Sebastian Deisler retires from football

Injury-plagued Bayern and Germany midfielder Sebastian Deisler has announced his immediate retirement from professional football. The 27-year-old informed Munich general manager Uli Hoeneß of his decision on Monday evening, before going public with the news the following day.

Deisler was the first to take the podium at a hastily convened news conference at Bayern's Säbener Strasse headquarters on Tuesday lunchtime, packed to the rafters despite reporters receiving only an hour's notice of the event. The player was followed by Hoeneß and media director Markus Hörwick, as an unearthly silence fell over the room.

"This isn't a pleasant occasion," the general manager began, before delivering the shock news in a single, concise sentence: "Sebastian Deisler wants to end his career as a footballer." That means one of the most talented players ever produced by the German game will in all likelihood never be seen in Bundesliga or Champions League action again.

Complete surprise to all

"It's not a decision I've come to overnight. I've taken my time over it," Deisler related, revealing he had considered calling time on his career last March after his most recent major injury, a lacerated cartilage which necessitated a fifth round of surgery on his right knee. "But I gave it another go. I was determined to try again." The midfielder made a stunning comeback with a match-winning performance in Bayern's 2-1 defeat of Hamburg last November, increasing the sense of shock at the timing of Tuesday's news.

However, Hoeneß revealed, the player had needed a huge amount of persuasion just to see through Bayern's ten-day winter training camp in Dubai. "We put up a fight for him," the official explained, but Deisler called on Hoeneß to communicate his final decision on Monday evening. "I no longer have real faith in my knee's ability to cope with professional football," the player explained. "I'm not playing with the level of enjoyment you need any more. It's become an ordeal."

Hoeneß stunned

To compound the misery of six operations in eight years, Deisler also required in-patient stays in November 2003 and October 2004 to treat bouts of depression. "I've found I can't stop thinking something might happen again, and it's holding me back. Obviously I can still join in after a fashion, but that's not what I want, and it makes no sense. Doing things by halves doesn't help me, and doesn't help the team." The man capped 36 times by Germany now intends to withdraw from the public gaze and take a break. "I'd like to spend plenty of time with my young family, and then we'll see what happens after that."

Hoeneß expressed deep regret at the player's chosen course of action. "He's one of the best there's ever been in Germany. Right until the end, I hoped it was all just a nightmare." The 27-year-old was set for a central role in Bayern's long-term team planning: "We were going to hold a place open for him," the visibly moved official reported, "but now I need to get over this news first."

Contract suspended

The midfielder hinted at a sense of relief following his decision to quit: "I'm happy at the way it's worked out," he remarked. Deisler's contract, which runs until 30 June 2009, will not be dissolved but instead "suspended", Hoeneß announced. "Should he decide to reverse his decision at any stage, he has the option of coming back to us. That should be a point of orientation for him. The initiative is in his hands alone."

However, the manager held out little hope that the man who could have been one of the all-time greats would ever appear in Bayern colours again. "We have to assume that Sebastian will basically give up playing football now. That's a fact," Hoeneß lamented. Even as these words were spoken and recorded, Deisler had already left Bayern's Säbener Strasse training ground and headquarters.