Overview
- Hitzlsperger revisited his pre‑coming-out years on the NDR podcast on Monday, saying the stress of concealment triggered sudden sweating attacks and acute anxiety during his career.
- He described the roughly six months at Lazio in 2010 as especially brutal and said the combination of questions about family life and an unfamiliar environment made him feel he had to leave.
- A serious 2010 injury forced six months of rehab at Tegernsee, which he calls a life-changing turning point that let him begin to stop denying his sexuality.
- Hitzlsperger said he did not tell coaches about his ‘‘massive anxieties’’ and feared that coming out while active would undermine his performance and career, so he went public only after retiring in 2013.
- His remarks have renewed public focus on mental health, the intimacy of shared changing rooms, and the persistent scarcity of openly gay active footballers, which could push clubs to expand confidential support for players.