The former Arsenal and Germany defender reveals his complete footballer — based on those he played with and against…
Heading – Miroslav Klose
I’ve never seen a player who could jump this high, with such an outstanding sense of timing.
He had a tiny backside but thighs like tree trunks. They generated an insane amount of power.
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Miro was more dangerous with his head in front of goal than with his feet. When we played against him, we said we had to try and cut out all high crosses at all cost.
We preferred him to get low balls to his feet. No-one really stood a chance against him once he was in full flight.
Intelligence – Philipp Lahm
Philipp always had a solution for every situation. I could pass him the ball in the tightest of spaces and he’d always wriggle out of it, having calculated all possible angles and moves in advance.
He was always in the right space at the right time, even going forward. I remember him scoring a big goal against Turkey in the Euro 2008 semi-final; the perfect player you’d want next to you as a back-up.
We also linked up well off the pitch. Philipp and me were asked to help with preparing the opposition scouting reports and tactical plans at the 2014 World Cup.
Left Foot – Ingo Anderbrugge or Lukas Podolski
Two different players but I have to take both — for different reasons.
I liked Ingo Anderbrugge, an attacking midfielder with Dortmund and Schalke through the late 1980s and 1990s, for his powerful left foot. His free kicks were almost like penalties. and you knew he’d trouble the keeper — and also for the way I saw him behave at the end of a Schalke friendly in the Hannover borough of Ricklingen.
After the final whistle, Anderbrugge and his team-mates were signing autographs for the fans. I managed to get one too, as a little boy, and that left a lasting impression on me.
Lukas was a phenomenon. The first thing he’d do after getting on to the pitch for training was to smack the ball cross-field into the far side of the goal and start laughing out loud.
Every single time. No warming up at all. Full power. The fitness coaches were always a little worried but it was never a problem for Lukas. His volleys, his shooting from the edge of the box… unstoppable.
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Right Foot – Michael Ballack
I will never forget Michael striking the ball for the decisive goal against Austria at Euro 2008.
We were really struggling to create any chances and desperately needed a win to get into the knockout round. Michael ran up and hit almost through the ball. He was still a couple of metres off the ground when the shot rocketed into the goal.
Ballack was an all-rounder without weaknesses, one of the last generation of players who had been educated in a specialised football school in the GDR (East Germany). He could stroke the ball gently, too. Against Mexico in the 2005 Confederations Cup, he curled one over the wall beautifully.
Michael was the absolute alpha male in the national team. He was tough. He was “the capitano” and everybody knew it. At the same time, though, Ballack didn’t shy away from handing out praise and getting everyone on board.
There was a crucial game, away to Russia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, when he called on us to look firmly into the Russians’ eyes as we walked through the tunnel. Our body language was supposed make it clear to them from the beginning that they wouldn’t have any joy against us. “We’ll intimidate them,” he said. We won.
Pace – Hector Bellerin
Hector and Theo Walcott were locked in a constant battle for clocking up the fastest sprint numbers at Arsenal. It was a big rivalry — a bit like (sprinters) Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson in the 1980s.
I always did better at those running tests than people expected, over the first ten metres at least. I only needed three long steps to get there. Over 30 metres, it was more difficult for me.
But Hector and Theo could not take being second-best. If one of them finished ahead by second or so, the other one would insist on trying again to do a faster time. Hector was just that little bit faster.
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Engine – Torsten Frings
The one Germany international to have a Breaking Bad character named after him* – true story.
The guy could run and run. He was everywhere. Mopping up in front of the defence, linking up with the attack between the boxes, playing in the half-spaces in a diamond or even wide up front, all in the same game.
His energy and attitude was absolutely inspiring. A real machine. A driving force.
Torsten was the first guy off the Werder Bremen team bus to face angry supporters, as well. They once waited for us, a good hundred-strong outside the training ground to have a go for us losing the derby against Hamburg.
I wanted to disappear at that moment but Torsten just went out, walked straight up to the irate crowd and won them round.
“We need you right now! If you don’t believe in us now, who will?” He was quiet in front of the microphone, almost shy, but talking to team-mates or fans, he always hit the right note.
We really missed him against Italy in the 2006 (World Cup) semi-final. That sums up his importance.
(*Giancarlo Esposito plays drug lord Gustavo Fring in the popular American crime drama).
Tackling – Per Mertesacker
The longest legs, the best tackles — that was me. I rarely went down but when I did, I knew I’d get there and win the ball fairly. I don’t think I ever injured anybody with a tackle.
I look fondly back at my tackles against Diego Costa in the 2017 FA Cup final in particular. Must have been seven in total. My favourite one was in a North London derby in March 2014, keeping the ball out, right on the goalline (from a Christian Eriksen effort).
We won 1-0 at White Hart Lane thanks due to a ridiculous Tomas Rosicky goal after a minute or so. My goalline clearance felt almost as good as scoring.
Nicest Player – Thomas Hitzlsperger
An amazing guy, always positive, always desperate to do anything to get into the team and to support everyone. At the 2006 World Cup, he didn’t play but he was an absolute role model.
He was sharp in every single training session, determined to win all extra-curricular activities such as go-karting etc. But Thomas was always friendly and genuine, a real pleasure to have around.
- Per Mertesacker’s autobiography, Big Friendly German, written with The Athletic’s Raphael Honigstein, is available now through deCoubertin Books
(Photo: Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
