Sebastian Toni Deisler (; born 5 January 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a right midfielder and attacking midfielder.
A Borussia Mönchengladbach youth product, he played one season with the club during which it was relegated from the Bundesliga. He joined Hertha BSC in 1999 before leaving for Bayern Munich in 2002. He also represented the Germany national team between 2000 and 2006.
Having been hailed as the future of German football at the turn of the millennium, Deisler could never manage to reach his full potential due to several cruciate ligament ruptures and other major injuries, as well as depression. Deisler retired from professional football in January 2007 at the age of 27.
Club career
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Deisler joined his first club, FV Turmringen, when he was six. At age 15, he was scouted and signed by the Bundesliga outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach and played for the club at junior level from 1995 to 1998. He started his professional career at the club in 1998, making his Bundesliga debut against Eintracht Frankfurt on 8 September. During the 1998–99 season he made 17 Bundesliga appearances and scoring one goal, in a 2–0 win over 1860 Munich. However the Foals finished in last place and were relegated to the second division.
Hertha BSC
As Borussia Mönchengladbach were relegated at the end of the season, Deisler moved on to Hertha BSC for 4.5 million DM. The Berlin club offered a participation in the 1999–2000 Champions League. Although only 19 at his arrival and handicapped by a cruciate ligament rupture in 1999, Deisler established himself in the Hertha BSC midfield and was about to become Dariusz Wosz's replacement as the central figure in Hertha's offence when he tore a synovial membrane in his right knee in October 2001 and missed the rest of the season.
Almost simultaneously, German tabloid Bild made known that an agreement had been reached between the player and FC Bayern Munich. Deisler was to join Bayern at the beginning of the 2002–03 season and had received a sum of DEM 20 million from the club. Deisler faced immense critique from the fans and the media for not having announced the agreement earlier as well as accepting the payment. Deisler later stated that he was asked to keep silent by the Hertha BSC manager Dieter Hoeneß to avoid unrest.
During his time at Hertha, Deisler helped the club win the 2001 DFB-Ligapokal.
Bayern Munich
thumb|left|Deisler during training with Bayern Munich, 2005
In July 2002, Deisler joined Bayern on a four-year contract. Deisler arrived at Bayern injured as he had injured his right knee the season before. Due to his injuries, he was unable to establish himself as a constant starter over a longer period of time. At the same time, Deisler struggled to endure the pressure he was exposed to at Bayern Bayern general manager Uli Hoeneß stated that Deisler's contract, which ran until 30 June 2009, would not be dissolved but instead be in abeyance. Deisler later stated that he came to the conclusion that he was not made for the football business.
Personal life
Following his retirement in January 2007, Deisler withdrew almost entirely from public life, returning to the southwest of Germany and settling in the Freiburg area, near his hometown of Lörrach. He avoided contact with both the football industry and the media, including former close associates such as Uli Hoeneß and Ottmar Hitzfeld, and continued to receive treatment for his depression for a number of years after his retirement. He has maintained occasional contact with childhood friends, sometimes playing recreational football with them.
In 2018, a photograph emerged on social media showing Deisler at an amateur football tournament, marking a rare public appearance after years out of sight.
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|DFB-Pokal
!colspan="2"|DFB-Ligapokal
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|Borussia Mönchengladbach
|1998–99
|Bundesliga
|17||1||2||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||19||1
|-
|rowspan="4"|Hertha BSC
|1999–2000
|Bundesliga
|20||2||1||0||3||0||9||0||33||2
|-
|2000–01
|Bundesliga
|25||4||1||0||3||0||6||0||35||4
|-
|2001–02
|Bundesliga
|11||3||1||0||3||1||1||0||16||4
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!56!!9!!3!!0!!9!!1!!16!!0!!84!!10
|-
|rowspan="6"|Bayern Munich
|2002–03
|Bundesliga
|8||0||2||0||0||0||0||0||10||0
|-
|2003–04
|Bundesliga
|11||4||2||0||1||0||1||0||15||4
|-
|2004–05
|Bundesliga
|23||4||4||0||2||2||5||0||34||6
|-
|2005–06
|Bundesliga
|16||0||3||0||1||0||6||3||26||3
|-
|2006–07
|Bundesliga
|4||0||0||0||0||0||1||0||5||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!62!!8!!11!!0!!4!!2!!13!!3!!90!!13
|-
|Bayern Munich II
|2003–04
|Regionalliga Süd
|4||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||4||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!139!!19!!16!!0!!13!!3!!29!!3!!197!!25
|}
International
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
|-
!National team||Year||Apps||Goals
|-
| rowspan="7" |Germany
|2000||9||1
|-
|2001||7||1
|-
|2002||3||1
|-
|2003||1||0
|-
|2004||2||0
|-
|2005||13||0
|-
|2006||1||0
|-
! colspan="2" |Total!!36!!3
|}
:Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Deisler goal.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Sebastian Deisler
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| align="center"|1 || 2 September 2000 || Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany || || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|2–0 || 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| align="center"|2 || 24 March 2001 || BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany || || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|2–1
|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| align="center"|3 || 9 May 2002 || Schwarzwald-Stadion, Freiburg, Germany || || align="center"|3–0 || align=center|7–0 || Friendly
|}
Honours
Hertha BSC
- DFB-Ligapokal: 2001
Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06
- DFB-Pokal: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06
- DFB-Ligapokal: 2004
Germany U18
- European Under-18 Football Championship runner-up: 1998
Germany
- FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 2005
References
External links
- Observer Sport Extra: Deisler the danger