January 26 – Das Supertalent | On This Football Day

January 26 – Das Supertalent

WHEN you look though the annuls of football history there’s one thing that resonates as loud and bitter as the Kop on an anti-American day and that’s talent that’s gone astray. Hands up all those who have a mate who could’ve made it. Today we’re looking at Germany’s lost boy, midfielder Sebastian Deisler, who fought all manner of personal demons and was released from a psychological hospital today in 2004 before he attempted to rebuild his rocky career.

When he made his debut as a fresh-faced 18-year old for Borussia Moenchengladbach in 1998 most of Germany was in raptures, dubbing this young man “Das Supertalent.” This was surely the man who was going to follow in the footsteps of Beckenbauer, MÃ¼ller and Matthaus and become the newest hero for Die Nationalelf. Das Kaiser himself said that he was “technically the best in Germany” and 1990 spit-victim Rudi VÃ¶ller claimed he would be “influential for Germany for another ten years.”

As is the norm, Europe’s top clubs such as Manchester United came a-knocking. No pressure though Seb. He would stay at Munchen-flapjack until they were relegated in 1999 before a move to Hertha Berlin saw him strut his stuff in the Champions League. By 2002 German giants Bayern Munich decided that they fancied a bit of Deisler and snapped him up, but this was where it all started to go wrong.

On the pitch Deisler could be relied on to give a good game, with his combination of speed, dribbling and crossing giving the Bayern faithful every reason to get excited. More than a few football journalists would dub him the ‘German Beckham’ but perhaps this was not the way the young German wanted to be described.

Seb missed the 2002 World Cup due to a pesky knee injury and this wasn’t the last time he had to hit the treatment room. The said dodgy knee put place to most of the 2003-04 season, but the physiological side was only the half of it. Deisler was beginning to show a mental fragility that was taking it’s toll. In November 2003 he was committed to hospital suffering from depression. Whether it was self-expectation, media hype or fan anticipation, Deisler obviously couldn’t take the pressure and would remain in a psychiatric unit for three months. Initially the club would blame “muscular problems” and a cold, but it soon became obvious that this was not the case. “I can’t go on, I’m finished” Deisler told boss Uli Hoeness.

After three months Deisler was out of hospital and attempting to rebuild his career. Unfortunately more knee injuries were all that followed and in January 2007 he retired, citing a lack of confidence in his often-injured knee. Germany had lost one of their greatest natural talents and his case issued a warning-shot to the international hype-machine that cranks the pressure on young talent everywhere.

Have a look at how gifted ‘Das Supertalent’ was below (turn your computer’s volume down though, or the Europop beats will put you on a par with Deisler’s 2004-era mental health) and come back tomorrow for more footballing history. Tomorrow’s all about English eccentricity, so it won’t be as downbeat as poor Seb’s story. But remember, without the sour, you can’t taste the sweet.