Do You Remember?

Sebastian Deisler. Remember him? Most people might not or for some, might never have heard him before. Personally, Desiler was the beginning of what we witness before our eyes now of German football. He was the next big thing before the emergence of Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Mario Goetze, Mesut Ozil and other German prodigies. 

The beginning of Sebastian Deisler’s meteoric rise to stardom may also just have been the beginning of his eventual downfall, for it is with the heaviest of burdens in Germany that a player is labelled the next Franz Beckenbauer.

Having began his football career at the age of 6, Deisler represented both FV Turmringen and Borussia Mönchengladbach at underage level, before signing professional terms with the latter. German football needed a shot of invigoration at the turn of the 21st century. Michael Ballack was seen as a sure thing, playing a pivotal role in a strong Leverkusen side that was challenging both domestically and on the continent. Bastian Schweinsteiger was still forging an impressive youth career, and Miroslav Klose was still a few years shy of his late coming of age. The media couldn’t help but turn to Deisler, who had raised eyebrows in his debut season for which Mönchengladbach were doomed to relegation. It was then coach Friedel Rausch who predicted that the creative midfielder’s name would one day be heralded among the likes of Der Keiser himself, Beckenbauer.

Following Mönchengladbach’s relegation, Hertha Berlin came calling, offering Deisler the chance to hone his skills in the Champions League at 19 years of age. However, his time at Berlin was plagued by injuries. A ruptured cruciate ligament and a torn synovial membrane restricted Deisler to just over 70 appearances in his 3 seasons at the club.

However, this didn’t stop Bayern Munich securing Deisler for just over €9 million above the reported interests of over 25 other clubs around Europe. Deisler was attacked by both the media and his former fans for not having disclosed to them earlier the signing on fee of just under €10 million he received from Munich (DEM 20 million at the time) while injured during his final season at Hertha.

Sadly, “Supertalent” (as he had come to be affectionately known) continued to be ravaged by injuries that saw him make just 86 appearances in his 5 seasons at Munich. Michael Ballack’s departure for pastures new at Chelsea signalled a new hope for Deisler’s future at Munich, and many saw him as the German captain’s successor. However, a reoccurence of the knee injury he suffered in Berlin dashed any hopes Deisler had of not only becoming Munich’s talisman, but also of representing his country at their World Cup on home soil.

Combined with Deisler’s injury problems were concerns over his ability to cope with the pressure of the hype and expectation he had crafted. He was diagnosed with depression in 2003, just a year after arriving at Munich, and missed several months to receive treatment. Deisler suffered a relapse of his condition again in 2004. Munich president Beckenbauer admitted the club had concerns over Deisler’s personality, but never expected it to be such a problem.

A brave 2 year battle to reignite his career proved futile, and Sebastian Deisler retired from football in January 2007. “All the fun and joy has gone out of my game. I dont want this torture anymore.” he told reporters. His reasons for retirement seem to echo the sentiments one would expect from a player in his late 30′s, made all the more disheartening by the fact Deisler was only 27 years old when he hung up his boots. “In the end I was empty. I was old and I was tired. I went as far as my legs could carry me, and I could not go any further.”