“A lot of football, little stress”
© TM/Imago
In front of 50 spectators on an ashing area in the province and after playing with the teammates, drink a beer in the clubhouse instead of answering questions from journalists in the mixed zone-the differences between the dazzling professional business and amateur football are great. Nevertheless or precisely because of this, former professionals always find their way back to the amateur area. One of them is world champion Erik Durm, who has been running again for his first football club, SG Rieschweiler since the summer of 2024. During his imagination, Durm called his motives for the return: “I played in Rieschweiler for ten years as a child. The youth work was great, I owe a lot to the club. “
At the age of 31, the right -back had to end his professional career in January 2024 due to injury. Most recently, he stood in the field for 1. FC Kaiserslautern and thus fulfilled a lifelong dream, because since childhood he has been a fan of the “red devil”. He spent his most successful time at Borussia Dortmund, where he won the Supercup and once the DFB Cup twice. After these successes, he received the highest market value of his career with 6 million euros.
In 2022 he also won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt and only came to two missions in the course of the competition. He celebrated his greatest success in 2014 with the world championship title, even if he stayed in the tournament without minute.
In the first ten games in the seventh-class Landesliga West, the polyvalent ex-professional, which, according to his own statement, plays a goal and two templates where it is needed. For Durm, these numbers are no longer very important, because “primarily the factor should not be neglected.” In addition to football, he founded his own real estate company with two friends.
Assani Lukimya in action for the 1st FC Monheim
Assani Lukimya plays two leagues higher in the Oberliga Niederrhein. The 39-year-old ex-Werderaner comes to 86 games in the Bundesliga, ran three times for the DR Congo national team and also has experience in the Chinese Super League. In 2021, after a station at KFC Uerdingen, he ended his professional career and joined the sixth division team MSV Düsseldorf half a year later. He not only celebrated the climb, but also developed into a goal scorer. In eleven games, the trained central defender netted 13 times.
In 2023, however, the team around Lukimya relegated again and he switched to co -tilters 1. FC Monheim, with whom he managed to return to the top division in the following season. In the current season, the defender from Zaire comes to 18 missions (eight goals). The chances of staying in the league are good as twelfth in the table. After the end of his professional career, he is no longer just about results: “I was surprised how much fun amateur football is,” Lukimya told the “Rheinische Post”.
Bartels back to the youth club: since 2023 at Eidertal Molfsee
Fin Bartels also spent a large part of his career at SV Werder Bremen, today he kicks in the district league Kiel at SpVG Eidertal Molfsee II. In 2023, the 170-time Bundesliga player returned to his youth club, which he had left towards Kiel as a 15-year-old. The step from the dazzling stadiums to the tranquil village places was not difficult for him.
“The last time there was no little jersey for me, then I had to take a big one,” said Bartels. “Of course it is a completely different pace, much more mistakes. But you don’t have to compare that either, so I did the cut. For me it is mainly about kicking a bit, having fun with the boys I know, and then there is still a nice beer.”
After his career end, Bartels, as he once said in the transfer market interview, wanted to “have a bit of a distance from football”. However, he could imagine taking over a function away from the lawn at Holstein Kiel. Until this happens, he continues to play for the game association and that very successfully. In ten games, the offensive player already comes to 18 scorer points and with his team is in 1st place.
Esswein and Harnik in the Oberliga – well -being oasis and look upwards
Alexander Esswein ran 196 times in the Bundesliga and celebrated the German championship with VfL Wolfsburg in 2009. His last professional station at MSV Duisburg ended in 2024 with the descent from the 3rd division. A total of 3.5 million euros were paid for eating wine. Then the 34-year-old moved back to VfR Mannheim. The German champion from 1949 is currently playing in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and has strengthened with several former professionals in summer.
“The opportunity to play again at home was a great incentive for me,” said the offensive player born in Worms. In addition to his sporting role, in which he has scored three goals so far, Esswein is also responsible as an assistant coach. The traditional association is currently in third place in striking distance for second place in the table, which guarantees participation in the promotion round.
Martin Harnik has laced his soccer shoes for TuS Dasendorf in the Oberliga Hamburg since 2020. In 2007 he ran in the Champions League against Real Madrid, won the DFB Cup with Werder Bremen in 2009 and scored 66 goals in 240 Bundesliga departures. He played 68 times (15 goals) for Austria and took part in two European championships.
“A lot of football and very, very little stress”, he described his new life away from the big stage at the end of 2021. Nevertheless, the 37-year-old also brings top performances in the Oberliga, performed 140 times for Dassendorf in 106 games and also scored 32 goals. In all three full seasons, the ex-professional became top scorer. In the 22/23 season he netted an incredible 46 times; A player in the OL Hamburg never previously reached such a number.
TuS Dasendorf has been one of the league’s top clubs for years, but despite numerous championship titles, it is not striving to rise to the regional league. This makes them an attractive club for former professionals who want to end their career far away from the great pressure. Harnik has also been a player coach at TuS since the end of last year and is expected to perform this role until the end of the season.
The Austrian is still very active apart from the green lawn. Already during his active career, he took part in several restaurants and also founded an event company. In the meantime, he belongs to other companies and he publishes a soccer podcast together with ex-teammate Max Kruse. The latter also plays in the Kreisliga Berlin at BSV Al-Dersimspor II. The 14-fold international ended his professional career in November 2023, his last stop was the second division SC Paderborn.