Former German national team defender Plattenhardt retires from football
| Marvin Plattenhardt. | Photo: Steindy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
After a year of being without a professional employer, 32-year-old German left back Marvin Plattenhardt is turning in his boots. The former 1. FC Nürnberg and long-time Hertha BSC professional's resumé includes 13 German top flight seasons and seven caps at Germany's highest international level.
Plattenhardt memorably kept Hertha in the Bundesliga with his set-piece prowess during the 2021/22 promotion relegation playoffs. New Hertha head-coach Sandro Schwarz named him squad captain ahead of the subsequent season; the one in which the Charlottenburgers were ultimately relegated.
Plattenhardt didn't feature for "die alte Dame" in the second division last year after his expiring contract was not renewed. Interestingly enough, Plattenhardt's former back-up at Hertha, Maximilian Mittelstädt, has risen to take over the starting left-back role on the German national team.
Plattenhardt's final career totals saw him net eight goals in 278 top flight appearances. His last appearance with the German Nationalmannschaft came during the opening group stage game of the 2018 World Cup. Plattenhardt featured in Jogi Löw's starting XI against Mexico.
"The time has arrived for me to say, 'done!'," Plattenhardt noted in an interview published in Germany's main sporting tabloid today, "I'm hanging up my cleats. There have been a few talks with clubs from various countries [over the past year], but the overall package wasn't right for me and my family."
"It's crazy when one sees how many players are without a club," Plattenhardt continued, "I didn't want to continue just to do so. [My career] has been a wonderful and great time. I can rightly say that all of my childhood dreams have come true."
Plattenhardt's post-retirement plans center around a private company he's founded with his wife Sara. The couple own a firm that produces vegan milk alternatives from pistachios. The defender noted that these entrepreneurial activities leave him generally satisfied with his life.
