Momento

The Ultimate Sacrifice

The Eternal Runner-Up

Ballack went on to play a lead role in helping to take Germany through the knockout rounds in search of total redemption on the global stage, and in the semi-final he committed a tactical, sacrificial foul to save his country (earning a yellow card suspension in the process), scoring the winning goal minutes later; on the final day the world's most tragic midfielder was relegated to the sidelines in a tracksuit as Brazil took the world.