for the club (second only to Bobby Charlton), and holds the club record of team trophies won by a player (23).[3] Since 1992, he has collected nine Premier League winners' medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, two League Cup winner's medals and one Champions League winner's medal. He also has runners-up medals from two FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of four United teams who have finished second in the league.

Giggs captained England Schoolboys (which all schoolboys in England are eligible to play for, regardless of nationality), but played for the Welsh national team as an adult. At the time of his début in 1991, Giggs (still only 17 at the time) was the youngest player to represent his country at the highest level. He was appointed captain of Wales in 2004.

He also won the PFA Young Player of the Year award twice (1992 and 1993), making him the first player to win the award in consecutive years - a feat matched only by Robbie Fowler and current team-mate Wayne Rooney. Giggs holds many other records, including that of the top all-time scorer in the FA Premier League not to play regularly in the position of striker, and holds the record for scoring Manchester United's fastest goal (15 seconds), set in November 1995 against Southampton. Fans have also voted that Giggs scored Manchester United's greatest goal, in the semi-final of the 1999 FA Cup against Arsenal where he beat four defenders (Lee Dixon twice) to score.

Giggs has worn the squad number 11 since squad numbering came into effect in 1993.

Giggs is currently vice-captain to Gary Neville at Manchester United.

Beginnings
Giggs began his football career as a junior member of Deans Sports F.C. in Swinton and was spotted as a 14-year-old by Manchester City. His dribbling skills were compared to players such as George Best, Diego Maradona, and Johan Cruijff. Giggs' talent became widely recognised, and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson went to his house personally to urge him to sign for Manchester United instead of Manchester City. He persuaded Giggs by waiving YTS forms with the opportunity to turn professional in three years. Giggs ended up signing with Manchester United.

Similarly, England Under-21 coach Lawrie McMenemy checked to see whether he was eligible to play for the nation. Contrary to popular belief, Giggs could not have played for the full England national side. He was only eligible to play for the England schools' team because he went to school there. To play for the England national football team, he would have needed to have been born in England or have had English parents or grandparents. However, both his parents and all four grandparents are Welsh.

He was arguably the first teenage football poster boy to have garnered such attention since the likes of George Best, a player Giggs has been compared to, and who, alongside Bobby Charlton, personally went down to United's training sessions at 'the Cliff' specifically to watch Giggs play. would earn two PFA Young Player of the Year awards.


Superstardom
In 1994, the BBC described Giggs as "one of the most photographed persons" in Great Britain. Giggs, or "Giggsy", as he was known, was also hailed as one of the FA Premier League's biggest stars and could often be found as the picture-book merchandising icon of the league's early years. He (along with Jamie Redknapp and Lee Sharpe) was part of the league's attempt to market itself globally, re-forging its image after the hooliganism-affected years of the 1980s.

Giggs turned professional on his 17th birthday in November 1990 and made his League debut against Everton F.C. at Old Trafford on 2 March 1991, as a substitute for Denis Irwin. In his first full start, Giggs was credited with his first ever goal in a 1-0 win in the Manchester derby, though it appeared to be a Colin Hendry own goal. He collected his first piece of silverware in April 1992 as United defeated Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Final, after Giggs had set up Brian McClair to score the only goal of the game.

By the start of the 1992-93 season - the first season of the newly-formed FA Premier League, Giggs made the left-wing position at United his own, and became known as one of British football's most prodigious young players. His emergence and the arrival of Eric Cantona (who later claimed that he had a telepathic understanding with/of Giggs) heralded the dominance of United in the new Premier League. His manager was very protective of him, refusing to allow Giggs to be interviewed until he turned 20, eventually granting the first interview to the BBC's Desmond Lynam for Match of the Day.

Giggs' ability to consistently dribble past opposing players by using his own exceptional balance, pace, and skill became the most noticeable aspect of his game. He was also renowned for pre-meditating celebrations with team-mates, such as Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis. He was afforded many opportunities which were not normally offered to footballers at his young age, such as hosting his own television show, Ryan Giggs' Soccer Skills, which was a hit with ITV and Granada in 1994.

Ryan Giggs chants often heard from the fans during the Manchester United games include:

"Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs, Running down the wing, Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs, Can do anything, Feared by the Blues, Loved by the Reds, Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs"

and:

"Giggs, Giggs will tear you apart, again"

the former adapted from the Robin Hood theme; the latter from the Mancunian band Joy Division's song, 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'.

His goals were constantly on shortlists for Goal of the Season and tended to be memorable, particularly the ones against QPR in 1993, Tottenham in 1994, Everton in 1995, Coventry in 1996, and the most remarkable of all, his amazing solo-goal against Arsenal in the replay of the 1999 FA Cup semi-final. During extra time, Giggs picked up possession just after Patrick Vieira had given the ball away, then ran away from the half-way line, dribbling past the whole Arsenal back line, including Tony Adams and Martin Keown before launching his left-footed strike just under David Seaman's bar and beyond him. It has been hailed as the best FA Cup goal of all time by some sections of the media and football fans. It does have the distinction of being the last ever goal scored in an FA Cup Semi-Final Replay as, from the following season, the FA Cup Semi-Finals have been decided in a single game, with extra time and a Penalty Shoot Out if required.

