Ballack Intends To Take The Captain's Armband Back From Lahm, But It Could Destabilize The German Squad.
Michael Ballack’s stubbornness to surrender the German national team captain’s armband to Philipp Lahm may lead to a split in the national team dressing room whether Ballack takes the captaincy from Lahm or not. Ballack’s inclusion in the team altogether should be be questioned because as things stand Sami Khedira is doing an impressive job, and Germany’s entire 23-man squad seemed to be in full support of Lahm and his role as captai
Philipp Lahm and Michael Ballack have both spoken to the German press on the issue, with neither player coming to terms with the other. Lahm has said that he is ‘very comfortable in the role’ and that he feels ‘nothing has changed’ and the armband should remain his for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, Michael Ballack has been very forthright with his opinion on taking the captain’s armband back from Lahm and leading Germany into the 2012 European Championships.
While Ballack has been a great player for the German national team, he’s really nearing the end of his career and his inclusion in the team may both slow down the magnificent German counter-attack that was on display during the World Cup, and may create a disruption in the dressing room that could really destablizie the side after seeming to be so together during the World Cup.
What does Joachim Loew do? At the end of the day, he will be the one who makes the decision on the captaincy issue. I believe Lahm should retain the armband and Michael Ballack should be made to earn his place in the side again by performing at club level with Bayer Leverkusen this season. Ballack should not be allowed to simply just waltz back into the side and expect the armband and expect to start over Sami Khedira. Loew has a lot to think about before Germany’s first European Championship qualifier against Belgium on September 3rd.
