Thomas Hitzlsperger

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Thomas Hitzlsperger
Der Hammer.jpg
Hitzlsperger with West Ham, March 2011
Personal information
Full name Thomas Hitzlsperger
Date of birth 5 April 1982 (1982-04-05) (age 29)
Place of birth Munich, West Germany
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Playing position Central midfielder
Club information
Current club VfL Wolfsburg
Number 10
Youth career
1988–1989 VfB Forstinning
1989–2000 Bayern Munich
2000–2001 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2001–2005 Aston Villa 99 (8)
2001 → Chesterfield (loan) 5 (0)
2005–2010 VfB Stuttgart 125 (20)
2010 Lazio 6 (1)
2010–2011 West Ham United 11 (2)
2011– VfL Wolfsburg 5 (0)
National team‡
Germany U19
2002–2004 Germany U21 20 (3)
2004–2010 Germany 52 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:04, 21 December 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 August 2010

Thomas Hitzlsperger (born 5 April 1982 in Munich) is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder. He plays for Bundesliga club Wolfsburg after signing a three-year deal on 17 August 2011. Hitzlsperger spent the early part of his career playing for Aston Villa in England (accompanied by a short loan spell at Chesterfield), before returning to Germany to play for Stuttgart. In 2010 he signed for Italian side Lazio, before moving back to England to join West Ham United later that year. Hitzlsperger has also represented the German national team, earning 52 caps.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Aston Villa

Hitzlsperger, the youngest child of Ludwig and Anneliese Hitzlsperger, grew up in Forstinning alongside his five brothers and one sister,[2][3] In August 2000 he joined Aston Villa on a free transfer from the Bayern Munich Junior Team.[4] He had spent a short trial period with Celtic after leaving Bayern Munich, but he opted to join Aston Villa.[citation needed]

He made his Aston Villa debut in a 3–0 home defeat to Liverpool on 13 January 2001; it was his only appearance during his first season in England.[4][5] Whilst at Aston Villa, Hitzlsperger was briefly loaned out to Chesterfield during the 2001–02 season, making his debut against Kidderminster Harriers in the LDV Vans Trophy.[6] In all he made six appearances for the Spireites, five of which were in the league.[5] He was recalled by Aston Villa during the second month of the loan spell however, as the Midlands club had several players injured or suspended.[7] Hitzlsperger moved into the Aston Villa first team following the arrival of new manager Graham Taylor. He would go on to play a significant part in the Aston Villa side that would finish 6th under David O'Leary, before falling out of favour the following season. He left Aston Villa as a fan favourite, and stated that he might return to the club when the opportunity comes. Hitzlsperger gained the nickname Der Hammer (The Hammer) during his time at Villa Park, due to his powerful left-foot shot from long-range.[8][9] A fluent speaker of English, he acquired an unusual Birmingham/German hybrid accent during his spell at Villa.[10]

[edit] Stuttgart

Hitzlsperger signed for Stuttgart in the summer of 2005,[11] having left Aston Villa on a Bosman free transfer. He became a regular for Stuttgart, particularly in his second season in which the team won the Bundesliga title. Hitzlsperger made a large contribution to their success, playing in 30 of the team's 34 league matches and scoring seven times. He scored a crucial equaliser in the 27th minute of Stuttgart's final match of the season against Energie Cottbus – had Stuttgart lost that match, Schalke 04 would have won the title. In the end, a 63rd minute goal by Sami Khedira secured the title for Stuttgart.[12]

On 14 August 2007, he extended his contract until the summer of 2010.[13] On 22 July 2008, Hitzlsperger was appointed the new captain of VfB Stuttgart by manager Armin Veh following the departure of former club captain Fernando Meira. On 1 December 2009, he was deposed as team captain by Stuttgart's new manager Markus Babbel.[14]

[edit] Lazio

On 31 January 2010, Hitzlsperger moved to Lazio on six-month contract, for around €550,000.[15][16] He scored his only goal for Lazio on 15 May in a 3–1 win against Udinese.[17]

[edit] West Ham United

On 5 June 2010, Hitzlsperger signed a three-year deal with Premier League club West Ham United after passing a medical at Upton Park.[18] He finally made his debut for the Hammers in an FA Cup fifth round match against Burnley on 21 February 2011 and scored in the 23rd minute.[19] ESPN named him man of the match for his debut performance. Hitzlsperger made his league debut for the Hammers against Liverpool. West Ham won 3–1 and Hitzlsperger played 90 minutes during which he shot twice from long range.[20] He scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham in the 3–0 home win against Stoke City on 5 March 2011.[21] His second league goal for the Hammers came on 7 May 2011 in a crucial game against Blackburn Rovers.[22] However, despite his central midfield efforts along with Jonathan Spector, West Ham lost 3–2 against Wigan Athletic after being 2–0 up on the penultimate week of the season to see West Ham relegated into the Football League Championship. At the end of the season he had his contract terminated and left the club.[23]

On 22 July 2011, it was confirmed that Hitzlsperger has had talks with Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. [24] This came to nothing when he signed for German side Wolfsburg on a three-year contract.

