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Thomas Hitzlsperger comes out as gay

By on January 8, 2014

Former Aston Villa and Everton player Thomas Hitzlsperger has become the most prominent footballer to come out as gay by publicly revealing his homosexuality in an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit.

Hitzslsperger retired from football last year at the age of 31 following a successful career in Germany, England and Italy, in which he won 52 caps for Germany and the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, and has now followed former Leeds United player Robbie Rodgers and Olympic diver Tom Daley as professional sportsmen who have publicly come out as gay.  The former midfielder said it was a “a good time” to come out, and in doing so said he wanted “to further the debate about homosexuality among sports professionals”.

Former Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger has come out as gay in an interview with Die Zeit.

Former Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger has come out as gay in an interview with Die Zeit.

“It’s been a long and difficult process” [of becoming aware of being gay],” Hitzlsperger told Die Zeit. “Only in the last few years have I realized that I preferred living together with a man.

“In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room. I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.

“Being gay is topic that is ‘ignored’ in football and not ‘a serious topic in the changing room’. Fighting spirit, passion and winning mentality are intrinsically linked, that doesn’t fit the cliché: ‘Gays are soft’.”

Hitzlsperger spent most of his youth career Bayer Munich’s youth setup before joining Aston Villa, where he made himself known by the nickname ‘Der Hammer’, because of his powerful long range goals.  The German made 99 appearances for the club, who supported him via Twitter, saying: “Everyone who knows Thomas from his time here at Villa has great respect for him, not only as the fine player he was but also as a man.

“His statement today is a straightforward statement and, along with our support as a club, we hope that everyone involved in the game extend to him their support as well.”

The Bundesliga winner moved to Stuttgart in 2005, for whom he made 125 appearances over five years, before moving on to Lazio, then West Ham, Vfl Wolfsburg, and Everton, where he retired in 2013.  Hitzlsperger also has a succesful international career with Germany, who he represented at the 2005 Confederations Cup, 2006 World Cup in his home country, and at Euro 2008.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.