German efficiency reinforced

T.N.Raghu

Michael Ballack made the biggest impact of his tenure in England against Manchester United. The German’s brace in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over United on Saturday has injected life into the Premier League title race. After heading in the Blues ahead early on, Ballack coolly dispatched a penalty, six minutes from time to shock United. Chelsea and United are level on points with two matches remaining in the current campaign. Though the Red Devils enjoy a superior goal difference over the London club, they cannot afford to drop a point against West Ham and Wigan.

Chelsea were not in the title mix midway through this season. Their much-maligned manager Avram Grant deserves credit for taking them to the doorstep of an improbable title. Ballack, the man of the moment, grabbed his chances when his team needed him to be at his sharpest. The towering midfielder has reinforced the unwritten rule in world football that Germans are the masters from the spot. According to statistics, Germany have never lost a shootout in major tournaments, the World Cup and the Euro, in the last three decades. When a tiebreaker involves Germany, the result is a foregone conclusion.

The famed German composure was at work against United as well. Shouldering the penalty responsibility in the absence of Frank Lampard, who was mourning his mother’s death, Ballack slotted in the spot kick, robot-like, to earn three invaluable points for Chelsea. It’s a fair bet that an Englishman would have blasted the kick into the stands. England’s record in shootouts is decidedly pathetic ever since they perished from the spot at the hands of Germany in the 1990 World Cup. The founders of the game went out of the 2006 World Cup and the 2004 Euro on penalties. England stars are a bundle of nerves from the dreaded spot. Taking penalties is a perilous business for them. Coles, Ashley or Joe, would have made Chelsea pay the penalty. The Blues would have wanted a man of strong character to step in. In Ballack, they had a Teutonic mix of steel and efficiency. If Chelsea snatch the title from the lap of United, the German deserves special bonus.