60 years of Bundesliga
Hildebrand: "You live in a bubble as a player"
Timo Hildebrand was once one of the best goalkeepers in Germany and still holds a remarkable Bundesliga record. Since hanging up his gloves, the former international has discovered several new passions, from his vegan restaurant to yoga festivals, via a spell battling post-career depression.
In our series Life After Football, bundesliga.com speaks to several legends about their time in the game and how their lives have changed since hanging up their boots.
bundesliga.com: Timo, not long after you retired in 2015, you decided to go to a psychotherapy clinic. In the ‘Raus aus der Depression’ [Out from Depression] podcast, you spoke very openly about this, including the trigger for your personal crisis, separating from your partner. What help did you find there?
Timo Hildebrand: “It was important for me to get out of my everyday life at the time, to break through this inner imprisonment. I then found the necessary distance and peace there to come to terms with the failed relationship and find myself again.”
bundesliga.com: You were one of the best goalkeepers of your generation and still hold the record for the longest run of Bundesliga minutes without conceding a goal. But at the peak of your career, you say you felt dejected and hopeless. That must be particularly difficult in a world that is characterised by performance and strength.
Hildebrand: “You definitely live in a bubble as a footballer. It has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are there for everyone to see. But everyone has to deal with the disadvantages - the pressure from fans and the media, the intense meritocracy, the responsibility, the feeling of constantly having to deliver - for themselves.”
bundesliga.com: Even during your career, you didn't necessarily look like the prototype of the classic footballer.
Hildebrand: “I got myself a Maserati back in my Stuttgart days, because that was just part of being a professional footballer. But it was only leased [laughs]. I realised very early on that I didn't need all these status symbols and that I didn't necessarily fit the typical goalkeeper cliché of my time.
"Guys like Oliver Kahn, Uli Stein and Stefan Klos were my role models, but I interpreted my role as a goalkeeper very differently to Kahn, for example. At the same time, you can't be a quiet keeper. You have to find a balance in order to be recognised as a leader.”
bundesliga.com: Did you know during your playing days what you’d do when you retired?
Hildebrand: “No. Obviously I was aware that I’d be entering a new phase of my life, but I took it in my stride. I spent the first few years travelling a lot, visiting friends abroad. I particularly remember a road trip through the USA with a friend. Three weeks travelling by car from the east coast to the west. That was a special experience.”
Watch: The best of Hildebrand
bundesliga.com: What were your first steps in your new professional life like?
Hildebrand: “Through a sports business agency, I got to know the other side of the business: the sponsoring, the events. That was very instructive. And it was a good foundation for what was to come.”
bundesliga.com: You have been a partner and brand ambassador for a vegan food brand since 2014, you have launched a yoga festival and are co-owner of a vegan restaurant in Stuttgart. Why these commitments in particular?
Hildebrand: “I’m free to do what interests me and what brings me joy. I eat a predominantly vegan diet and am convinced of the lifestyle, plus there was no vegan restaurant in Stuttgart city centre at the time. I took a very pragmatic approach.”
bundesliga.com: The restaurant project came about during the pandemic. What other hurdles lurk when you want to turn an idea like this into reality?
Hildebrand: “Numerous small and large disasters happened during the renovation, which cost a lot of time and energy. Obtaining the licences and putting together a proper team wasn't easy either. But today I'm proud and happy that the place is up and running.”
Watch: Hildebrand, holder of the Bundesliga's longest run without conceding
bundesliga.com: What’s your connection with yoga?
Hildebrand: “I only really started doing yoga after my football career. I'm not as active now, but back then it was good for me physically and mentally. The best thing about yoga is that nobody is fighting against each other. Everyone is busy with themselves first. There's no trench warfare, no competition. I found it was very different as a footballer.”
bundesliga.com: What exactly happens at a yoga festival?
Hildebrand: “A lot of yoga [laughs]. It was actually about giving a platform to the diverse yoga community in Stuttgart and the surrounding area. Yoga classes were offered, there were Thai massages, good food. Everything that goes with it.”
bundesliga.com: In an interview, you spoke about your position as a role model for a modern type of man, saying: "I’d like to inspire men to delve into their soft side more and open up to new things."
Hildebrand: “I just think it's important to break down certain stereotypes and motivate people to simply try new things. That's also how I define our restaurant. It's not about converting people or condemning meat eaters. Just give it a try, have a good time and then decide for yourself what's best for you. That's a pretty good basic attitude when it comes to food as well as yoga.”
bundesliga.com: You're a restauranteur, yoga ambassador and ex-footballer. Is there still time for other things?
Hildebrand: “I'm involved with the Stuttgart-based aid organisation STELP e.V., which is involved in various emergency aid programmes. For example, soup kitchens in Yemen, aid missions in Ukraine or Turkey.
"As a former footballer, it’s often much easier for me to open doors with supporters. I’m also proud and grateful for my role as an ambassador for VfB Stuttgart. Whether it's sponsor events or travelling abroad, it's a great feeling to be part of the VfB family.”
bundesliga.com: It's been 10 years since you hung up your gloves. What habits have you retained from your playing days?
Hildebrand: “Certainly my work ethic and discipline. That drive to perform anew every week. And to keep going even when you've fallen down or had to accept defeat. At the same time, I enjoy the fact that I live much more consciously today than I did when I was a footballer.”
bundesliga.com: Do you miss anything from those wild years in professional football?
Hildebrand: “It took time to detach myself from the intense emotions that come with the job of being a footballer. For me, it also includes an intimacy that’s much rarer in other professions, which comes with spending as much time with your colleagues and travelling as you do as a professional footballer during a season. But everything has its time, and that time is over. It would be a shame to cry for the past.”
Interview: Alex Raack
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