Robert Ballaman

Robert Ballaman ( born June 21, 1926 in Reconvilier; † 5 September 2011) was a Swiss football player who played in the position of a central attacker ( Beidfüsser ). He won with his clubs FC Biel (1947 ) and Grasshopper Zurich (1952, 1956) three league championships in the NLA, was a member of the Cup - winning teams of 1952 and 1956 and graduated from 1948 to 1961 in the national team 50 matches and scored while 18 goals.

Career

Club Players

Ballaman began his career at FC Reconvilier and moved in 1946 to FC Biel. In his first season in Biel he could 1946/47, celebrate winning the title. In 1948, handed to the runner-up and 1949/50, he finished second in the scoring charts with 18 goals behind Jacques Fatton (32) and Ledio Zanetti ( 20) in third. To round 1950/51 he moved to Grasshopper Club Zurich, where he won the championship with 116:21 gates and 50 points in 26 league games in the NLB and thus brought about the return to the NLA. DC 1951/52, he sat down with GC with one point ahead of city rivals FC Zurich in the league and was founded in 1952 by Swiss champion. With 22 goals, he finished second in the scoring charts behind Josef Hügi with 24 goals. He spent the longest part of his active career at the " Hoppers" and there achieved his greatest successes. During this time the Grasshoppers possessed with the forward line Bickel -Hagen - Vonlanthen - Ballaman - Vuko a highly effective storm that repeated aufstellte Rekordtorquoten in the Swiss National League. So also succeeded in 1955/56, the Double success. In the championship to GC sat with eight points ahead of FC La Chaux -de-Fonds and by the Cup brought the Blue-Whites with a 1-0 win over third-placed BSC Young Boys Bern. The scorer led the team mate to Vuko (33 goals) and Ballaman and torgleich Charles Antenen ( FC La Chaux ) with 19 hits. In the years 1954, 1957 and 1958, the attacker had to settle for the runner.

Ballaman distinguished himself by his departure, the speed and Lauffreudigkeit and its huge, two-footed shot power. To this end, he was spontaneous and unpredictable in his actions and thus difficult to control by his opponents.

In the season 1963/64 - he had suffered on 26 April 1962 in a practice match ahead of the 1962 FIFA World Cup with the "Nati " a double ankle fracture and had to take a year off after that - Robert Ballaman let his career at FC Winterthur finish. Overall, he was a three time Swiss champion, two-time Swiss Cup winners and scored 271 goals, 194 of them in the championship games of the National League A.

National Players, 1948-1961

Ballaman played 1948-1961 in 50 appearances for the Swiss national football team, scoring 18 goals. On June 20, 1948 in a friendly against Spain in Zurich he made his debut in the "Nati ". When 3:3 draw he had a hit. A year later, on June 26, 1949, he stormed in a 5-2 success in the World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg on the right wing and again scored a goal. But he was not one of the squad for the World Cup 1950 in Brazil an.Zwischen 1954 and 1961 he was also captain of the national team. In the 1954 World Cup in his own country, he scored four goals in four games. Two of them scored Ballaman in the first half of the quarter-final between Switzerland and Austria ( heat Battle of Lausanne). Notwithstanding the interim 3-0 lead coached by Karl Rappan Swiss national team lost the highest-scoring World Cup game until today still 5:7. Previously, he had in the group stage in the two games against Italy (June 17: 4:1 victory in the playoff for the 2nd place: 2:1 Sieg/23 June. ) Each scored a goal. Immediately before the World Cup coach Rappan had assembled his squad in the sports center of Magglingen for a training camp and agreed there the players mentally and physically on the tournament. In young Ballaman is quoted about this training camp with the following words from 1966:

"I still dream today of those 14 days in Magglingen that welded together 23 athletes into one unit. With music we were woken up, walked for an hour through the woods, took the morning meal, it was followed by a light workout and 60 minutes of rest. After lunch: two hours mandatory bed rest, after a Mätschli (sometimes against our neighbors, the Brazilians ), then shower, theory or debate, in the evening we jassten or saw a movie on ( World Cup 1950 Games of Hungary) ".

In 1957, he completed four World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Scotland. With only one point, the Switzerland finished behind the World Cup participants Scotland ( 6-2 points) and Spain ( 5-3 points) but the last place and did not go to Sweden in 1958. Even in the successful World Cup qualifying for the World Cup in Chile in 1962 the veteran was in three games for the "Nati " on the field: in Brussels in a 4-2 win over Belgium, on 20 May 1961 in Lausanne during the November 20, 1960 2-1 also won the return leg against Belgium and on 28 May 1961 in Stockholm against the incumbent vice world champion Sweden in the 0-4 defeat. For 2-1 success in Lausanne against Belgium Ballaman contributed both goals. The game in Stockholm on May 28 was the last international match in his career in the "Nati ". On April 26, 1962, he retired to a double ankle fracture and had to take a year off. Thus in Chile to the World Cup in 1962 was not possible for him.

Together with Roger Vonlanthen, also a Romand, Ballaman developed in the national team a new, long-range attack style. The storm indeterminate in time to the rhythm of the game. With two, three simple, applied in depth features they played an effective counter- style and became a symbol of the movement of football.

Club stations

Achievements

50 times national player, 18 - time scorer
Captain of the Swiss national team from 1954 to 1961
World Cup quarter- finalists in 1954

Others

In his 13 years with Grasshoppers Ballaman belonged with his humble, uncomplicated manner ( he rode his bike in every workout and every game ) and because he was always happy to use the favorites of the audience.

His both feet became Ballaman thanks to Walter Hardy, his coach at FC Biel. This put the Right persistently on the left wing and forbade him in training for a long time to use the stronger right foot. Ballaman thus became the first Swiss footballer who controlled the ball equally well with both feet.

After his career end Ballaman ran a restaurant in Zurich.

September 5 FC Biel-Bienne 1946–47 Nationalliga A 1951–52 Nationalliga A Alfred Bickel 1955–56 Nationalliga A FC La Chaux-de-Fonds Austria v Switzerland (1954)

101596