Climbdown gives Ballack a second life

MICHAEL BALLACK will be glad his apology for sniping at Joachim Löw in a newspaper interview was accepted by the German national coach and has finally put and end to a week of drama in the German national camp.

The pair met for talks in Frankfurt on Thursday in the wake of comments made by the 32-year-old midfielder and yesterday Löw declared: "Michael Ballack remains my captain."

There had been doubts remaining about whether Ballack's climbdown had cleared the poisoned atmosphere between veteran players and management as the World Cup qualification continues.

The row began when the Chelsea player said in an interview last week what, he says, many older players on the team feel: that Löw is treating badly veterans of the 2006 World Cup side.

Ahead of Germany's World Cup qualifier wins over Russia and Wales, Löw raised some player hackles by saying that no player had an automatic right to a place on the team.

The new departure, choosing players on merit rather than seniority, was a radical step intended, he said, to encourage younger players. But veterans like Christoph Metzelder and Torsten Frings took it as an affront.

"Experienced national players deserve at least some respect and loyalty," said Ballack in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper last week. "There was a group of experienced players in that squad like Torsten Frings, Miroslav Klose and me whose achievements have suddenly been questioned and we find ourselves under attack."

The German coach has been less than impressed with Ballack's recent international performances. But Löw hit the roof when he read Ballack's interview, telling colleagues he "wasn't going to take this lying down". He summoned the Chelsea player for a meeting, but Ballack's foot injury meant he was unable to attend.

To defuse the situation, Ballack has admitted his megaphone diplomacy was a mistake.

"I realised it was not right to go public and I also regret the impression was created that I wanted to criticise Joachim Löw in his position as Germany coach personally," he said yesterday. "I have apologised to Joachim Low for that. He is the Germany coach and he takes the decisions and we all have to accept that."

Löw, for his part, said in a statement: "I am delighted that an excellent national team player who has played a major part in our success over the last few years is still available for selection and will continue to help us in achieving the goals we have set on the way to the 2010 World Cup."

Matters came to a head three weeks ago when Löw remarked that there was "only one coach whose decisions the players should comply with" - and dropped Kevin Kuranyi and Torsten Frings.

Rainer Holzschuh, editor of Kicker sports newspaper, says the row is part of a generational conflict within the German team. Making matters worse, he says, is Ballack's insecurity after months plagued by injury and poor form. "He's noticed that he's no longer the indisputable captain," says Holzschuh.

Ballack has learned a valuable lesson, that media outbursts seldom have the desired effect.

Former German captain Lothar Matthäus, who found himself in a similar stand-off with trainer Berti Vogts at the 1994 World Cup, also criticised Ballack's outburst. "Löw is perfectly right," he said. "The players should let their performances do the talking, not their mouths."

As the dust begins to clear, it's clear that Ballack cannot count on public support either. A Kicker poll of 50,000 readers found two thirds of readers siding with Löw.

"The simple fact is that the World Cup qualification has both Ballack and Löw are under pressure," adds Holzschuh. "Ballack has to prove he is back on form to head the team or he'll be shut out. If that happens, Löw has to prove that the team can win even without Ballack."