“In the summer we celebrated life”
Dead footballer: Ex-DFB goalkeeper with emotional words
December 24, 2025 – 11:50 a.mReading time: 1 min.
The death of Sebastian Hertner moves the football world. Former national player Timo Hildebrand also mourns the loss of the defender.
Moving words from Timo Hildebrand: The former German national goalkeeper published a black and white photo of himself and Sebastian Hertner in his story on Instagram. The 2006 World Cup participant wrote: “In the summer we celebrated life! Now it is our last memory together.”
Background to the article: Hertner died on Sunday in a tragic accident at the Savin Kuk ski center near Zabljak in Montenegro’s Durmitor Mountains. Hildebrand now expressed his sadness about this. Addressing his followers, he wrote: “Please don’t react! This is a reminder of how fragile life is, especially deeply sad at Christmas.” Like Hildebrand, Hertner was once trained in the youth ranks of VfB Stuttgart.
Hertner’s accident had already occurred on Sunday. The former DFB talent was traveling in a chairlift with his wife when the disaster occurred. According to media reports, two double chairs in the lift slipped into each other for reasons that are still unclear. As a result, the 34-year-old German fell 70 meters, the website of the daily newspaper “Pobjeda” reported, citing its own sources. His 30-year-old wife remained trapped in the facility and was rescued with injuries by rescue workers.
Hertner was active for FC Erzgebirge Aue, TSV 1860 Munich and SV Darmstadt 98 in the 2nd Bundesliga, among others. The Leonberg native played primarily in the central defender position. Hertner played a total of 19 international matches for the German Football Association’s junior selection teams.