The greatest German captain of them all believes Michael Ballack, the perennial bridesmaid, is destined to make it to the altar at last. Franz Beckenbauer, the legendary “Kaiser”, is tipping his latest heir to emulate him by lifting the Euro 2008 trophy in Vienna tonight, providing he shakes off a worrying calf injury.

Beckenbauer led Germany to triumph in the 1972 European Championship and in the World Cup two years later. He remains the only man to have captained three European Cup-winning teams, so his endorsement was deemed “an honour” by Ballack yesterday.

Nudging 32, the Chelsea midfielder has suffered endless disappointments in his career to date. Runner-up in two European Cups, the Premier League and the World Cup in 2002, he accepts that he needs to win here to assume the mantle of greatness, and his determination to do so has dragged a pretty ordinary German team all the way to another final.

Beckenbauer envisages Ballack’s inspirational presence tipping the balance against more gifted opponents. He explained: “Spain have some fantastic players, like [Cesc] Fabregas, but they have no leader on the pitch, no real captain. Michael can make the difference, like he did against Portugal when, from the first minute to the last, his body language said: “I’m here, if you want to go past Germany you have to get through me first.

“It’s a great chance for him to win a big title and he’s really going for it, fighting for it. He can be the key player because he’s the one who dictates things. The country is behind him and the country is crazy right now. I’m delighted for him that after his many disappointments, Vienna will be the culmination of his career.”

Fair enough, but first Ballack must prove he is fit to play. Joachim Loew, Germany’s coach, was anxious last night. “Michael has not been able to train for the last two days,” he said. “The problem began on Friday when the muscle in his right calf stiffened up. We will see what happens overnight, but we have to think seriously now about the possibility that he won’t play. We have alternatives, in Schweinsteiger and Borowski, and will make a decision tomorrow.

“We don’t really know how he did it. Sometimes a player gets hit during a match and the strain only shows up two or three days later as the muscle tightens up. It was inflamed and he was in pain, and unfortunately the situation has not improved. But when I spoke to him this afternoon, Michael was still optimistic, he wasn’t depressed, because there is a still a chance of him playing tomorrow. Missing a final because of injury is an enormous disppointment, but let’s do all we can for him to play.”

“Kaiser Franz” regards Ballack as a shoo-in for the player of the tournament award. Dogged by injury, he endured a difficult first year in English football after his move from Bayern Munich, but came good in the second half of the season just finished, when he played a major part in Chelsea’s run to the Champions League final, and Beckenbauer believes Premier League experience has improved him. “Michael has developed enormously at Chelsea,” he said. “He has battled with top stars and prevailed. What he has learned is benefiting Germany.”

Spain have played consistently better football and had the look of potential champions when they outclassed Russia on Thursday night but, thanks largely to the iron will of their captain, Germany are defying the laws of mathematics with a team that adds up to more than its constituent parts.

They have won World Cups and European Championships before against superior competition, notably in 1990 and 1996, when England should have beaten them in the semi-finals, and travelled up to the Austrian capital from their base near the Swiss-Italian border with the characteristic self-belief some call arrogance. They insist they have not been rehearsing collecting it, but they keep a copy of the trophy at their hotel – “for motivation.”

Perhaps it is worth recalling that the Germans only got to this tournament as runners-up to the Czech Republic in qualifying Group D, and they have not played like meisters of Europe since their first match, when two goals from Lukas Podolski saw off Poland with plenty to spare. Indeed, they were in danger of embarrassingly early elimination after the deserved defeat by Croatia that followed.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Ballack sought a meeting with the coach, Loew, at which he said a conventional 4-4-2 formation was not extracting the best from the talent available. He advocated 4-2-3-1, with two holding midfielders instead of one and Bastian Schweinsteiger wide on the right, Podolski on the left, with himself in the middle, playing off Miroslav Klose. The improvement was scarcely of the “Eureka!” variety, but it sufficed, making optimum use of the limited resources to hand.

Spain are blessed with more talent in every department. They have the tournament’s outstanding goalkeeper in Iker Casillas, the best defence, and their midfield strength is such that they have been leaving out Fabregas, who would Viennese waltz into any other team. But Germany never “bottle” it, and the same can’t be said of their opponents, who have been underachieving even longer than England. If it comes to a penalty shootout, the old enemy will be odds-on, having emerged triumphant from their last five, beating France (1982), Mexico (‘86), England (‘90), England again (‘96) and Argentina (2006).

Oliver Bierhoff, the German team manager, also acknowledged Ballack’s massive contribution. He said: “We want him to have a great final. He has taken a lot of responsibility, on and off the pitch, and can make a difference with his class and presence. And of course he’s always good for a goal.”

On the periphery of the camp, the German media can’t make up their minds about the class of 2008. One of their most respected commentators, Raphael Honigstein, said: “On the one hand we respect and admire the fact that they have got to the final, but there’s also bewilderment that they can be so inconsistent. Some people are slightly disappointed that the team haven’t been able to play the attacking, passing football Loew had them playing in the qualifiers. They’ve regressed a bit and had to dig deep instead. Ironically, this is probably the least defensively solid German team we have seen for a while.”

Loew, in colourful mood, counters all this with: “We have shown our mentality, courage and willpower, now we have to show joy and euphoria, too.”

Teutonic euphoria? Hmm. Never bet against the Germans? To hell with it, Viva España, Viva Football. Spain to win, 2-1.