Loew: Ballack's international career is over

It was Germany's worst kept secret in football and now it has been officially confirmed by national team coach Joachim Loew. The international career of former Germany captain Michael Ballack is now officially over and it is a sad end to the best footballer of his generation.

Loew made the announcement through a statement which read, "Michael Ballack will no longer be a part of the German national squad. I have discussed things openly with Michael Ballack, most recently in our meeting in March 2011 and in numerous phone calls."

"With the Euro 2012 season about to start the time has come for me to make a clear statement," Loew added.

This ends months of speculation if 34 year old Ballack would return to the German national team after Ballack was forced to miss the 2010 FIFA World Cup following a brutal foul by Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng in last years FA Cup final. Germany went on to play a great tournament with the youngsters showing that there was no need of their Kapitano as Ballack was fondly called.

After having to leave FC Chelsea last year he joint former club Bayer 04 Leverkusen and finished runners-up in the Bundesliga, a position which many recall in connection to Ballack, then he was never able to win a big trophy - FIFA World Cup, European Championship, UEFA Champions League - always finishing runners-up in big finals though winning numerous national titles with Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

"Michael Ballack was for a decade a very important leading player in the national side and contributed enormously to the great successes of the team after the 2002 World Cup," added Joachim Loew, who is Germany coach since 2006.

Ballack will continue to play for Bayer 04 Leverkusen and they will be playing UEFA Champions League next season, but it looks rather unlikely that Leverkusen would win the Champions League.

Loew and the German FA (DFB) plan to give Ballack a fitting farewell by offering him one last international game against Brazil in August in an international friendly. It would be Ballack's 99th international match, somehow this sums up his great career but having missed the key milestones.