His reward may very well be the chance to play in a World Cup final, four years after a personal sacrifice in the semi-finals cost him a place in the Germany team that lost to Brazil.

Ballack went down with cramp early in extra time and he needed several minutes of treatment before he could hobble back on.

Somehow the 29-year-old skipper managed to finish the 120 minutes of normal and extra time and he made a crucial defensive header to snuff out Argentina's final attack in the last minute.

Despite his exhaustion, he stepped up to score Germany's second penalty and help the hosts to a 4-2 win in the shootout. He was subsequently named man of the match.

"I got a kick from Juan Roman Riquelme and that was possibly why I got cramp so early," Ballack told reporters. "We'd already used the three substitutes but I wanted to play to the end.

"It was tough but we fought to the end."

It says something that coach Juergen Klinsmann never considered striking Ballack from the list of penalties, despite his obvious discomfort.

"My only question was whether he would take the penalty with his left or right foot," Klinsmann told reporters.

One more win in the semi-finals would give Ballack a chance to make up for that huge disappointment in 2002.

Then, Ballack found himself suspended for the final because of a tactical foul he was forced to make in the semi-final against South Korea, earning himself a yellow card and a one-match ban.

Ballack had been the inspiration for Germany's unlikely run to the final and without him they ended up beaten 2-0 by Brazil.

"We've got over a huge obstacle now," he said on Friday. "We've beaten one of the favourites and we have great self-confidence. We have a great dream and we want to live it."