“I wanted to quit football when I was twelve”

Jonas Hofmann from Borussia Mönchengladbach has revealed that his career was almost over when he was a child.

The national player had a passion for another sport early on: his parents and grandfather were handball players, which is why football was not the top priority for Hofmann for a long time.

“That is a very funny story,” said Hofmann on the DFB website, “because I actually wanted to quit football. I played football, handball and golf at the same time. When I was twelve, my parents said: “Now decide for two sports. We can’t drive you around 100 kilometers every day.” So I wanted to quit football. “

Nevertheless, the 29-year-old is now a seasoned Bundesliga professional and was last placed on the right side of the defense in the DFB team under Hansi Flick. The reason why he continued his career: Hofmann had taken part in a viewing tournament with the Baden team at the end of his young football career and received a call from the youth coordinator of TSG Hoffenheim “on the same evening”.

And “luckily I knew what a great opportunity this was. So instead of playing football I stopped playing golf. I was also talented in golf – I had won the biggest youth tournament in Germany and had a handicap of 19 – , nevertheless, from today’s perspective that was probably the right decision, “said Hofmann.

The versatile midfielder and defender moved from Hoffenheim to Dortmund in 2011. After a loan to FSV Mainz 05, Hofmann signed with Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2016. He has already played 134 Bundesliga games for the foals.