Thomas Hitzlsperger
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Hitzlsperger in 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Thomas Hitzlsperger | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 5 April 1982 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Munich, West Germany | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Hellas Verona (board member) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | VfB Forstinning | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–2000 | Bayern Munich | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Aston Villa | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2005 | Aston Villa | 99 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | → Chesterfield (loan) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2010 | VfB Stuttgart | 125 | (20) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Lazio | 6 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | West Ham United | 11 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | VfL Wolfsburg | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Everton | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 259 | (31) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Germany U20 | 4 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Germany U21 | 20 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2010 | Germany | 52 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thomas Hitzlsperger (born 5 April 1982) is a German football executive and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently board member at Serie A club Hellas Verona.
In February 2019, he was appointed Head of Sport at VfB Stuttgart VfB Stuttgart, later rising to the position of CEO. He stepped down from this role in March 2022.
In January 2025, after the acquisition of Hellas Verona by American private equity firm Presidio Investors, he was announced as a board member of the Serie A club.
As a player, he spent the early part of his career playing for Aston Villa in England (accompanied by a short loan spell at Chesterfield), before returning to Germany to play for Stuttgart, where he was a member of the team which won the Bundesliga in 2007. In 2010, he signed for Italian side Lazio, before moving back to England to join West Ham United later that year. He then had brief spells with Wolfsburg and Everton.
Hitzlsperger also represented the Germany national team, earning 52 caps and being selected for the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008. Following a series of injuries, he retired from football in September 2013. After his retirement, he came out as gay, the highest-profile male footballer in the world to do so.