Thomas Hitzlsperger

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Personal information
Thomas Hitzlsperger
Full name	Thomas Hitzlsperger
Date of birth	April 5, 1982 (age 24)
Place of birth	Munich, Germany
Nickname	Hitz,der Hammer
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	VfB Stuttgart
Number	11
Youth clubs
	FC Bayern
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2000-2005 2005-	Aston Villa VfB Stuttgart	86 (8) 41 (6)
National team²
2004-	Germany	20 (2)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 January 2007. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Thomas Hitzlsperger (born 5 April 1982 in Munich, Germany) is a midfielder for VfB Stuttgart. He signed for VfB Stuttgart in Summer 2005, having left Aston Villa on a Bosman free transfer. This was the base for his nomination for Germany's World Cup squad 2006 but failed to make it into Klinsmann's starting eleven.

Thomas left Aston Villa as a fan favourite, and stated that he might return to the club when the opportunity comes.

Nicknamed der Hammer because of his ferocious left-footed shot, the former German Under 21 international was called up for the senior side by Jürgen Klinsmann in 2004. He appeared at the 2005 Confederations Cup and 2006 World Cup. He scored his first international goals in a 13-0 win over San Marino in the European Championship qualifying game in September 2006.

[edit] Trivia

Hitzlsperger speaks English with an unusual Birmingham/German hybrid accent, which he acquired when playing for Aston Villa.
Thomas has a surprising interest in monetary statistics, visiting the Bank of England as a guest of the Governor, Mervyn King, a life-long supporter of Aston Villa.
Thomas was renowned for his left foot, all though his 1st ever senior goal for Aston Villa came against Leicester where he scored a low drive from distance using his right.

VfB Stuttgart - Current Squad
1 Hildebrand \| 2 Beck \| 3 Osorio \| 5 Babbel \| 6 Meira \| 8 Bierofka \| 9 Streller \| 11 Hitzlsperger \| 12 Gerber \| 13 Pardo \| 14 Farnerud \| 15 Boka \| 16 Lauth \| 17 Delpierre \| 18 Cacau \| 19 Hilbert \| 21 Magnin \| 22 Gentner \| 23 Heinen \| 24 Nehrig \| 25 Da Silva \| 28 Khedira \| 30 Ikeng \| 31 Stolz \| 33 Gomez \| 35 Taşçı \| 41 Langer \| Manager: Armin Veh

	Germany squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place
1 Lehmann \| 2 Jansen \| 3 Friedrich \| 4 Huth \| 5 Kehl \| 6 Nowotny \| 7 Schweinsteiger \| 8 Frings \| 9 Hanke \| 10 Neuville \| 11 Klose \| 12 Kahn \| 13 Ballack \| 14 Asamoah \| 15 Hitzlsperger \| 16 Lahm \| 17 Mertesacker \| 18 Borowski \| 19 Schneider \| 20 Podolski \| 21 Metzelder \| 22 Odonkor \| 23 Hildebrand \| Coach: Klinsmann