Most recently at Kaiserslautern
©IMAGO
Six months after his departure from 1. FC Kaiserslautern, midfielder Philipp Klement is hanging up his football boots. With more than two dozen Bundesliga games and around 200 second and third league appearances in the books, it’s over for the 33-year-old, as he revealed in “Kicker”.
Klement played in the upper house with VfB Stuttgart and early in his career with Mainz 05. Among other things, with Paderborn and FCK in the 2nd Bundesliga. There, the Ludwigshafener played his last game with the Red Devils in Cologne on May 18th this year (0:4), after which the FC had the ticket for the Bundesliga in their pocket. “I’m standing between masked police officers protecting the players’ area and looking at the cheering crowds on the field. Strange feeling. Was that just my last appearance in professional football?” wrote Klement. In fact, it should be so.
“The career is over,” stated the former junior national player. “My closest friends are currently starting their careers in the professional world. For me, my first career ended at the age of 33. Most days feel slowed down, the other days feel rather unstructured and unproductive. My daily routine hasn’t exactly been characterized by self-determination for over 14 years. That’s a change that doesn’t come easy to me.”
Klement also received similar problems from other colleagues. “There are players who make a smooth transition and have already found a follow-up contract at their club. I have decided to use the first year after my career to reorient myself. Ultimately, as I said before, I have no other choice.”
After a few weeks since Klement made the decision, he is coping well with it. In order to work on a future in football, he is getting a coaching license and taking part in management training at the DFB. “I still love football. The atmosphere in the stadium. The beauty of the game. The time in professional football. A wonderful time. My goal is to start a second career in professional football. I’m preparing for that and am now bubbling over with ideas. I just love football too much to be able to imagine life without it.”