8 July 2006 - Germany Ends On A High Note (But Not The Highest Note)

On 8 July 2006, hosts Germany ended the World Cup with a win. But it was in the third-place match.

The three-time champions entered the tournament as favorites, having finished as runners-up in 2002. And they lived up to that tag as one of only four teams to win all three of their first-round matches (with Portugal, Brazil, and Spain), followed by a 2-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 16 that was more comfortable than the scoreline suggested. They advanced over Argentina on penalties in the quarterfinals, but then suffered a shocking loss to Italy in extra time to drop down to the third-place game (Italy beat them 2-0 with goals in the 119th and 120th minutes).

There, they faced Portugal, who had similarly needed penalties to get out of the quarterfinals over England, then fell to France 1-0 in the semis.

Playing before a crowd of 52,000 in Stuttgart, the two teams remained scoreless through the first half due in part to outstanding play from goalkeepers Ricardo and Oliver Kahn. It was the first appearance in the tournament for Kahn, who had been dropped as started in favor of Jens Lehmann, but got the nod over Lehmann for the third-place match, He also took over as captain in place of the injured Michael Ballack.

The Germans quickly took charge in the second half, with a brace from midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (pictured) (56', 78') sandwiched around an own goal from Portugal substitute midfielder Petit (60'). Portugal pulled one back with a goal from Nuno Gomes in the 88th minute and the day ended as a 3-1 win for Germany.

The match was Kahn's 86th and final international appearance.

21 June 2002 - Germany Probably Would Have Won A Penalty Shootout, Anyway

On 21 June 2002, the United States suffered a close--and controversial--loss to Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals.

The two teams met at the Munsu Cup Stadium in Ulsan, South Korea, where a crowd of 37,337 gathered for the event. Despite entering the match as heavy underdogs, the US applied heavy pressure on the three-time World Cup champions from the opening minutes, with forwards Brian McBride and Landon Donovan both forcing early saves from keeper Oliver Kahn. The 20-year old Donovan posed a potent threat throughout the match, peppering the German goal with shots.

The Germans had a couple of early chances of their own before taking the lead with a 39th-minute header from midfielder Michael Ballack. Miroslav Klose almost added another before the break, but was denied by a brilliant save from US keeper Brad Friedel.

Shortly after the restart, the US thought they had a equalizer. A volley from center back Gregg Berhalter beat Kahn and appeared to cross the line, but struck the arm of German defender Torsten Frings and bounced back out. The US players appealed for the referee to award either a goal or a handball penalty, but were unsuccessful. 

Although the Americans outshot the Germans 11 to 6 and dominated possession (58% to 42%), the Germans held on for the 1-0 victory and advanced, eventually finishing as runners-up to Brazil.

6 September 2006 - Just When You Think It Couldn't Get Any Worse

On 6 September 2006, Germany handed a record loss to a team used to losing, beating San Marino 0-13 in a European Championship qualification match. 

The third-smallest nation in Europe (behind the Vatican and Monaco), San Marino is a republic wholly contained within Italy. Their national team played their first unofficial match in 1986 and their first official one in 1990. They lost both matches. In fact, throughout their history, San Marino have lost almost every match they've played--out of 107 official matches, they have drawn three and won one (a 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein in 2004). 

Before the match against Germany, San Marino's worst defeat had been a 10-0 loss at the hands of Norway in 1992. But playing at San Marino's Stadio Olimpico, the Germans were closing in on hat number by the break, beating keeper Aldo Simoncini six times goals from Lukas Podolski (11', 43'), Bastian Schweinsteiger (28'), Miroslav Klose (30', 45'), and Michael Ballack (35'). 

The second half continued the pattern of the first, with more goals from Schweinsteiger (47') and Podolski (64', 72'), as well as strikes from Thomas Hitzlsperger (66', 72') and Manuel Friedrich (87'). Then, in the 90th minute, with Germany leading 0-12, the referee awarded them a penalty kick, which Bernd Schneider converted for the final tally of 13. 

Although the scoreline set a new record for San Marino, it wasn't Germany's greatest win. That came in the 1912 Summer Olympics with a 16-0 victory over Russia.

4 December 2009 - Maybe The Goalkeepers Spoke A Bit Too Soon

On 4 December 2009, Adidas introduced their controversial new match ball for the 2010 World Cup, the Jabulani.

Named after the Zulu word for "celebrate," the ball was made from eight spherically molded panels and had a textured surface designed to improve its aerodynamics. The result was unpredictable flight behavior which drew heavy criticism from several players. Goalkeepers were particularly unhappy, including Brazil's Julio Cesar, who called it a "supermarket ball," Spain's Iker Casillas, who said it was "horrible," and Italy's Gianluigi Buffon, who said it was "absolutely inadequate."

