Two Chelsea teammates, Michael Ballack (pictured right) and Yuri Zhirkov, will cross swords as Germany and Russia battle each other for a World Cup 2010 berth next Saturday.
Ballack, who is a regular first-team fixture at Chelsea, has a better FTBL rating than Zhirkov at the moment (157.37 points against 78.85 points). In addition, the Russian has so far mostly been confined to the bench by coach Carlo Ancelotti. The two players have very different planks to beat for the game: if Zhirkov is undoubtedly happy to have to clear less than 10 rating points, Ballack, on the contrary, will have the daunting task of “defending” more than 30 rating points.
A Russia victory, coupled with a goal by Zhirkov, might give Ancelotti food for thought and a chance for the Russian international to finally be able to showcase his talent in the English Premier League. The difference in their FTBL ratings will, in the same time, cease to be so striking, if just for a while.
© FTBL