[edit] Wolfsburg

On 17 August 2011, Hitzlsperger signed for Bundesliga club Wolfsburg on a three-year deal, after being released by West Ham three months earlier.[25]

[edit] Career statistics

As of 11 February 2012 (2012 -02-11)[26][27]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2000–01 Aston Villa Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2001–02 Chesterfield Second Division 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Aston Villa Premier League 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1
2002–03 26 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 29 4
2003–04 32 3 1 0 5 2 0 0 38 5
2004–05 28 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 30 3
Germany League DFB-Pokal Premiere Ligapokal Europe Total
2005–06 VfB Stuttgart Bundesliga 26 2 2 1 0 0 7 0 35 3
2006–07 30 7 5 3 0 0 0 0 35 10
2007–08 25 5 4 2 - - 2 0 31 7
2008–09 32 5 2 0 - - 5 1 39 6
2009–10 12 1 3 1 - - 5 0 20 2
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2009–10 S.S. Lazio Serie A 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2010–11 West Ham United Premier League 11 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 13 3
Germany League DFB-Pokal Premiere Ligapokal Europe Total
2011–12 Wolfsburg Bundesliga 5 0 0 0 – – – – 5 0
Total England 115 11 3 1 10 4 0 0 127 16
Germany 129 20 16 7 0 0 19 1 165 28
Italy 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1
Career total 251 32 18 8 10 4 19 1 299 45

[edit] International career

Thomas Hitzlsperger.jpg

Hitzlsperger has captained the German under-19 team,[6] and has also appeared for the national under-21 side. He was then called up to the senior side by Jürgen Klinsmann and made his debut in a 2–0 win against Iran in Tehran on 9 October 2004, replacing Bernd Schneider in the 68th minute.[28][29] He appeared at the 2005 Confederations Cup, and also at the 2006 World Cup, where he failed to make it into Klinsmann's starting eleven, playing just 11 minutes of the third-place play-off match against Portugal.[10] He scored his first international goals on 6 September 2006, in a European Championship qualifying game against San Marino. Hitzlsperger came on as a second half substitute to score Germany's 9th and 11th goals in the 13–0 win,[28][30] a record victory in European Championship qualifying matches.[31]

Germany's coach Joachim Löw included Hitzlsperger in his squad for the finals of Euro 2008, but did not start him in any of the three group games. Hitzlsperger came on as a second-half substitute in the victories over Poland and Austria, and did not feature at all in the defeat to Croatia.[32][33][34] In the knockout stages however, he started all three matches, helping his team to overcome Portugal in the quarter-finals and setting up Philipp Lahm for a 90th minute winner against Turkey in the semifinal.[35][36] Germany were defeated 1–0 by Spain in the final, in which Hitzlsperger was substituted in the second half.[37]

Hitzlsperger remained first choice in 2010 World Cup qualifying, playing in all matches save one and scoring a goal,[38] but he missed out on his nation's World Cup squad in June 2010.

[edit] International goals

Scores and results table. Germany's goal tally first:
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 September 2006 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 9–0 13–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2. 6 September 2006 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 11–0 13–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
3. 6 June 2007 AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany  Slovakia 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
4. 17 November 2007 Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany  Cyprus 4–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
5. 6 February 2008 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria  Austria 1–0 3–0 Friendly
6. 6 September 2008 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein  Liechtenstein 5–0 6–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying

[edit] Personal life

Hitzlsperger has an interest in economics, in particular dynamic mechanism design, and while in England studied investment strategies, although he did not complete the course.[39] He regularly visited the Bank of England to discuss finance with the bank's governor, Mervyn King, a lifelong Aston Villa fan.[40]

Hitzlsperger has blogged for Störungsmelder, an anti-racism site that encourages debate about xenophobia and racism in Germany.[39]

In June 2007, Hitzlsperger split from his longtime girlfriend, Inga, just one month before they were due to get married.[41]

On 9 April 2011, Hitzlsperger was caught travelling in his Range Rover at 107 mph (172 km/h) on the A14 in Suffolk.[42] On 14 July 2011, he was fined £750 and was given six penalty points on his driving licence by Bury St Edmunds Magistrates' Court.[42] However, he was spared a driving ban as he was at the time unemployed and claimed he needed his car to drive around the country and look for a new club.[43] The decision not to ban Hitzlsperger was heavily criticised by road safety groups. Julie Townsend, Campaigns Director of Brake stated "This person showed a complete disregard for human life and the fact he is being allowed to continue driving is horrifying."[44]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