Predictably, players contracted to Adidas provided more favorable reviews, including such high-profile stars as Kaká ("just great"), Michael Ballack ("fantastic"), and Frank Lampard ("very strong").

The overall effect appeared to be a reduction in goalscoring, as the tournament had only 145 goals, the fewest of any World Cup since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.

4 August 1995 - Ballack Begins

On 4 August 1995, 18-year old Michael Ballack made his professional debut for 2.Bundesliga side Chemnitzer FC. He would go on the become a three-time German Footballer of the Year, winning four Bundesliga titles and one Premier League title.

Chemnitzer lost Ballack's first match, 2-1 against VfB Leipzig, and were relegated at the end of the season. Ballack remained with them for one season in the third division, then moved to the top flight in 1997 with Kaiserslautern. He spent two seasons with Kaiserslautern, winning his first Bundesliga title in 1998, then played three seasons for Bayer Leverkusen (1999-2002) before moving to Bayern Munich. He enjoyed his greatest success at Bayern, winning league and German Cup doubles in 2003, 2005, and 2006.

In 2006, Ballack moved again, this time to Chelsea FC, helping the Blues to the FA Cup in his first season. Another FA Cup followed in 2008, the same year Chelsea advanced to the Champions League Final, then he won the fourth double of his career with the 2010 FA Cup and Premier League title.

Ballack returned to Bayer Leverkusen in 2010 and retired two years later.

8 July 2006 - Germany Ends On A High Note (But Not The Highest Note)

On 8 July 2006, hosts Germany ended the World Cup with a win. But it was in the third-place match.

The three-time champions entered the tournament as favorites, having finished as runners-up in 2002. And they lived up to that tag as one of only four teams to win all three of their first-round matches (with Portugal, Brazil, and Spain), followed by a 2-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 16 that was more comfortable than the scoreline suggested. They advanced over Argentina on penalties in the quarterfinals, but then suffered a shocking loss to Italy in extra time to drop down to the third-place game (Italy beat them 2-0 with goals in the 119th and 120th minutes).

There, they faced Portugal, who had similarly needed penalties to get out of the quarterfinals over England, then fell to France 1-0 in the semis.

Playing before a crowd of 52,000 in Stuttgart, the two teams remained scoreless through the first half due in part to outstanding play from goalkeepers Ricardo and Oliver Kahn. It was the first appearance in the tournament for Kahn, who had been dropped as started in favor of Jens Lehmann, but got the nod over Lehmann for the third-place match, He also took over as captain in place of the injured Michael Ballack.

The Germans quickly took charge in the second half, with a brace from midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (pictured) (56', 78') sandwiched around an own goal from Portugal substitute midfielder Petit (60'). Portugal pulled one back with a goal from Nuno Gomes in the 88th minute and the day ended as a 3-1 win for Germany.

The match was Kahn's last international appearance, with his total of 86 caps putting him in a tie for fifteenth on Germany's all-time appearances table.

21 June 2002 - Germany Probably Would Have Won A Penalty Shootout, Anyway

On 21 June 2002, the United States suffered a close--and controversial--loss to Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals.

The two teams met at the Munsu Cup Stadium in Ulsan, South Korea, where a crowd of 37,337 gathered for the event. Despite entering the match as heavy underdogs, the US applied heavy pressure on the three-time World Cup champions from the opening minutes, with forwards Brian McBride and Landon Donovan both forcing early saves from keeper Oliver Kahn. The 20-year old Donovan posed a potent threat throughout the match, peppering the German goal with shots.

The Germans had a couple of early chances of their own before taking the lead with a 39th-minute header from midfielder Michael Ballack. Miroslav Klose almost added another before the break, but was denied by a brilliant save from US keeper Brad Friedel.

Shortly after the restart, the US thought they had a equalizer. A volley from center back Gregg Berhalter beat Kahn and appeared to cross the line, but struck the arm of German defender Torsten Frings and bounced back out. The US players appealed for the referee to award either a goal or a handball penalty, but were unsuccessful.

Although the Americans outshot the Germans 11 to 6 and dominated possession (58% to 42%), the Germans held on for the 1-0 victory and advanced, eventually finishing as runners-up to Brazil.

6 September 2006 - Just When You Think It Couldn't Get Any Worse

On 6 September 2006, Germany handed a record loss to a team used to losing, beating San Marino 0-13 in a European Championship qualification match.

