World Cup qual - German FA: Ballack must graft

Eurosport - Wed, 08 Apr 15:28:00 2009

Michael Ballack must establish his authority through hard work, according to the German FA.

FOOTBALL 2008 World Cup qual Germany Podolski Ballack - 0

Ballack had a public row with striker Lukas Podolski during this month's 2-0 World Cup qualifying win in Wales.

He was pushed away by the forward after telling him to run more, with Podolski's hand hitting the captain's face and leaving Ballack visibly irritated by the incident.

German media labelled the affair "the slap" and, although Podolski was reprimanded and has since apologised, German soccer federation chief Theo Zwanziger said it was up to Ballack to lead by example on the pitch.

"A captain must not only talk," Zwanziger told Sport Bild magazine.

"Michael Ballack must be present as a player and a runner. Just like he did against Wales.

"If he continues playing on that level then he will not be doubted and will not lose any of his authority," Zwanziger said.

Ballack scored Germany's first goal in the victory over Wales on April 1 with a beautiful long-range effort to help keep his team four points clear at the top of Group Four.

But the win was overshadowed by the dispute on the pitch that triggered memories of last year when a public spat between Ballack and Germany coach Joachim Loew briefly led to the captain being dropped.

Germany went on to lose two consecutive home games against England and Norway - both friendlies - before beating Liechtenstein and Wales in their recent World Cup qualifiers with Ballack scoring the first goal in both matches.

Reuters

Comment 1 - 3 of 3

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. ballack has controlled germany's last 2 games.­ capatain and leader. the manager on the park. what if­ he slapped lowe

    From yip, on Wed 8 Apr 10:19PM

  2. podolski is totally wrong in what he did, to disobey­ the captain on the field,.. he shd be benched or even­ dismissed from the national team, bcos he is showing­ other young ones the wrong thing to do to a senior­ player and the captain... i think he shd be properly­ PUNISHED..

    From ihuoma, on Wed 8 Apr 4:04PM

  3. So, is it Ok for a player to disobey his captain when­ he gives a tactical order and it's also ok to slap­ him if he disagrees? So, Podolski was right and Ballack­ was wrong? It's awful. Sometimes I want to slap­ Ballack, but I think Lukas was wrong and should be­ benched for a while. If he isn't, Germany is­ sending the wrong message to their young players: DO as­ you like, you won't be punished. Discipline and­ respect mean nothing.

    From Lianie G, on Wed 8 Apr 3:45PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account