Thomas Hitzlsperger
| Thomas Hitzlsperger | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Hitzlsperger | |
| Date of birth | April 5 1982 | |
| Place of birth | Munich, Germany | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | VfB Stuttgart | |
| Number | 11 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| FC Bayern | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2000-2005 2001-2002 2005- |
Aston Villa → Chesterfield (loan) VfB Stuttgart |
99 (8) 5 (0) 57 (9) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2004- | Germany | 28 (3) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Thomas Hitzlsperger (born 5 April 1982 in Munich, Germany) is a midfielder for VfB Stuttgart.
Club career
Aston Villa
Hitzlsperger joined Aston Villa from FC Bayern, where he was a player in the youth team. He had the option of joining Rangers and Celtic when leaving Bayern Munich, but he opted to join Aston Villa.
Whilst at Aston Villa, Thomas was briefly loaned out to Chesterfield FC during the 2001-2002 season, making five appearances. He moved into the Aston Villa first team following the arrival of new manager Graham Taylor. He would go on to play a massive part in the Aston Villa side that would finish 6th under David O'Leary, before falling out of favour the following season. Thomas left Aston Villa as a fan favourite, and stated that he might return to the club when the opportunity comes.
Hitzlsperger gained the nickname of 'The Hammer' during his time at Villa Park.
Stuttgart
Hitzlsperger signed for VfB Stuttgart in Summer 2005, having left Aston Villa on a Bosman free transfer.
Hitzlsperger has become a regular for Stuttgart, particularly in his second season in which the team won the Bundesliga title. Hitzlsperger's contribution to their success was a large one; he played in 30 of the team's 34 league matches and scored 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 would have won the title. In the end, a 63rd minute goal by Sami Khedira secured the title for Stuttgart.[1]
On August 14 2007, he has extended his contract until the summer of 2010.[2]
International career
Hitzlsperger started off his international career playing with the Germany National U21 team. He was called up for the senior side by Jürgen Klinsmann in 2004.
He appeared at the 2005 Confederations Cup and also 2006 World Cup which he failed to make it into Klinsmann's starting eleven. He scored his first international goals in a 13-0 win over San Marino in the European Championship qualifying game in September 2006.
Trivia
- Hitzlsperger speaks English with an unusual Birmingham/German hybrid accent, which he acquired when playing for Aston Villa.
- He has a surprising interest in monetary statistics, visiting the Bank of England as a guest of the Governor, Mervyn King, a life-long supporter of Aston Villa.
Honours
With Stuttgart:
- Bundesliga (2006-07)
With Germany:
- Confederations Cup - 3rd place (2005)
- World Cup - 3rd place (2006)
References
External links
| VfB Stuttgart – current squad |
|---|
|
1 Schäfer • 2 Beck • 3 Osorio • 4 Gledson • 5 Taşçı • 6 Meira • 7 Meißner • 8 Farnerud • 9 Ewerthon • 10 Baştürk • 11 Hitzlsperger • 12 Langer • 13 Pardo • 15 Boka • 17 Delpierre • 18 Cacau • 19 Hilbert • 20 Marica • 21 Magnin • 25 da Silva • 28 Khedira • 29 Mandjeck • 31 Stolz • 33 Gomez • 36 Perchtold • 38 Pisot • 42 Pischorn • Manager: Veh |
| Germany squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place | |
|---|---|
| 1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen •
3 Friedrich • 4 Huth • 5 Kehl •
6 Nowotny • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings •
9 Hanke • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose •
12 Kahn • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah •
15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker •
18 Borowski • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder •
22 Odonkor • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Klinsmann |
 |
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