The third-smallest nation in Europe (behind the Vatican and Monaco), San Marino is a republic wholly contained within Italy. Their national team played their first unofficial match in 1986 and their first official one in 1990. They lost both matches. In fact, throughout their history, San Marino have lost almost every match they've played--out of 107 official matches, they have drawn three and won one (a 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein in 2004).

Before the match against Germany, San Marino's worst defeat had been a 10-0 loss at the hands of Norway in 1992. But playing at San Marino's Stadio Olimpico, the Germans were closing in on hat number by the break, beating keeper Aldo Simoncini six times goals from Lukas Podolski (11', 43'), Bastian Schweinsteiger (28'), Miroslav Klose (30', 45'), and Michael Ballack (35').

The second half continued the pattern of the first, with more goals from Schweinsteiger (47') and Podolski (64', 72'), as well as strikes from Thomas Hitzlsperger (66', 72') and Manuel Friedrich (87'). Then, in the 90th minute, with Germany leading 0-12, the referee awarded them a penalty kick, which Bernd Schneider converted for the final tally of 13.

Although the scoreline set a new record for San Marino, it wasn't Germany's greatest win. That came in the 1912 Summer Olympics with a 16-0 victory over Russia.

4 December 2009 - Maybe The Goalkeepers Spoke A Bit Too Soon

On 4 December 2009, Adidas introduced their controversial new match ball for the 2010 World Cup, the Jabulani.

Named after the Zulu word for "celebrate," the ball was made from eight spherically molded panels and had a textured surface designed to improve its aerodynamics. The result was unpredictable flight behavior which drew heavy criticism from several players. Goalkeepers were particularly unhappy, including Brazil's Julio Cesar, who called it a "supermarket ball," Spain's Iker Casillas, who said it was "horrible," and Italy's Gianluigi Buffon, who said it was "absolutely inadequate."

Predictably, players contracted to Adidas provided more favorable reviews, including such high-profile stars as Kaká ("just great"), Michael Ballack ("fantastic"), and Frank Lampard ("very strong").

The overall effect appeared to be a reduction in goalscoring, as the tournament had only 145 goals, the fewest of any World Cup since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998.

4 August 1995 - Ballack Begins

On 4 August 1995, 18-year old Michael Ballack made his professional debut for 2.Bundesliga side Chemnitzer FC. He would go on the become a three-time German Footballer of the Year, winning four Bundesliga titles and one Premier League title.

Chemnitzer lost Ballack's first match, 2-1 against VfB Leipzig, and were relegated at the end of the season. Ballack remained with them for one season in the third division, then moved to the top flight in 1997 with Kaiserslautern. He spent two seasons with Kaiserslautern, winning his first Bundesliga title in 1998, then played three seasons for Bayer Leverkusen (1999-2002) before moving to Bayern Munich. He enjoyed his greatest success at Bayern, winning league and German Cup doubles in 2003, 2005, and 2006.

In 2006, Ballack moved again, this time to Chelsea FC, helping the Blues to the FA Cup in his first season. Another FA Cup followed in 2008, the same year Chelsea advanced to the Champions League Final, then he won the fourth double of his career with the 2010 FA Cup and Premier League title.

Ballack recently returned to Bayer Leverkusen, signing a 2-year contract in the summer of 2010.

21 May 2008 - Chelsea's Trophy Slipped Away

On 21 May 2008, Manchester United defeated Chelsea in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow before a crowd of over 67,000. The match was the first all-English European Cup final as well as the first one held in Russia.

The two teams entered the Final having finished the English Premier League season in the top two spots. United won the league, only two points ahead of the Blues.

United winger Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a header in the 26th minute. Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard then equalized in the 45th minute.

Chelsea carried the momentum into the second half, in which they continually pressured United. Michael Essien, Michael Ballack, and Didier Drogba all had good chances to put Chelsea ahead, but their shots just missed the goal. The teams ended the second half still tied at 1-1 and went into extra time, where Drogba received a red card in the 116th minute for hitting United defender Nemanja Vidić. The teams finished extra time still at 1-1 and advanced to penalty kicks.

United went first and, through nine kicks, the teams were tied at 4-4, with Chelsea keeper Petr Cech having made a diving save to keep Ronaldo's shot out. Chelsea defender and captain John Terry then stepped up to take what would have been the winning kick, but he slipped and sent his shot wide.

On the fourth kick of sudden death, United keeper Edwin Van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka's kick, giving United a 6-5 win on penalties and the club's third European Cup trophy.