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| Michael Ballack |
2006–07 season
Ballack's debut for Chelsea came on 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. Upon doing so, William Gallas, who previously wore the number 13 shirt for Chelsea, was given the number 3 shirt. This move created animosity between Gallas and the club as Gallas felt that he was underappreciated. On 27 August 2006, Ballack made his Premier League debut for Chelsea against Blackburn Rovers. On 12 September, he scored his first goal for the club on his Champions League debut against Werder Bremen.
He received the first straight red card of his career in Chelsea's 1–0 win over Liverpool on 17 September 2006, after being judged to have stamped on Mohamed Sissoko's leg. Ballack scored his first Premier League goal on 21 October 2006 against Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge with a header. His first FA Cup goal came in the 109th minute in the semi-final against Blackburn on 15 April 2007. This goal resulted in Chelsea progressing into the FA Cup final. He scored eight goals in all competitions for the club in the 2006–07 season, including a free-kick against Everton at Goodison Park, as well as a half-volley against Porto which sent Chelsea through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Throughout his first season at Chelsea, Ballack was criticised for his lethargic performances – for playing as though he had "a huge cigar in his mouth".
On 29 April 2007, Chelsea released a statement on their official website, informing fans that Ballack had undergone ankle surgery in Munich. As a result, 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 League Cup, the final of which he started.
2007–08 season
Despite persistent rumours in the summer 2007 transfer window, Ballack denied that he wanted to leave and no such move materialised. Chelsea left Ballack out of their Champions League squad for the 2007–08 group stage as they realised that his injury would prevent him from playing any useful part and preferred to select the fully fit Steve Sidwell. The German international had an ankle operation in the summer and Chelsea could not take the risk of him not regaining full fitness before the end of the group stage. Thus, Ballack could not play in the Champions League before the knockout stages began in February. The club was only able to select 23 out of a possible 25 players for their Champions League squad due to the new UEFA regulations on "association-trained players" and "club-trained players". Due to this regulation, Chelsea were also unable to select young player Scott Sinclair and could only pick 23 players as their only "club-trained player" was John Terry. For this reason, it was deemed unwise to gamble on Ballack being fit at some point.
Ballack made his return to the side in Chelsea's 2–0 League Cup win over Liverpool on 19 December 2007. Ballack tallied an assist late in the game to striker Andriy Shevchenko. On 26 December 2007, Ballack made his Premier League return in a thrilling game against Aston Villa which ended 4–4. He came on for Frank Lampard in the 26th minute after the latter had picked up a thigh injury. In first-half stoppage time, he won a penalty after being brought down in the box by Zat Knight, which Andriy Shevchenko converted. In the 88th minute, with the score tied at 3–3, Ballack stepped up to take a free-kick, which he buried into the bottom left corner of the goal, but the match ended in a 4–4 draw.
Ballack captained the Chelsea team in the absence of captain John Terry and vice-captain Frank Lampard in a 2–1 win over Newcastle United on 29 December 2007. Ballack then played his 50th game in a Chelsea shirt in a 2–1 win against Fulham in which he scored the winning goal for Chelsea.
He also scored the only goal that won the match for Chelsea against Reading to extend the blues' winning streak to a record of nine. And, on 5 March 2007, he scored again, this time against Olympiacos in the Champions League round of 16 in a 3–0 win. He scored the winning goal in the 2–0 win in the second leg of the quarter-finals against Fenerbahçe, a victory that secured Chelsea a place in the semi-finals.
Ballack continued to score vital goals and, on 26 April 2008, he scored a header and a penalty to give Chelsea a 2–1 win over Manchester United. He was named Man of The Match for his performance. It brought the two teams level in the race for the Premier League title only two matchdays before the end of the season.
The season ended on a low note for Ballack as Chelsea finished runners-up in the League Cup, Premier League and Champions League. This completed another treble horror for Ballack and his club. On 29 June 2008, Germany, captained by Ballack, lost to Spain 1–0 in the final of UEFA Euro 2008. This became the second season in Ballack's career after 2002 that he was runner-up for four major trophies.
2008–09 season
The 2008–09 season started well for Ballack, as he set up Joe Cole to score the first goal in a 4–0 win over Portsmouth in the first game of the season. Ballack was injured shortly after missing the games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Ballack's return from injury has been a lift for Chelsea as he set up Deco to score a scissor kick in a 2–0 win against Bolton Wanderers. Ballack's first goal of the '09 season came against Southend United in their FA Cup replay, a match which Chelsea went on to win 4–1. Ballack's first Premier League goal of the 2008–09 season came on 11 April 2009 in a match against Bolton, ending 4–3 for Chelsea. He came on as a second-half substitute as Chelsea won the 2009 FA Cup final. On 2 June 2009, Ballack signed a one-year contract extension with Chelsea.
2009–10 season
In Chelsea's second game of the season, away at Sunderland, Ballack scored his first goal of the 2009–10 campaign in their 3–1 win. Ballack also scored against Burnley in a 3–0 win. Ballack made his first Champions League appearance for the season against Porto. On 20 September 2009, he scored his third league goal, against Tottenham. On 17 January 2010, he scored his fourth league goal and third assist in a 7–2 win against Sunderland. In Chelsea's fifth round FA Cup tie against Cardiff City, Ballack scored the goal which put the Blues back in front; Chelsea ultimately won 4–1.
Ballack was sent off in Chelsea's 4–2 defeat against Manchester City on 27 February 2010. Chelsea went on to win the 2009–10 Premier League, Ballack's first league title in England. He also started as Chelsea were victorious against Portsmouth in the 2010 FA Cup final, however he would come off injured shortly before half-time after a tackle by Kevin-Prince Boateng. As a result of the injury, Ballack was not able to participate in the 2010 World Cup.
On 9 June 2010, it was announced that Ballack, along with teammates Joe Cole and Juliano Belletti, would leave Chelsea on a free transfer after his contract was not renewed. It was reported that while manager Carlo Ancelotti wanted to retain Ballack, club owner Roman Abramovich was only willing to offer a one-year deal due to Ballack's age.
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