André Schürrle talks openly about loneliness, about pressure and about a deep mental hole after the World Cup intoxication: Six years after his golden moment from Rio and only 29 years, Schürrle surprisingly ended his career as a professional footballer and at the same time had an unusually open insight into allowed his soul life.
“The decision has matured in me for a long time,” said Schürrle the “Spiegel”: “I no longer need applause.” Schürrle had prepared the only goal of the game in the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina by his friend Mario Götze. Various clubs paid him almost 100 million euros in the course of his career. He made millions himself. But he also got to know the dark side of the business. On Wednesday he canceled his contract with Borussia Dortmund.
Schürrle reported that he was often lonely, just when “the depths were getting deeper and the highlights were becoming less and less.” The industry had not allowed it to show feelings. “You always have to play a certain role to survive in the business,” he said: “Otherwise you will lose your job and you won’t get a new one.”
“Take off your hat”
National coach Joachim Löw paid Schürrle respect. “I take my hat off to his decision and wish André all the best for the future,” said Löw. DFB director Oliver Bierhoff praised Schürrle’s “fine, reflective, but equally very cheerful way”. Both also recalled Schürrle’s share in the 2014 World Cup title: “His template for the decisive goal in the 2014 World Cup final remains unforgettable,” said Löw.
This campaign was both a curse and a blessing for him as well as for Götze, who also said goodbye to Dortmund this summer and has not yet commented on his future. He felt that the national team was a “nest”, said Schürrle: “It was an escape from the rut that you have in the club every day.” The weeks in Brazil were “the hottest time of my life.”
But when he returned to Chelsea in the English Premier League, he “fell into the deepest hole there is. I didn’t want to play soccer anymore. I was completely at the end. ”When coach José Mourinho put him on the bench, it was on the one hand the“ maximum punishment ”:“ On the other hand, you can take a deep breath and don’t run the risk of messing it up again. ”Many press articles from that time he “took it hard to heart. Either you’re a fool or a hero. There is nothing in between. ”His mother said in the“ Spiegel ”:“ I was sometimes unconscious with worry because I noticed how he was suffering. ”
After that at VfL Wolfsburg (2015-2016) he had already thought of “throwing everything away”, said Schürrle. Afterwards, this thought always accompanied him. “But this social expectation has already depressed that you can’t actually stop until your mid-thirties.” The priorities finally changed when he met his present wife Anna in 2016. He has been a father since April 2019.
Athletically, he did not get the curve under Thomas Tuchel. He had made him a Bundesliga professional in Mainz at the age of 18 and has now made such a strong commitment to Dortmund that in 2016 BVB put in 30 million euros. But even with Tuchel things went moderately for Schürrle. After the departure of the coach, BVB initially awarded him to Fulham FC, then to Spartak Moscow. Schürrle should actually come back now. But the club has no use for him anymore. And he doesn’t want anymore. His career ends silently. For Schürrle, that’s “completely okay.”
Schürrle’s trainer in Wolfsburg, Dieter Hecking, did not expect the end of his career, but he also understood the decision. “That surprises me – but I can understand it a bit,” Hecking told the “Sportbuzzer”. “You can see that the backpack is sometimes too big for young people.”
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