From a miracle to a problem child at FC Bayern: On January 16, 2007, a visibly ailing Sebastian Deisler announced his retirement from professional football. Afterwards it becomes quiet about the super talent in the service of Munich, who has completely withdrawn from the public today.
“I’ve lost the joy and the fun. It’s been torture for me lately. I can’t do it anymore.” Sentences that get under your skin.
When Sebastian Deisler announced his early retirement on January 16, 2007, those present in the press room on Säbener Strasse took their breath away. At the top of the podium stands a young man who is saying goodbye to the football circus just eleven days after his 27th birthday.
Morally supported by then Bayern manager Uli Hoeneß, who spoke of a “nightmare”, Deisler explains his decision. The gifted right-footer had had to undergo five knee operations in previous years. Added to this were ever-increasing worries and self-doubts, which ultimately led to depression.
When the sensitive Baden native tells the crowd about his lack of confidence in his knee, collective regret can be felt. Deisler, once the greatest promise for the future of German football, has lost the dramatic battle against himself.
“When I play, I reveal something of my soul”
The next day, the “Tagesspiegel” published a touching tribute to the fallen star. “Sebastian Deisler tears a deep hole in his heart in order to belong to himself again. It is as if a new horizon was opening up for him. A horizon without the old fears, torments, without soul pain,” it said.
The author describes a person whose nature was noticeably different from that of many professional colleagues.
Deisler was always a modest guy. Even at times when everything seemed to be going according to plan in his career, he never made big noises. “When I play, I reveal something of my soul,” the noble technician once said.
On the pitch he was a fine spirit, blessed with a great feel for the perfect pass. From today’s perspective, it seems almost ridiculous that FC Bayern Munich only had to transfer nine million euros to Berlin’s Hertha in order to bring Deisler to the Isar.
Concentrated anger hits “Basti Fantasti”
But when he arrived at the German record champions, the then 22-year-old was no longer unencumbered.
Deisler had recently missed the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea after he seriously injured his right knee in the last test before departure.
In Berlin, the exceptional talent, who was once celebrated as “Basti Fantasti”, was insulted by his own followers in the last few months before his move. The concentrated anger took its toll on Deisler.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect there to be so many whistles,” admitted the midfielder after a home game at the Olympic Stadium. A rare insight into the emotional world of a player who is supposed to work first and foremost, but can’t always.
Broken man after missing the World Cup
The situation continued to worsen in Munich. Only 90 competitive games in four and a half years at FC Bayern strained the nerves of everyone involved. At the end of 2003, Deisler took a break of several weeks to receive inpatient treatment for his depression. “I don’t want to suppress it anymore. I’m sick,” he confessed.
Despite all the setbacks, the problem child always returned to the pitch, but never stayed there for long. After Deisler had to bury his long-held dream of the 2006 World Cup at home, he was a broken man. Around six months after the “summer fairy tale”, a resigned Deisler made his decision to hang up his football boots public.
In the years that followed, the ex-professional only made headlines twice: in 2009, when he published his book “Back to Life” in the RTL program Stern TV presented, and in 2013, when he lost a claim for damages against his ex-advisor in the Berlin district court.