26 September: Ballack and Bearzot

Michael Ballack

A boy from East Germany

He was born in Görlitz, on the Polish border, when the German Democratic Republic still existed, and grew up in Karl-Marx-Stadt, the city that went back to being Chemnitz after reunification. He made his debut for Chemnitzer FC and in 1997 joined Kaiserslautern.

There he lived through something unrepeatable: Kaiserslautern had just come up from the second division and won the 1998 Bundesliga as a newly promoted side. Ballack was a twenty-one-year-old substitute, but he was already in the picture.

2002: the year of three runner-up finishes

At Klaus Toppmöller's Bayer Leverkusen he became a star, and the 2001-02 season defines his career. Leverkusen lost the Bundesliga in the final weeks, lost the cup final to Schalke and lost the Champions League final in Glasgow to Real Madrid, the one with Zidane's volley. Three second places in three weeks.

A month later came the World Cup in Korea and Japan. In the semi-final against the co-hosts, Ballack picked up a yellow card that ruled him out of the final, and four minutes later scored the goal that put Germany into it. He knew he would not play. Germany lost it 2-0 to Brazil and he watched from the bench.

Bayern, Chelsea and Vienna

With Bayern he won three league and cup doubles in four seasons, and in 2006 he joined Mourinho's Chelsea. In London he won a Premier League, three FA Cups and a League Cup, but he lost the Champions League final again in 2008, in Moscow: on penalties against Manchester United, even though he scored his.

That same summer he captained Germany in the Euro final in Vienna. Spain won it, with Fernando Torres's goal, and that night began the greatest era in Spanish national team history.

The final blow

In May 2010, in the FA Cup final against Portsmouth, a tackle from Kevin-Prince Boateng broke his ankle. He missed the World Cup in South Africa, the one he was going to play as captain. Germany became a new, young team at that tournament, and Ballack was never called up again.

He went back to Leverkusen and retired in 2012. The eternal runner-up label follows him around, but few careers show so clearly that in football losing a final means, first of all, having got there.

Also born on 26 September

Enzo Bearzot, the Old Man

🎂 would have turned 99

From Aiello in Friuli, he was an unremarkable midfielder for Inter and Torino with a single cap for Italy. As a manager, though, he is among the greats: he was Italy's manager from 1975 to 1986, more than a hundred games in charge of the azzurri.

His 1978 World Cup in Argentina, with a more attacking football than Italy were used to, ended in fourth place. Spain 1982 started terribly: three draws in the first round and a press calling for his head, above all for having picked Paolo Rossi, who was coming off a two-year ban. The players answered with the silenzio stampa, the first great media blackout by a national team at a World Cup, and Bearzot backed them to a man.

What happened next is written on this very page, day by day: Gentile shutting down Maradona and Zico, Rossi scoring six goals, Tardelli screaming at the Bernabéu. Rossi was born on 23 September, Tardelli on the 24th, Bearzot on the 26th and Gentile on the 27th. Half a World Cup was born in one week.

He died in Milan in December 2010. Always with his pipe between his teeth.

Born26 September 1927

Died21 December 2010

CountryItaly

Positiondefender

Clubs

• A.S. Pro Gorizia 1946-1948 · 2 goals
• Inter de Milán 1948-1951
• Catania Football Club 1951-1954 · 5 goals
• Torino Football Club 1954-1956 · 1 goals
• Inter de Milán 1956-1957
• Torino Football Club 1957-1964 · 7 goals

National teamSelección de fútbol de Italia

Honours

World Cup 1982 (manager)

Other awards

Gran Oficial de la Orden al Mérito de la República italiana 1982Salón de la Fama del fútbol italiano 2011

↻ Dates, clubs and individual awards come from Wikidata and update themselves

🔴⚪ Sporting Gijón players born this day

They played for Sporting Gijón and were born on this same day. There is only their data here: we would rather name them than leave them out, and rather give the bare facts than invent a story.

Another 45 internationally known footballers were born on this day. We do not list them for the sake of it: only those with a story to tell make it here.

Dates, clubs, individual awards and photos come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, under free licences, and update themselves. Ages are not written anywhere: they are calculated the moment you open the page, so this page always shows the right age, this year and twenty years from now. If any of these players signs for another club or wins an award, their profile picks it up on its own. What is written by hand is the story and the judgement: who the day belongs to, and why.