By the late 1990s, with the retirement of Cantona and the emergence of Giggs' fellow fledgling young colleagues like David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Philip Neville and Nicky Butt, Giggs' popularity and fame gradually evened out and attention was paid to some of the younger stars, especially Beckham. However, his football skill was still marked genius, and he developed into a more mature senior player by the time United won their record breaking and unprecedented "Treble" in 1999. This achievement aided by Giggs' form and key contributions in several tournaments. Memorable moments were his extra-time goal in the FA Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Arsenal (see above) to give United a 2-1 win, and his 90th minute equalizer in the home leg of the Champions League semi-final against Juventus.

Giggs set up the equalising goal scored by Teddy Sheringham in the UEFA Champions League final that set United on their way to the treble. Giggs was also the man of the match as United beat Palmeiras to claim the Intercontinental Cup that year. He is considered by Manchester United fans as one of their greatest players of all time.

In November 2003, Giggs was mentioned in an episode of The Simpsons, entitled "The Regina Monologues", which takes place in England. In response to Marge complaining that Homer punched out three people on the street, Homer replies, "That was over soccer results. Can you believe they gave Giggs a yellow card in the box?!"[2]. Giggs therefore has the distinction of being the only Premiership footballer to be mentioned in the show.


The later years

Ryan Giggs playing for his club Manchester United during the 2005-06 season.Giggs was one of United's most experienced and senior players at United when Denis Irwin left, and he became a pivotal part of the club. According to a BBC Sport article in 2003, "the trajectory of Giggs' United career follows that of the club almost exactly", underlining his importance to United.

Giggs' form in the years after the achievements of 1999 was reflective of Manchester United's dominance of the English game up until 2003 with Giggs still relishing his left wing slot. United won the League title four times in that period, and had always made it to UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals at the very least. He celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Old Trafford with a testimonial match against Celtic at the start of the 2001-02 campaign. A year later, he bagged his 100th career goal in a draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

He managed to win the FA Cup once more in 2004, making him one of only two players (the other being Roy Keane) to have won the trophy four times, while playing for Manchester United. He has also finished with a runners-up medal three times.

His participation in the victory over Liverpool in September 2004 made him the third player to play 600 games for United, alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game. During the first half of the 2004-05 season, Giggs was linked in a transfer speculation with Newcastle United, a club his best-friend at United, Nicky Butt, had left for. However, no move was made before the transfer window closed on 31 January 2005.

After that season, Giggs signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester United when chairman David Gill relented on his normal policy of not signing players over 30 to contracts longer than one year. The extension, which runs through to July 2008, will most probably keep him at Old Trafford for the remainder of his playing career.

Giggs has reinvented himself and continues to contribute positively to the Manchester United cause even after team-mates like David Beckham and Roy Keane had left. Giggs has also benefited from being largely injury-free aside from some trouble with his hamstrings which, according to his autobiography, prevents him from running at full throttle to this day.

Ryan Giggs made his 700th appearance for Manchester United on 3 March 2007 in a Premier League match against Liverpool, which Manchester United won 1-0. He is now less than 60 games away from breaking Bobby Charlton's appearance record for the club, set in 1973 - the year Giggs was born.

On 6 May 2007, with Chelsea drawing 1-1 with London rivals Arsenal, Manchester United became the champions of England. In doing so Ryan Giggs set a record of nine league titles thus beating the previous record of eight he shared with Alan Hansen and Phil Neal.

Giggs played a starring role in Manchester United's 2007 Charity Shield victory after netting in the first half to bring the game to a 1-1 draw, which led to penalty triumph for the Red Devils after keeper Van Der Sar saved all of Chelsea's first 3 penalties.


International career
Giggs won 64 caps and scored 12 goals for the Welsh national team between 1991 and 2007. However his international career was frustrating as, like Alfredo Di Stéfano and George Best, he did not play in either a European Championship or a World Cup finals, because Wales failed to qualify. He was appointed captain of Wales in 2004.

Giggs received criticism for his reluctance to participate in friendly international matches. Since his début in 1991 against West Germany, Giggs failed to attend a friendly international until some nine years later, missing a massive 18 consecutive friendly games.[3]

In September 2006, Giggs put in a dazzling performance in a friendly against Brazil at White Hart Lane. Such was his display that, following the 2-0 win for Brazil, Brazil coach Dunga paid Giggs the ultimate compliment by stating he would not look out of place playing for the five-time world champions alongside stars such as Kaká and Ronaldinho. [4]

Giggs announced his retirement from international football on Wednesday 30 May 2007 at a press conference held at The Vale of Glamorgan Hotel. His final game for Wales, and as captain, was the Euro 2008 Qualifier against the Czech Republic on 2 June at Cardiff. He earned his 64th cap in this game and won the Man of the Match award as Wales drew 0-0. [5]


Personal life
Other than his notorious spate of womanising as alleged in tabloids such as the Daily Mirror over the years, Giggs has otherwise managed to avoid the limelight of celebrity trappings that tagged his earlier years. In his autobiography, Giggs: The Autobiography, he revealed possible reasons for his aversion to attention, and accounted for his quiet and bashful demeanour.



The biography described Giggs' difficult upbringing. He endured racial taunts as a child because he was the product of a mixed marriage. Although he admired his rugby-playing father's sporting gifts (Giggs' attributes his speed and balance to his father's genes), he hated the impact his "bullying aggressive nature" had on his family.

In an infamous interview with the Daily Telegraph, Giggs described his father as a "real rogue". He adopted his mother's surname after his parents' separation so that "the world would know I was my mother's son".[citation needed]

Giggs is considered by many as a player who, unlike Lee Sharpe and George Best, achieved considerable fame despite a relatively low profile overall as a celebrity. He has done ads for Reebok, Sovil Titus, Citizen Watches, Givenchy, Fuji, Patek Phillipe, Quorn Burgers and Celcom, and has been used for video-mapping in computer game simulations like EA Sports' FIFA 2003, for which he also did a commercial.

