Ballack to regain captaincy says Loew
Germany's national team manager, Joachim Loew, has announced that Michael Ballack will continue to captain the team when he returns from injury, despite his absence from the 2010 World Cup.
Defender Philipp Lahm took over the captaincy in South Africa, providing fine leadership as the young German side came third in the tournament. Lahm's success as captain led to speculation that Ballack would not regain the captaincy.
But on Germany's opening qualifier against Belgium on Friday, Loew said that Ballack will once again captain the side when he recovers from the ankle injury that kept him out of the World Cup. "After a personal, open and trustful talk with Michael Ballack, I have decided that he will continue to be captain of our team," the manager said at a press conference. "Philipp Lahm, who stood in excellently as captain at the World Cup, is Michael's deputy. When Philipp is not available, Bastian Schweinsteiger takes the armband."
Loew, who has coached Germany since Jurgen Klinnsman, and left the post after the 2006 World Cup, also confirmed that Manuel Neuer will be his first-choice goalkeeper during the qualifiers, just as he was during the World Cup.
Loew's World Cup squad was the second youngest at the tournament, with an average age of only twenty-five. Ballack's return to the German team will add some experience to the German team.
Back where he started
Ballack rose to prominence at Bayer Leverkursen between 1999 and 2002. Despite finishing as runner-up in the Bundesliga and losing the Champions League, German Cup and World Cup finals in 2002, his form attracted the interest of Bayern Munich, with whom he signed after the World Cup that year. Between 2006 and 2010, Ballack made 105 appearances during a relatively disappointing spell at Chelsea. In June, he returned to Leverkursen on a two-year deal.
Germany is travelling to Belgium on Friday before hosting Azerbaijan on Monday.
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