Thomas Hitzlsperger
Hitzlsperger with West Ham, March 2011
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Hitzlsperger | ||
| Date of birth | 5 April 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Munich, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Central midfielder | ||
| 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) |
| 2011–2012 | VfL Wolfsburg | 6 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Everton | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 259 | (31) | |
| 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. |
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Thomas Hitzlsperger (German pronunciation: [ˈtʰoːmas ˈhɪt͡səlsˌpɛɐ̯ɡɐ]; born 5 April 1982) is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder. He 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, where he won the Bundesliga in 2007. In 2010 he signed for Italian side Lazio, before moving back to England to join West Ham United later that year. He then had brief spells with Wolfsburg and Everton.
Hitzlsperger also represented the German national team, earning 52 caps and being selected for the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008. Following a series of injuries, he retired from football in September 2013. After his retirement, he came out as gay, the highest-profile footballer to do so.
After joining the VfB Forstinning youth team in 1988, Hitzlsperger signed to the Bayern Munich Junior Team, but agreed to leave at the end of the 1999–2000 season.
After a short trial with Celtic in August 2000, Hitzlsperger joined Aston Villa on a free youth transfer from Bayern Munich. He made his Aston Villa debut in a 3–0 home defeat to Liverpool on 13 January 2001 as an 84th-minute substitute for Jlloyd Samuel; it was his only appearance during his first season in England.
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