According to an article by BBC Sport: "In the early 1990s, Giggs was David Beckham before Beckham was even holding down a place in the United first team. If you put his face on the cover of a football magazine, it guaranteed you the biggest sales of the year. Why? Men would buy it to read about 'the new Best' and girls bought it because they wanted his face all over their bedroom walls. Giggs had the million-pound boot deal (Reebok), the lucrative sponsorship deals in the Far East (Fuji) and the celebrity girlfriends (Dani Behr, Davinia Taylor) at a time when Beckham was being sent on loan to Preston North End."[6]

Giggs is currently living with partner Stacey and their daughter Liberty and son Zach. His younger brother, Rhodri Giggs, also a winger, currently plays for Curzon Ashton in the Manchester Football league. He was released by F.C. United in August 2007, the non-league club set up by disaffected Manchester United fans after Malcolm Glazer's takeover of United. Ryan attended Moorside High School on the East Lancs road in Swinton.


Campaigner
In recent years, Giggs has also become a UNICEF representative, launching a campaign to prevent landmines from killing children in 2002.

Giggs, who had visited UNICEF projects in Thailand, told the BBC: "As a footballer I can't imagine life without the use of one of my legs...Sadly this is exactly what happens to thousands of children every year when they accidentally step on a landmine." Giggs is also an active campaigner in the fight against racism in football, alongside fellow mixed-raced players like Rio Ferdinand and Thierry Henry.

He told the Football Anti-Racism site 'Stop the BNP' the following in 2004: "A lot of people don't know that my father is black. He was a professional rugby player in the area that I played as a youngster. So a lot of people who I went to school with knew who he was and knew that he was black. So I would get racist taunts in school."[2]

He also added in the French sports newspaper, L'Equipe, "Looking at me from the outside, it is not very obvious, I know but half my family is black and I feel close to their culture and their colour. I am proud of my black roots and of the black blood that runs in my veins. I do not wish to hide my origins, nor do I seek to make it a subject of conversation. I am what I am."

Giggs is also a patron of the Manchester-based 'Five Star Scanner Appeal', a charity that aims to raise £1m to fund a new scanner at a new Manchester Children's Hospital due to be built ready for 2009.


Career statistics
Manchester United Career:

As of match played 21 August 2007

Competition Start End All Appearances (as sub) Goals Assists
Domestic Leagues 1991 507 (61) 98 228
European Competitions 1994 109 (6) 25 28
FA Cup 1991 53 (7) 10 26
League Cup 1991 25 (5) 7 8
Other competitive matches 1991 14 (1) 1
Total 1991 720 (80) 141 290




HONOURS

Manchester United (1990-present)
FA Premier League - Champion (9): 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07
FA Premier League - Runner Up: 1994-95, 1997-98, 2005-06
FA Youth Cup Winner: 1992
FA Cup Winner (4): 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
FA Cup Runner Up: 1995, 2005, 2007
League Cup Winner (2): 1992, 2006
League Cup Runner Up: 1994, 2003
Community Shield Winner (6): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007
Community Shield Runner Up: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004
UEFA Champions League Winner: 1998-99
UEFA Super Cup Winner: 1991
UEFA Super Cup Runner Up: 1999
Intercontinental Cup: 1999



Manchester United F.C. (current squad)
1 van der Sar • 2 Neville • 3 Evra • 4 Hargreaves • 5 Ferdinand • 6 Brown • 7 Ronaldo • 8 Anderson • 9 Saha • 10 Rooney • 11 Giggs • 12 Foster • 13 Park • 15 Vidić • 16 Carrick • 17 Nani • 18 Scholes • 19 Piqué • 21 Dong • 22 O'Shea • 23 Evans • 24 Fletcher • 25 Simpson • 26 Bardsley • 27 Silvestre • 29 Kuszczak • 30 Martin • 32 Tévez • 33 Eagles • 39 Campbell • Manager: Ferguson

FRANK LAMPARD

Frank Lampard

Personal information
Full name Frank James Lampard, Jr.
Date of birth June 20, 1978 (1978-06-20) (age 29)
Place of birth Romford, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information


Current club Chelsea
Number 8
Youth clubs
1994-1995 West Ham United
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994-2001
1995-1996
2001- West Ham United
→ Swansea City (loan)
Chelsea 148 (24)
009 0(1)
227 (64)
National team2
1997-2000
1998
1999- England U21
England B
England 016 0(8)
001 0(0)
056 (13)
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 00:00, 19 August 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 19:19, 22 August 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)






Frank James Lampard, Jr., (born 20 June 1978) is an English football player currently at Chelsea and previously with West Ham United and Swansea City. He is a central midfielder.

Lampard was born in Romford, Havering, England. He is the son of Frank Lampard Sr., the former England full back and two-time FA Cup winner with West Ham United. His family is related to another famous footballing family, the Redknapps. Lampard was educated at Brentwood School, a boys' independent school in Brentwood, Essex.

A current England national team regular, he has won the English Premiership twice (with Chelsea, 2004-05 and 2005-06), the F.A. Cup (with Chelsea, 2007) twice the League Cup (with Chelsea, 2005 and 2007), the FA Community Shield (with Chelsea, 2005), and the UEFA Intertoto Cup (with West Ham, 1999).

