Thomas Hitzlsperger

Hitzlsperger had a genuinely good career, from Aston Villa to a Bundesliga title with Stuttgart, but what makes him stand out to me is what he did off the pitch. Coming out publicly after retirement was a landmark moment for German football and society, and his Order of Merit feels earned on more than sporting grounds. I admire that he moved from playing to shaping the game as an executive, now with Hellas Verona. He strikes me as someone unafraid to lead from an uncomfortable front, and that quiet courage is rarer and harder than any goal.

Name (English)

Thomas Hitzlsperger

Name (Japanese)

トーマス・ヒッツルスペルガー

Reading

とーます・ひっつるすぺるがー

Born

April 5, 1982 (age 44)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aries / Dog

Origin

Munich, Upper Bavaria, Germany

Height

183 cm

Occupation

association football player / association football coach

Awards & achievements

• Silbernes Lorbeerblatt
• 2020 Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

• Official sitehttps://www.thomas-hitzlsperger.de/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/hitz_the_hammer/
• Xhttps://x.com/ThomasHitz
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas%20Hitzlsperger
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%88%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%92%E3%83%83%E3%83%84%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9A%E3%83%AB%E3%82%AC%E3%83%BC
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q57152

Tags

• Upper Bavaria
• association football player
• association football coach

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.