Soccer: Ballack inspires German revival

MONCHENGLADBACH - Two things stand out from Germany's impressive victory over Colombia.

The first is that Jurgen Klinsmann's rapidly improving team are a decent bet to reach the last four (and should not be dismissed as potential winners). The second is that if they are forced to be without Michael Ballack, they will be a side bereft of inspiration and guile.

The newly recruited Chelsea midfielder not only headed the opening goal in a 3-0 triumph, he also orchestrated a performance that supplied a well-deserved dose of confidence to a promising, youthful, team, who open the tournament on Saturday morning in Munich against Costa Rica.

Ballack, of course, missed the 2002 final in Yokohama after scoring a decisive semifinal goal against South Korea and then being cautioned for a selfless foul that ensured his team's place in the showpiece and his personal absence.

This time he deserves better, because if his teammates rise to the occasion, this world-class footballer has all the skills to grace the greatest stage of all.

At 29, Ballack is at his peak, a player of grace and improvisation, but also a destructive shield who breaks up the opposition.

He is, in short, a creator, warrior and goalscorer, as Fifa's preview publication describes him, and his influence against Colombia was stark. He is the heart and soul of this team, a spokesman and critic.

As Klinsmann's captain, he has already shown the kind of healthy independence that his coach always demonstrated in questioning the shape and tactics of a team and squad that until very recently looked doomed to be among the chorus line in a lavish World Cup production.

"Berlin, Berlin, wir fahren nach Berlin," ("We're going to Berlin") echoed around the stadium as the 45,000-capacity crowd caught World Cup fever.

Klinsmann, shirt-sleeved, casual and relaxed, stretched and smiled on his seat. His easy self-confidence and cool demeanour have clearly infected his squad and there is a modern and contemporary style to the obvious team spirit he has built.

Ballack embodies this of course, but so do his teammates. Philipp Lahm, 22, of Bayern Munich, who returned after injury with his elbow in a cast, 21-year-old striker Lukas Podolski of Cologne and midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, also 21, represent a new generation.

Of these, Lahm delivered the most significant performance. Klinsmann finally seems to have settled on a back four of Arne Friedrich, Christoph Metzelder, Per Mertesacker and Lahm in a 4-4-2 formation that uses Torsten Frings at the base of a midfield diamond with Bernd Schneider on the right and Schweinsteiger on the left, and Ballack at the attacking tip. Podloski was partnered here by Miroslav Klose.

"It went very well and it was an important part of the match for us that Lahm performed," said Klinsmann. "Now he's fully able to go after the ball without fear. That gives us confidence."

In 15 appearances in the finals, Germany have made the semifinals 10 times, reached the final seven times and lifted the trophy three times. What price a fourth?

- INDEPENDENT