In November 2005 he was named runner-up to Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho in the European Footballer of the Year awards. A month later he finished in second place, once again behind Ronaldinho, in the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He was also named FWA Footballer of the Year in 2005.

Club career

West Ham United
Lampard joined West Ham United, where his father was Assistant Manager, as an apprentice in July 1994 as part of their Youth System, and signed his professional forms on July 1, 1995.

In October 1995, he was loaned to Division Two team Swansea City. He made his league debut in the colours of Swansea City on 7 October, 1995 in a match against Bradford City that Swansea won 2-0. He made a total nine league appearances for Swansea, and another two in Cup competitions, scoring one goal, his first in senior football against Brighton & Hove Albion, before returning to West Ham United in January, 1996.

Lampard's debut for West Ham came on 31 January 1996 against Coventry City F.C., but he did not become a team regular that season. He then broke his right leg in a game against Aston Villa on 15 March 1997, ending his season prematurely.

Lampard's first goal for West Ham came in the 1997-98 season, in an away win against Barnsley. Lampard was a regular in the West Ham youth team and captained his side to the final of the FA Youth Cup in 1996.

The 1998-99 season was a prolific one for the young Lampard. He became a regular in the West Ham first team, not missing a single game throughout the season as the club finished fifth in the Premiership standings.

Lampard had formed the core of a talented young West Ham team along with players like Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Rio Ferdinand. But after Ferdinand, a close friend of Lampard's, was sold to Leeds United in the 2000-01 season, and his father, and uncle Harry Redknapp left West Ham, Frank decided to leave as well. Despite reported interest from Aston Villa and Leeds United,[1] Lampard chose to remain in London by joining Chelsea for a fee in the region of £11m.


Chelsea

2001-02 and 2002-03

Lampard celebrating with Chelsea and England team-mate John Terry.Lampard signed for Chelsea on May 15, 2001 for £11 million, one of the first signings of then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. Lampard's improvement at Stamford Bridge has been slow but spectacular. Despite being an ever present in the first eleven, his first two seasons at Chelsea were sometimes bogged down by his massive transfer fee and later eclipsed by the scintillating form of Gianfranco Zola. In his third season there, however, coinciding with the arrival of Roman Abramovich, he fully blossomed, establishing himself as one of the top midfielders in Europe.

Lampard made his debut for Chelsea in a pre-season game against Leyton Orient on July 26, 2001, and scored his first goal for the club in another pre-season match, against Northampton Town, a 7-1 away victory, on August 1, 2001. His Premiership debut for Chelsea came on August 19, 2001, in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United. Despite being sent off in only his fourth Premiership game for Chelsea, against Tottenham Hotspur on September 16, 2001, the only dismissal of his career, he had a fruitful first season, missing only one match and scoring seven goals in all competitions.

In the 2002-03 season for Chelsea, Lampard enjoyed a solid season, not missing a match throughout the campaign. He scored eight goals in all competitions as Chelsea finished fourth in the Premiership, giving Lampard the chance to play in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in his career.


2003-04
Lampard had an impressive start to the next season with his club, being selected as the Barclays Player of the Month in September 2003 and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month in October. This was the season when Lampard's goal-scoring prowess came to the fore, notching up double-figures in league goals for the first of thus-far four consecutive seasons. Chelsea reached the semi-final of the Champions League before being eliminated by AS Monaco, with Lampard scoring four goals in fourteen games, including strikes in both the quarter-finals (against Arsenal) and the second-leg against Monaco. Chelsea also finished second in the Premiership behind Arsenal, their highest finish in the top division since winning the title in 1955.


2004-05
The 2004-05 season was the most successful in Chelsea's history, and Lampard was at its centre. He played in all 38 of the club's Premiership matches, scoring 13 goals (out of his 19 all season), remarkable for a midfielder, helping Chelsea to win their first title in 50 years by a 12-point margin. He scored another four goals in the Champions League as Chelsea made the semi-finals for the second successive year. His two goals in six matches were also instrumental in his club's League Cup victory.

So impressive was his form during the Champions League and league run that former Brazilian captain Carlos Alberto[2] and Dutch footballer Johann Cruyff both referred to him as one of Europe's best midfielders, and he ended the 2004-05 season by winning the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award.[3]


2005-06

Lampard playing for Chelsea.He did one better the following year by scoring 16 goals in the 2005-06 Premiership season, 2 goals in five Champions League matches, and 2 more in domestic cup action for a total of 20 goals. His form continued to impress, and in October 2005, after a Premiership match against Blackburn at Stamford Bridge, manager José Mourinho declared him the "best player in the world",[4] a sentiment echoed days earlier by Matthias Sammer in a Kicker interview.[5]

In September 2005 Lampard was selected as a member of the FIFPro World XI.[6] The team was chosen by a vote of professional footballers in 40 countries. In Winter 2005 he was voted runner-up twice to Ronaldinho, firstly in the European Footballer of the Year award,[7] and secondly in the FIFA World Player of the Year Award.[8]


2006-07
Due to a back injury by captain John Terry, Lampard spent much of the 2006-07 campaign as captain of Chelsea. He was voted fans' player of the month for January 2007 by givemefootball readers after scoring seven goals in eight games.[9] At the end of the season he was ranked 5th in the Actim Index of Premiership players,[10] and also appeared in the Actim team of the season.[11]

For the second consecutive season he scored 20 goals in all competitions, including an equaliser against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou where he chipped Víctor Valdés from an acute angle, and two strikes in a 3-3 FA Cup quarter-final draw with Tottenham Hotspur, a game in which Chelsea had trailed 3-1. The latter feat saw him voted the FA Cup's player of the round.[12] He also scored his first hat-trick for Chelsea in their FA Cup third round tie against Macclesfield Town on January 6, 2007.

