Ballack or Lahm? Who will be the German Captain
Germany were one of the best teams to watch at the World Cup and impressed everyone who saw them play. The only side to score four goals on three separate occasions in the tournament, their game was a joy to watch and all of this happened under the captaincy of Philipp Lahm. The right back led his team very well and his performances were appreciated by the German fans and former players.
It could all have been very different though because Lahm only got the opportunity to captain the side because Ballack suffered a very unfortunate setback in the last game of the club season when German-born, Ghana International Kevin-Prince Boateng injured the Chelsea man and ended his hopes of playing at the World Cup. At the time the injury was seen as a major dent on the hopes of Germany playing well at the tournament but all that was pushed aside after the way the Germans took to the field in South Africa.
World Cup winning captain, Lothar Matthaus went so far as to say that Germany were better off without Ballack but it seems that Ballack has different ideas.
Shortly after Germany's elimination from the tournament, Ballack gave an interview saying that his international career was not yet over and that he hopes to be fit for the European Championships in 2012.
The tension within the German camp was raised further when Philipp Lahm came out in an interview and said that he would like to retain the captaincy beyond the tournament. Since there cannot be two captains, this was clearly a statement of intent from the Bayern Munich defender, who it appears feels that he has earned the right to keep the arm band.
Since then there have been debates on who the German Football Federation will choose, Ballack or Lahm. If the German officials thought their decision was going to be easy, they were sorely mistaken because Ballack made it clear that he was not going to hand over the captaincy without a fight.
In an interview after re-joining his old club Bayer Leverkusen Michael Ballack said that to him there was no issue at all, he was the captain of the German football team and that was all there was to it. The former Chelsea midfielder went on to say that players need to be mindful of hierarchies present within a team and they cannot just go around asking for the position they want.
Ballack, however, was quick to stress that he had no problem at all with Lahm and that the matter will be quickly resolved when the team met for a talk soon. Ballack also congratulated Lahm on his marriage and wished him the best in future endeavours.
One wonders whether the best wishes extent to Lahm's ambition of becoming the next German captain. It is difficult to say whether Lahm has the same leadership abilities that Ballack has in abundance and although Ballack is near the end of his career, if he is fit enough to be selected for Germany, then surely he should be allowed to continue being the Captain because his leadership abilities have never been in question.
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