VfB Stuttgart

[edit] International

Germany

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/page/PlayerProfile/0,,12306~5515,00.html. Retrieved 30 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Nursey, James (30 April 2005). "Hitz over – but Thomas won't forget Villa spell". Birmingham Post. http://www.birminghampost.net/src/webroot/birminghampost/midlands-birmingham-sport/west-midlands-sports/2005/04/30/hitz-over-but-thomas-won-t-forget-villa-spell-50002-15461026/. Retrieved 21 April 2008. 
  3. ^ ""Kontrastprogramm zu München"" (in German). Spiegel Online. 3 March 2005. http://www.spiegel.de/sport/fussball/0,1518,344455,00.html. Retrieved 21 April 2008. 
  4. ^ a b Whitehead, Richard (20 November 2004). "Thomas Hitzlsperger and Bruce Rioch". TimesOnline. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article1077196.ece. Retrieved 22 April 2008. 
  5. ^ a b "Thomas Hitzlsperger career statistics". soccerbase.com. Racing Post. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=21492. Retrieved 22 April 2008. 
  6. ^ a b "Seasonal review october 2001". Chesterfield F.C.. 17 November 2004. http://www.chesterfield-fc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/CustomerCharter/0,,10435~210780,00.html. Retrieved 22 April 2008. 
  7. ^ "Hitzlsperger back at Villa". BBC Sport. 10 December 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chesterfield/1702195.stm. Retrieved 23 April 2008. 
  8. ^ Slater, Gary (21 April 2005). "Villa short of conviction". Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2005/04/21/sfgast21.xml. Retrieved 21 April 2008. 
  9. ^ Ridley, Ian (15 December 2002). "Hitzlsperger hits late on". guardian.co.uk. http://football.guardian.co.uk/Observer_Match_Report/0,,-40767,00.html. Retrieved 21 April 2008. 
  10. ^ a b "Thomas Hitzlsperger". Euro2008.com. http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/tournament/players/player=47330/index.html. Retrieved 13 July 2008. 
  11. ^ "Stuttgart seal Hitzlsperger deal". BBC Sport. 13 April 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/4409711.stm. Retrieved 23 April 2008. 
  12. ^ Senthuran Sivananda. "VfB Stuttgart – Energie Cottbus" (in German). fussballdaten.de. http://www.fussballdaten.de/bundesliga/2007/34/vfbstuttgart-cottbus/. Retrieved 22 November 2007. 
  13. ^ "Hitzlsperger extends until 2010". vfb.de. 14 August 2007. http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/news/2007/11811.php. Retrieved 22 November 2007. 
  14. ^ "The winds of change". vfb.de. 1 December 2009. http://vfb.de/en/aktuell/news/2009/34341.php. Retrieved 1 December 2009. 
  15. ^ "Bilancio separato e consolidato al 30.06.2010 [2009–10 Annual Report]" (in Italian). SS Lazio. 28 October 2010. http://www.sslazio.it/images/stories/documenti/pdf/investor_relator/Bilancio_sep._e_consolidato_al_30.06.2010.pdf. Retrieved 28 December 2010. 
  16. ^ "Arrivederci Thomas Hitzlsperger". VfB Stuttgart. 31 January 2010. http://vfb.de/en/aktuell/news/2009/35169.php. Retrieved 31 January 2010. 
  17. ^ "Result between Lazio & Udinese on 15 May 2010". soccerbase.com. 15 May 2010. http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=603162. Retrieved 6 June 2010. 
  18. ^ "Hammers sign The Hammer". whufc.com. 9 May 2010. http://www.whufc.com/articles/20100605/hammers-sign-the-hammer_2236884_2065222. Retrieved 5 June 2010. 
  19. ^ "West Ham v Burnley". BBC Sport. 21 February 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/9401156.stm. Retrieved 21 February 2011. 
  20. ^ "West Ham 3 – 1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 27 February 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/9404996.stm. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  21. ^ "West Ham 3 – 0 Stoke". BBC Sport. 5 March 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/9412199.stm. Retrieved 6 March 2011. 
  22. ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast?id=292960&cc=5901
  23. ^ "Sam sets out promotion plan". www.whufc.com. http://www.whufc.com/articles/20110622/sam-sets-out-promotion-plan_2236884_2380269. Retrieved 22 June 2011. 
  24. ^ "Wolves talk to Thomas Hitzlsperger". Express & Star. 22 July 2011. http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2011/07/22/wolves-talk-to-thomas-hitzlsperger/. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