In a post-match interview after winning the FA Cup Final with Chelsea, Lampard clarified his future at the club stating that he would want to stay at the club "forever".[13] Since then, the player has been linked with a possible move to Juventus by the British press, this has intensified since Claudio Ranieri, the man who signed Lampard from West Ham United in the first place took over at the Old Lady.[14] He has also been linked to Real Madrid for a transfer fee of £25 million. Despite media speculation that Lampard had rejected a new contract offer from Chelsea, his agent has said the player has not yet opened negotiations with the club.[15]


2007-08
Lampard's incredible goal-scoring prowess has been displayed greatly during the early games of the 2007-08 campaign. With three goals in four Premier League games, Lampard is the league's joint top-scorer, and the midfielder has also scored for the England National Football Team in a friendly against Germany.


Records
Lampard has scored 93 goals for Chelsea (as of 25 August 2007), making him the top goalscorer currently at the club, and 8th highest in total. He is also the highest-scoring midfielder in Chelsea's history, having passed Dennis Wise's record of 76 goals on 17 December 2006.[16]

Lampard has been accused of scoring goals from deflections. However, a report from The Guardian newspaper shows that only six of his goals (6.7%) for Chelsea have been scored in that way.[17] As Martin Samuel of the Times sarcastically put it: "what a lucky boy he must be: 83 deflections since August 2003"[18]

Lampard is the holder of the Premiership record of playing consecutive league matches dating back to October 13, 2001, set on November 26, 2005, breaking the previous record of 159 appearances by David James. The streak ended on December 28, 2005, after 164 games, when Lampard was taken ill before Chelsea's game at Manchester City.[19] Lampard's 16 goals in the 2005-2006 season was at the time a record for a midfielder in the English Premier League,[20] but this was beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo the following season, with 17 league goals.


International career
Early in his career, Lampard was spotted by Peter Taylor, the England Under-21 manager, and selected for the team. His U21 debut came on November 13, 1997, in Crete against Greece. He captained the England U21 side in the 2000 U21 European Championship. His final appearance for the U21 team was in June 2000 in an away match against Slovakia. Lampard scored nine times for the under-21s, which was bettered only by Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers (both with 13).

Lampard made his first appearance for the senior England team on October 10, 1999, starting in a friendly against Belgium in Sunderland. He played 76 minutes in the 2-1 victory, being replaced by Chelsea teammate Dennis Wise. He was not selected as one of the 23-man squad for the England side for Euro 2000, nor for the World Cup finals in June 2002 in Japan and South Korea.

Lampard scored his first goal for the national side on August 20, 2003 in a friendly against Croatia, which England won 3-1. Combined with his improving club form, this helped him earn a place in the England team for the match against Iceland in the FA's Summer Tournament before Euro 2004, and he scored his second international goal as England won 6-1.

He was selected in the squad for Euro 2004 in Portugal. England reached the quarter-finals with Lampard having an exceptional tournament. He scored three goals in four matches and was named in the official Euro 2004 All-Star squad by the UEFA technical study group.[21] With Paul Scholes's retirement from international football, Lampard finally became a fixture in Sven-Göran Eriksson's squad, scoring five goals during England's successful World Cup qualifying campaign, and wearing the number 8 shirt that Scholes vacated. This culminated in him being voted England Player of the Year by fans in 2004 and 2005.[22][23]

At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Lampard failed to repeat his club form, which became a much discussed topic in the English media.[24] He had 24 shots on goal in the tournament, 10 of which were on target, but failed to score a single goal.[25] England manager Eriksson defended the player, saying "He is working very hard to be right. He's had more shots than any other player in the tournament, which is very good."

Lampard played every minute of England’s five games. He was one of three England players (the others being Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher of Liverpool FC) who had their penalties saved by Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira in the shoot-out defeat to Portugal in the quarter-final on 1 July 2006.




Personal life

Totally Frank coverLampard belongs to an illustrious football family. Apart from his father, his uncle Harry Redknapp is also a former West Ham United player. He currently manages Premiership side Portsmouth.

Lampard's cousin, Jamie Redknapp, has played 17 games for the England football team, and has also played club football for Southampton FC, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool F.C. and AFC Bournemouth.

He is currently engaged to Elen Rives, who gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl named Luna Coco Patricia on 22nd August, 2005. Elen gave birth to the couple's second child, another girl, named Isla, on the 20th May, 2007[26].

He recently revealed that he and Elen plan on getting married this year. He is learning Spanish, which has been the partial cause of speculation linking him with a move to the La Liga, until he revealed it was strictly for family reasons, as his partner is Spanish and he wants their daughters to grow up bilingual. Lampard featured in a "Super Goals" advertising campaign for The Sun newspaper in England during Sep/Oct 2005.

In July 2006, The Sun newspaper serialized his autobiography book Totally Frank, uncovering the secrets of his personal life and his reactions of the disappointing World Cup.

