Germany 
Germany's captain and figurehead, Ballack is on course for a century of caps and has already proved his class on the biggest stage of all.
The star man as the 'Mannschaft' reached the 2002 World Cup final, the Chelsea midfielder is blessed with exceptional fitness, shrewd distribution and most importantly the ability to make late runs into the box undetected.
His absence from the Yokohama final through suspension was a terrible blow and saw him end a season in which he went close to winning four trophies - three with Bayer Leverkusen - empty-handed.
The former Kaiserslautern player made the transition into the world-class bracket after a 1999 transfer to Leverkusen - at which point he had already won his first Bundesliga title - before joining Bayern Munich three years later.
There he would merely confirm his status as one of the world's premier attacking midfielders before departing for Chelsea in 2006.
Yet his time at Stamford Bridge has been blighted by injury, an eight-month spell on the sidelines with an ankle problem he feared may end his career ending in December after which he played a huge role in taking the title race to the wire, most notably with a goal against Manchester United.
