Retirement at 31. Here is the choice made by Niklas Süle on May 7. Having played for Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich, the Frankfurt native has worn the colors of Borussia Dortmund since 2022. With the Marsupiaux, the central defender has participated in 109 matches in all competitions (3 goals). The last one was on May 8 against Frankfurt. He came on for two minutes to bow out. A carefully considered choice on the part of the German, who had decided to end his career after a knee injury against Hoffenheim. “How I felt when our doctor did the test in Hoffenheim… the physio looked at me and shook his head, I was in the shower and I cried for ten minutes. It was 1000% clear that it was over. I couldn’t imagine anything worse.”
He added about BVB: “what I experienced in my first year, when we almost became champions, the evening at the hotel, the way to the stadium. What I felt there, I more or less felt it before my first professional match, nervousness, excitement. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel like that again in my life, with this adrenaline. I will miss this period greatly. I felt so good here. From the first day, I understood what people were like in Dortmund. My children go to kindergarten here. It’s already difficult for us to leave.” But he decided to close this chapter which brought a lot of joy and titles (14)), but also sorrows with injuries and criticism of his physique.
Süle tries different positions
Ultimately, the book of his career did not remain closed for long. During the summer, the 31-year-old decided to take up a license. But not a professional club. He joined SV Tiefenbach, a resident of the 9th German division. The idea was just to keep playing for fun. “I’m really looking forward to experiencing football from a completely different perspective again, where it’s all about the game itself, not about business or money. Two of my best friends play for SV Tiefenbach, and one of them is even the coach. After 13 years in professional football, it’s an absolute gift to share the pitch again with my friends and fully enjoy this magnificent sport.”
Based in the Heidelberg region, the club therefore welcomed the former German international with 49 caps (1 goal). A small event as suggested by Joachim Himpler, one of the club managers. “If Niklas plays for us, it will certainly attract one or two more spectators to our sports field.” And we can say that the 2020 world champion is working to attract crowds. Author of 5 appearances in his new yellow and black colors as at BVB, all as a starter, Niklas Süle went from defender to attacker. A position where he is successful since he has already scored 4 goals. But that’s not all. During the last match, he played the position of goalkeeper because his team’s goalkeeper injured his hand. Images of him are circulating on social networks. Newly retired, Süle, whose team is ranked 8th out of 16, is having a blast in his new life.