He is the only current member of the England team to have gone to a private school, having attended the independent, £11,565 a year, Brentwood School in Essex, at which time he was in the same year as model Jodie Marsh and gained an A in his Latin GCSE.[27]

Lampard has matured since 2000 when he was caught up in an alleged sex-tape scandal with Rio Ferdinand and Kieron Dyer in the resort of Ayia Napa in Cyprus.[28] He currently owns an Aston Martin DB9 and a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. He currently owns two dogs - both are French mastiffs, named Daphne and Rocco.


Statistics
All figures correct as of August 25, 2007


All-time club performance
Club Season League1 FA Cup League Cup Others2 Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Chelsea FC 2007-08 4 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 3
2006-07 37 11 7 6 6 3 12 1 62 21
2005-06 35 16 5 2 1 0 9 2 50 20
2004-05 38 13 2 0 6 2 12 4 58 19
2003-04 38 10 4 1 2 0 14 4 58 15
2002-03 38 6 5 1 3 0 2 1 48 8
2001-02 37 5 8 1 4 0 4 1 53 7
Total 227 64 31 11 22 5 54 13 334 93
West Ham 2000-01 30 7 4 1 3 1 0 0 37 9
1999-00 34 7 1 0 4 3 10 4 49 14
1998-99 38 5 1 0 2 1 0 0 41 6
1997-98 31 4 6 1 5 4 0 0 42 9
1996-97 13 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 16 0
1995-96 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 148 24 13 2 16 9 10 4 187 39
Swansea City 1995-96 9 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 11 1
Total 9 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 11 1
Career Totals 384 89 44 13 38 14 66 17 532 133

International goals scored
International Goals Sr. No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
13. 22 August, 2007 Wembley, London Germany 1-2 3 Lost 3 Friendly
12. 16 August, 2006 Old Trafford, Manchester Greece 4-0 Won Friendly
11. 3 June, 2006 Old Trafford, Manchester Jamaica 6-0 Won Friendly
10. 12 October, 2005 Old Trafford, Manchester Poland 2-1 Won World Cup 06 Qual.
9. 8 October, 2005 Old Trafford, Manchester Austria 1-0 Won World Cup 06 Qual.
8. 26 March, 2005 Old Trafford, Manchester Northern Ireland 4-0 Won World Cup 06 Qual.
7. 9 October, 2004 Old Trafford, Manchester Wales 2-0 Won World Cup 06 Qual.
6. 4 September, 2004 Ernst Happel Stadion, Wien Austria 2-2 Tied World Cup 06 Qual.
5. 24 June, 2004 Estadio da Luz, Lisbon Portugal 2-2 Lost4 UEFA Euro 2004
4. 21 June, 2004 Estadio da Luz, Lisbon Croatia 4-2 Won UEFA Euro 2004
3. 13 June, 2004 Estadio da Luz, Lisbon France 1-2 Lost UEFA Euro 2004
2. 5 June, 2004 City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester Iceland 6-1 Won Friendly
1. 20 August, 2003 Portman Road, Ipswich Croatia 3-1 Won Friendly




Honours
Club:

UEFA Intertoto Cup (1998)
FA Premier Asia Cup (2003)
FA Community Shield (2005)
League Cup (2005, 2007)
English Premier League (2004-05, 2005-06)
FA Cup (2007)
Personal:

FIFA World Player of the Year runner-up (2005)
FWA Player of the Year (2005)
European Footballer of the Year runner-up (2005)
FIFPro World XI Team (2005)

Awards
Preceded by
Thierry Henry FWA Footballer of the Year
2005 Succeeded Wayne Rooney




Chelsea F.C. - Current squad
1 Čech • 3 A. Cole • 4 Makélélé • 5 Essien • 6 Carvalho • 7 Shevchenko • 8 Lampard • 9 Sidwell • 10 J. Cole • 11 Drogba • 12 Mikel • 13 Ballack • 14 Pizarro • 15 Malouda • 17 Sinclair • 18 Bridge • 20 Ferreira • 21 Kalou • 22 Ben Haim • 23 Cudicini • 24 Wright-Phillips • 26 Terry • 33 Alex • 35 Belletti • 40 Hilário • Manager: Mourinho

• d • eEngland squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Robinson • 2 Neville • 3 A. Cole • 4 Gerrard • 5 Ferdinand • 6 Terry • 7 Beckham • 8 Lampard • 9 Rooney • 10 Owen • 11 J. Cole • 12 Campbell • 13 James • 14 Bridge • 15 Carragher • 16 Hargreaves • 17 Jenas • 18 Carrick • 19 Lennon • 20 Downing • 21 Crouch • 22 Carson • 23 Walcott • Coach: Eriksson

MICHAEL BALLACK

MICHAEL BALLACK

Personal information
Full name Michael Ballack
Date of birth September 26, 1976 (1976-09-26) (age 30)
Place of birth Görlitz, Germany
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information


Current club Chelsea
Number 13
Youth clubs
1983-1995 Chemnitzer FC
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1995-1997
1997-1999
1999-2002
2002-2006
2006- Chemnitzer FC
1. FC Kaiserslautern
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern Munich
Chelsea
049 (10)
063 (12)
079 (27)
107 (44)
026 0(4)
National team2
1999- Germany (Captain) 077 (35)
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 16:55, 17 March 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 19 March 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Michael Ballack (born September 26, 1976 in Görlitz, Saxony) is a German football player. He is the current captain of the German national team, and plays club football for Chelsea F.C. in the English FA Premier League.

