World Champion André Schürrle opens up on life post-football
In his first major post-retirement interview since talking to Der Spiegel earlier this summer, World Champion André Schürrle spoke to the "Bild am Sonntag" about his career and the transition to life after football.
Twenty-nine-year old midfielder André Schürrle, supplier of Germany's World Cup winning assist in the 2014 1-0 defeat of Argentina, certainly hasn't found retirement easy. In an interview appearing in one of the Bundesrepublik's most widely read Sunday circulars, the former Chelsea and Dortmund star revealed that he had been relying on the services of a "life-coach".
"I've worked with someone who helped me build a structure," Schürrle told the newspaper, "The structure has helped me never feel as if there's been an unfulfilled hole in my life. On the contrary, I have a feeling of 'Whew! Done!".
With respect to the decision to retire, he disclosed that it wasn't necessarily his outright release from Dortmund. "There wasn't a specific point or trigger," Schürrle remarked, "It was simply the feeling that there are more important things for me: the family and a different life. If I had even the slightest doubt, I wouldn't have stopped. I'm far too grateful to football for that."
Schürrle expressed "no regrets" about either his playing career or his choice to end it at a comparatively young age. "Every fibre of my being is satisfied with it," he said.
Some other topics covered in the interview:
What he misses the least about football:
"Having fixed times for everything. Putting on shoes. Training. Hitting the pitch. Lunchtime. The whole regulated rigamarole. Above all, what I miss the least are the endless days in hotels."
What he hopes people will remember about Schürrle the footballer:
"The most obvious thing of course is the cross in the World Cup Final. But not for me. For me it was always important to remain grounded; that I was always friendly to people, respected the fans, and always tried to give 100 percent. I'm very pleased with that. It allows me to face myself in the mirror."
His favorite coach:
"I was lucky to have quite a few good coaches. The best one for me was still Thomas Tuchel because he contributed the most to my career. Our relationship wasn't always easy. We butted heads at times. But he was simply the coach who had the most influence on me."
The best player he's worked with:
"There are quite a few of those as well. At Chelsea it was definitely Eden Hazard. When I first saw him in training I thought it wasn't going to work out. Then he impressed so much on the pitch that I thought him the best player in the world. At the German national team, it was Phillip Lahm. I found him fascinating. Bastian Schweinsteiger was a big idol for me. And Mario Götze too. I liked to watch him and wished I had his skills."
On negative press:
"Negative reports dragged me down. To this day I am not completely free of them. My life coach helps me cope with that."