Balitsch takes Mainz detour

By Mark Bennett

At 24, midfield player Hanno Balitsch was in a situation most players could only dream of. Under contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, he was seeing action in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid CF, AS Roma and FC Dynamo Kyiv, but with the 2006 FIFA World Cup looming, it seems that was not enough.

Unhappy role
Balitsch played in five of Leverkusen's six group stage matches in the Champions League, but the former Germany Under-21 captain was not happy with his role at the BayArena. He was only handed a place in the starting lineup once and instead of playing his preferred role in central midfield he was asked to cover at right-back.

Ramelow preferred
But that is something Balitsch has had to get used to since joining Leverkusen from 1. FC Köln two-and-a-half years ago. The midfield player has often been asked to help out in defence and coach Klaus Augenthaler still preferred to employ veteran Carsten Ramelow in the holding role in front of Leverkusen's defence.

Anfield dream
It was for that reason that Balitsch decided to ask for a transfer. After the final Champions League group stage match of 2004 against Dynamo he told uefa.com: "I would love to play against Liverpool at Anfield [FC]. But even if Leverkusen do get Liverpool, I don't know if I will still be around."

Perfect predictions
Balitsch's prediction came true. The draw for the last 16 handed Leverkusen a two-legged tie against Liverpool, but the former German international was denied his chance of fulfilling a personal ambition of playing at Anfield, having already joined Bundesliga upstarts 1. FSV Mainz 05.

Mainz move
During the winter break, Balitsch had been locked in negotiations with 1. FC Nürnberg but when the deal fell through he was labelled as "greedy" by some in the German media. However, that perception was to change as soon as the midfield player announced that he would be joining Mainz.

Family decision
"My family still lives in and around Mannheim, which is near Mainz and that swung the decision in FSV's favour," he explained. "I can also play my favourite position in Mainz. I see myself as a defensive midfielder and I like to help put a halt to the opposition's attacking effort while initiating our own attacks."

'I expect him to lead'
Mainz coach Jürgen Klopp is expecting much more than that from the former Leverkusen player. "Hanno is an experienced player at 24. I want him to lead the rest of the team," said the Mainz coach.

World Cup hope
Taking such a leading role is something Balitsch is looking forward since another reason behind his move from Leverkusen to Mainz is his hope of impressing national coach Jürgen Klinsmann before the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. "I haven't given up hope of making the World Cup squad. But I need to play on a regular basis to impress the national coach," he said.

Mainz hope
However, first of all Balitsch will have to concentrate on avoiding relegation with Mainz. Despite back-to-back defeats against VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV in their first matches after the winter break he remains optimistic Mainz will avoid the drop. "We beat ourselves in the match against Stuttgart, but we know that we can hold our own," said the German international.

Long wait
The move to Mainz still looks like a big step down in the world for the midfield player. However, in 18 months, as Klinsmann picks his finals squad, Balitsch will know for sure whether he made the right decision.