Biography
He made his name as a classic box-to-box midfielder with Bayer Leverkusen, where he operated as the central midfielder, taking on both defensive and attacking responsibilities. Later in his career, at FC Bayern Munich, under the guidance of Ottmar Hitzfeld and Felix Magath, Ballack played in a deeper role, where he went forward less often and instead concentrated on protecting the back four and distributing the ball. However, he remained a box-to-box midfielder for the German national team.

He is capable with both his left and right foot, as well as in the air. These attributes earned him the German player of the year award on three occasions (2002, 2003, 2005). He is one of Germany's leading sports icons of recent times. Pelé named Ballack among the world's greatest 125 living footballers in FIFA's 2004 FIFA 100

Then, in 2004, the national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann elected Ballack as captain. Following Germany's third place finish in the World Cup in summer 2006, the new Germany head coach Joachim Löw chose to keep Ballack as his national team captain. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every club that he has played for, as well as the German national team.

Ballack and his partner Simone Lambe have three children: Louis (born August 16, 2001), Emilio (September 19, 2002), and Jordi (born March 17, 2005).[1]


Career

Chemnitzer FC
His 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 impressive 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 Second 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. For Ballack himself, however, that season held one great success: on 26 March 1996, he made his debut for Germany's Under-21 side.

The following season, Ballack became a regular first-team player and almost helped Chemnitz to bounce straight back. He did not miss a game and scored ten goals for the "Sky Blues". It was not enough for Chemnitz to go up, but Ballack managed to win his own, personal promotion: in the summer of 1997, decorated German coach Otto Rehhagel of just-promoted 1. FC Kaiserslautern, signed Ballack at their return to top flight football.


FC Kaiserslautern
It was during the seventh game of the 1997-98 season, away to Karlsruher SC, that Rehhagel decided to throw young Ballack into the Bundesliga for the first time, if only for the final five minutes of the encounter. On 28 March 1998, Ballack found himself in the starting line-up for the first time - the opponents were Bayer Leverkusen, and the manager charged him with the crucial task of marking playmaker Emerson, his future team-mate, out of the game.

Ballack made sixteen appearances for his new team during the season and thus played a part in Kaiserslautern's success - 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, some two months after his first full international, Ballack moved to Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 22, for a transfer fee of 8 m Deutsche Mark (€4.8 m).


Bayer Leverkusen
It was at Bayer Leverkusen that Ballack made his big breakthrough. Coaches Christoph Daum and Klaus Toppmöller granted him the whole of the pitch as his sovereign territory. With Bayer, Ballack was the man who pulled the strings in the centre of the pitch, making late runs into the opponents' penalty box, and also the reliable finisher upfront. Over his three seasons at the BayArena, he scored 27 goals in the league, and a further nine goals in Europe.

In 2000, Bayer needed only a draw against minnows SpVgg Unterhaching to lift the league title, but an unexpected own goal by Ballack sunk the club. Still, the disappointment of costing his team the title did not stymie his development into one of Europe's best midfielders.

He left Leverkusen after a memorable, if ultimately heartbreaking, 2001-02 season when they again came second in the Bundesliga to Borussia Dortmund and were beaten in both the UEFA Champions League final by Real Madrid and the German Cup final by Schalke 04. This became known as the "Treble Nightmare".

Ballack and Leverkusen teammates Bernd Schneider, Carsten Ramelow, and Oliver Neuville were even beaten finalists with Germany in the 2002 World Cup, although Ballack was suspended for the Final itself. Ballack finished with 17 league goals, and his remarkable season led to him being voted into the uefa.com users' Team of 2002 as well being named Germany's Footballer of the Year.


Bayern Munich

Ballack playing for Bayern MunichIn spite of Spanish giants Real Madrid's interest, Ballack decided to sign with Bayern Munich in a €12.9 m deal in 2002.

The second season with the Bavarian giants, Ballack enjoyed more 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.[[1]] In four seasons at Bayern, Ballack won three Bundesliga and German Cup 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 UEFA Champions League matches, as well as continually looking for a big international move. 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 Chelsea after Ballack turned in an average performance in the 2006 DFB-Pokal final against Eintracht Frankfurt.[2]

During his few final games for Bayern, supporters at the stadium jeered at Ballack, angering him because he felt that he honoured his contract and conducted himself professionally on and off the pitch as a Bayern player. Shortly after his transfer to Chelsea, Ballack proclaimed sarcastically that the acrimony surrounding his departure made him glad as it proved how important he had been to Bayern. Ballack also rubbished accusations that money was his primary motivation in moving to Chelsea, stating that he earned well at Bayern. Ballack stated that he joined Chelsea to fulfill his dream of playing abroad. He also stated that Chelsea's fellow Premiership club Manchester United had made an approach, but he decided that Chelsea were a more attractive team to join. It could be said that United were in more need of such a player after the departure of Roy Keane, but the appeal of living in London probably made the decision for Ballack.[3]



Chelsea F.C.
Ballack agreed to join Chelsea on a Bosman transfer on 15 May 2006[4]. During his last season as a Bayern player there were rumours of interest from Manchester United, Real Madrid 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 at Stamford Bridge.

Ballack's Chelsea debut came on Monday 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. On 27 August 2006, Ballack earned his Premiership debut for Chelsea against Blackburn Rovers F.C., and his UEFA Champions League debut for Chelsea against Werder Bremen.

