In the 1990s, “Icke” Häßler was one of the best German footballers. He became world and European champion. He still appears on television today.
Most know him as a little technician on the soccer field. With his impressive shot quality and the many distance and free-kick hits, he burned himself into the memory of German football fans.
But even after his career, he remained with television viewers and took part in numerous TV shows. From June 17, he can be seen alongside celebrities such as Pierre Littbarski, Jörg and Laura Wontorra or Larissa Rieß in the program “Die Hitwisser” broadcast on Vox to answer music questions. Thomas “Icke” Häßler turns 58 today.
Great playing career and “Club of 100”
Thomas Häßler, who was born in West Berlin in 1966 and was christened “Icke” by his later teammate Pierre Littbarski because of his Berlin dialect, was considered a technically adept, creative midfielder with outstanding shooting technique. His professional career began in 1984 when he switched to 1. FC Köln. At 1.66 meters tall, Hässler, who is not exactly tall, stayed for six years. The Cologne team could not celebrate any titles, but there were still two runners-up championships and in 1986 finals in the DFB Cup and UEFA Cup.
In 1989 he was named “Germany’s Footballer of the Year”. He was then able to celebrate the greatest possible title in 1990 in the dress of the national team. He was a top performer in the World Cup victory in Italy and played through against Argentina in the final.
Six years later, he and his colleagues celebrated winning the European Championships in England. He was used in every game at this tournament. From 1988 to 2000, Hässler played in a total of 101 games for the DFB team, making him one of 17 players in the “Club of 100”.
In the course of his career, Hässler made a detour to Italy to play for Juventus Turin and AS Roma for a total of four years. In 1992, after a strong European Championship, he was named “Germany’s Footballer of the Year” for the second time. This was followed by positions at Karlsruher SC, where he knew how to impress as a game director and was able to ensure some great club years. But he said goodbye in 1998 with relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga. After a disappointing year in Dortmund, Hässler helped 1860 Munich in the early 2000s to the club’s last European Cup appearances to date. Until 2004 he ended his career in Austria.
Coaching and TV career
The former world champion has also gotten around a lot as a football coach. After gaining initial experience as a youth player in Cologne, legendary coach Berti Vogts appointed him his assistant coach for the Nigerian national team. Häßler later became the coach of the Berlin district league club Italia 80 (today Berlin United), which he led to two promotions. He has been coaching the Berlin state league club BFC Preussen since 2019.
Incidentally, Thomas Häßler can be seen in many commercials and TV shows. In 2016 he appeared on “Let’s Dance”, a year later he took fourth place in the RTL jungle show “I’m a star – get me out of here”. Hässler has been married to his wife Anke since 2004. There are three children from the ex-soccer star’s first marriage.
Source: Stern
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