  25. ^ "Bundesliga – Wolfsburg sign Hitzlsperger". Yahoo Sport. 17 August 2011. http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/17082011/58/bundesliga-wolfsburg-sign-hitzlsperger.html. Retrieved 18 August 2011. 
  26. ^ "Thomas Hitzlsperger – Fussballdaten – Die Fußball-Datenbank" (in German). Fussballdaten.de. http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/hitzlspergerthomas/. Retrieved 10 December 2008. 
  27. ^ "Thomas Hitzlsperger Stats, News – VfB Stuttgart" (in German). espnsoccernet.de. http://www.espnsoccernet.de/players/stats?id=8190. Retrieved 10 December 2008. [dead link]
  28. ^ a b "Statistics – Players Info Hitzlsperger". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?action=search&liga=Nationalmannschaft&id=500397&lang=E&no_cache=1&name=%3BHitzlsperger&gegner=. Retrieved 22 April 2008. 
  29. ^ "Statistics – Iran 0:2 Germany". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showSchema&liga=Nationalmannschaft&matchid=dfbat829&lang=E&cHash=110ba9f478. Retrieved 22 April 2008. 
  30. ^ "Statistics – San Marino 0:13 Germany". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500397&action=showSchema&lang=E&liga=Nationalmannschaft&matchid=dfbat856&cHash=0e42f4d606. Retrieved 22 April 2008. 
  31. ^ "San Marino 0–13 Germany". BBC Sport. 6 September 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5322128.stm. Retrieved 23 April 2008. 
  32. ^ "Statistics – Germany 2:0 Poland". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showSchema&liga=Nationalmannschaft&matchid=dfbat882&lang=E&cHash=eb89f10a39. Retrieved 13 July 2008. 
  33. ^ "Statistics – Croatia 2:1 Germany". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showSchema&liga=Nationalmannschaft&matchid=dfbat883&lang=E&cHash=d0af1140f9. Retrieved 13 July 2008. 
  34. ^ "Statistics – Austria 0:1 Germany". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showSchema&liga=Nationalmannschaft&matchid=dfbat884&lang=E&cHash=7315d37455. Retrieved 13 July 2008. 
  35. ^ "Statistics – Portugal 2:3 Germany". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showSchema&liga=Nationalmannschaft&matchid=dfbat901&lang=E&cHash=d4de3a9755. Retrieved 13 July 2008. 
  36. ^ "Germany 3–2 Turkey". BBC Sport. 25 June 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2008/7363524.stm. Retrieved 13 July 2008. 
  37. ^ "Statistics – Germany 0:1 Spain". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500395&action=showSchema&liga=Nationalmannschaft&matchid=dfbat904&lang=E&cHash=cd640c5b90. Retrieved 13 July 2008. 
  38. ^ "DFB – Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. – All Players from A-Z". Dfb.de. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500397&action=showPlayer&full=2&liga=Nationalmannschaft&vorname=&nachname=Hitzlsperger&cHash=9865cfe3b6. Retrieved 5 June 2010. 
  39. ^ a b Honigstein, Raphael (14 December 2007). "Small Talk: Thomas Hitzlsperger". guardian.co.uk. http://sport.guardian.co.uk/smalltalk/story/0,,2227220,00.html. Retrieved 21 April 2008. 
  40. ^ Chittenden, Maurice (16 April 2006). "Bank governor's secret sessions kept German player on the ball". TimesOnline. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article706119.ece. Retrieved 21 April 2008. 
  41. ^ "Ein Monat vor Hochzeit: Liebes-Aus!" (in German). Rheinische Post. 8 June 2007. http://www.rp-online.de/public/article/gesellschaft/leute/446390/Ein-Monat-vor-Hochzeit-Liebes-Aus.html. Retrieved 23 April 2008. 
  42. ^ a b "Millionaire Premier League footballer caught at 107mph spared driving ban because he is 'unemployed'". Daily Mail. 14 July 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2014228/Millionaire-Premier-League-footballer-caught-107mph-spared-driving-ban-unemployed.html. Retrieved 14 July 2011. 
  43. ^ "Thomas Hitzlsperger spared driving ban because he is 'unemployed'". Metro.co.uk. 14 July 2011. http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/869286-thomas-hitzlsperger-spared-driving-ban-because-he-is-unemployed. Retrieved 14 July 2011. 
  44. ^ "Premiership football star Thomas Hitzlsperger caught doing 107mph – but escapes ban because he's jobless". Mirror.co.uk. 14 July 2011. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/07/14/premiership-football-star-thomas-hitzlsperger-caught-doing-107mph-but-escapes-ban-because-he-s-jobless-115875-23269303/. Retrieved 14 July 2011. 

[edit] External links

VfL Wolfsburg – current squad

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