Ballack scored his first goal for Chelsea on 12 September 2006 in the Champions League group stage match against SV Werder Bremen. He received his first straight red card of his career in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Liverpool F.C. September 17 2006, after being judged to have stamped on Mohamed Sissoko's leg. Ballack scored his first Premiership goal on 21 October 2006 against Portsmouth F.C. in a home game at Stamford Bridge with a header. He and Andriy Shevchenko scored. 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 8 goals in all competitions for the club in the 2006-07 season.

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 Carling Cup.

In August 4, Spanish media reported that Real Madrid was close to signing Ballack and/or his Chelsea teammate Arjen Robben. Madrid coach Bernd Schuster told Spanish radio, "Hopefully, we'll be able to announce the signing of one or two big players soon." Schuster is said to have demanded Ballack, while Madrid's president Ramon Calderon, is known to favor Robben. [6]

On August 7, Ballack released a statement on Chelsea FC's official website, saying:

“ I am totally committed to Chelsea. I came here to win trophies and be successful in English football, I want to assure the Chelsea fans of that.
I am very happy in London professionally and for my family. The speculation about me leaving is not true.

I have no interest in leaving Chelsea and I have had no contact with Real Madrid whatsoever.

I am frustrated by my injury at the moment but I am working hard to be fit and hope to be back very soon to join my team-mates.
”

Chelsea have left Michael Ballack out of their Champions League squad despite the possibility he could be fit to play in four of their six group matches. The German international had an ankle operation in the summer and Chelsea have decided not to register him for the competition. This means Ballack cannot play before the knockout stages begin in February. [2] The Guardian claims this is further proof that Chelsea might be willing to sell Ballack in the winter transfer window as other Champions League teams will be more interested if he is still allowed to play in the Champions League. Mourinho has only selected 23 out of a possible 25 players for his Champions League squad. [3]


International career
On March 26, 1996, Ballack debuted for the national U21 team's encounter with 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 April 28, 1999, by which time the man in charge was Erich Ribbeck. Germany was playing Scotland on that day, and Ballack came on after sixty minutes to replace Dietmar Hamann.

Ballack only played 63 minutes at Euro 2000. In 2002 FIFA World Cup he scored in matches against USA and South Korea during the knock-out rounds as Germany reached the final, from which he was suspended.

Following Euro 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann replaced Rudi Völler at the helm of the national team and made Ballack the side's captain. Ballack is one of five national team captains in the current Chelsea team, along with Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast captain), Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine captain), John Terry (England captain) and Claudio Pizarro (Peru 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. He was named Man of the Match in the games against Ecuador and Argentina,[7] and was included in FIFA's World Cup All Star Team.


Statistics

Club
All-Time Club Performance Club Season Domestic League Domestic Cup European Competition Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Chemnitzer FC 1995-96a 15 0 - - 15 0
1996-97 - -
Total 15 0 - - 15 0
Kaiserslautern
1997-98 16 0 2 0 - - 18 0
1998-99 30 4 2 0 5 0 37 4
Total 46 4 4 0 5 0 55 4
Bayer Leverkusen 1999-00 23 3 0 0 2 2 25 5
2000-01 27 7 2 0 5 1 34 8
2001-02 29 17 4 1 15 7 48 25
Total 79 27 6 1 22 10 107 38
Bayern Munich 2002-03 26 10 5 4 7 1 38 15
2003-04 28 7 3 2 8 0 39 9
2004-05 27 13 4 3 9 2 40 18
2005-06 26 14 5 1 6 1 37 16
Total 107 44 17 10 30 4 153 57
Chelsea 2006-07 26 5 9 1 10 2 45 8
Total 26 5 9 1 10 2 45 8
Bundesliga Totals 247 75 27 11 57 14 331 99
FA Premier League Totals 26 5 9 1 10 2 44 8
Career Totals 273 80 36 12 67 16 376 107

a Games were played in 2nd Division


National team
All-time national team performance National team Year Friendlies International
competition Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals
Germany 2006 5 3 7 2 13 5
2005 7 3 4 4 11 7
2004 10 7 3 1 13 8
2003 1 0 4 2 5 2
2002 3 1 8 5 11 6
2001 2 0 7 6 9 6
2000 5 0 4 0 9 0
1999 1 0 2 0 3 0
Total 33 15 35 20 75 35





Honours
Award/Milestone/Championship Year(s)
German Championship 1998
2003
2005
2006
FIFA World Cup Runner up 2002
FIFA World Cup 3rd Place 2006
UEFA Champions League Runner up 2002
German Player of the Year 2002
2003
2005
UEFA Midfielder of the Year 2002
Soccer Digest World Player of the Year 2002
German Cup Winner 2003
2005
2006
English League Cup Winner 2007
FA Cup Winner 2007
FA Premier League Runner up 2007




Confederations Cup Bronze medallist: 2005
Selected in FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players




• d • eGermany squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place
1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen • 3 Friedrich • 4 Huth • 5 Kehl • 6 Nowotny • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Hanke • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose • 12 Kahn • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah • 15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder • 22 Odonkor • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Klinsmann




Chelsea F.C. - Current squad
1 Čech • 3 A. Cole • 4 Makélélé • 5 Essien • 6 Carvalho • 7 Shevchenko • 8 Lampard • 9 Sidwell • 10 J. Cole • 11 Drogba • 12 Mikel • 13 Ballack • 14 Pizarro • 15 Malouda • 17 Sinclair • 18 Bridge • 20 Ferreira • 21 Kalou • 22 Ben Haim • 23 Cudicini • 24 Wright-Phillips • 26 Terry • 33 Alex • 35 Belletti • 40 Hilário • Manager: Mourinho