Ballack’s Germany career over

BERLIN – Longtime captain Michael Ballack’s Germany career is over, the German football federation said yesterday, ending months of speculation about his future.
The 34-year-old midfielder has 98 caps but has not played for Germany in more than a year and missed seven months with an ankle injury, including last year’s World Cup in South Africa, where Germany finished third.

Coach Joachim Loew had left Ballack nominally in place as captain, but left him out of the Germany squad recently despite a strong end to the season.On Thursday, however, the federation said Ballack won’t be part of the squad in future – though it would like him to play one last game as captain in a friendly against Brazil on August 10.Loew said recent months have brought many young players to the fore who have ‘good prospects.’’In our talks, I had the impression that Michael definitely understands our point of view,’ Loew said. ‘So in the interest of everyone, an honest and clear decision is now appropriate.’The coach lauded Ballack’s achievements over nearly a decade with the national team, saying that ‘he has an enormous share in the team’s great successes since the 2002 World Cup’ – where Ballack helped power Germany to the final.’He marked an era and, as captain, always put himself at the service of the team,’ Loew said.Loew’s young team has all but qualified already for next year’s European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. It has seven wins in seven qualifying matches. – Nampa-AP

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