Why Did Andre Schurrle Retire?

Hi everyone and today we are here with an interesting and rather a sad topic, do anyone remember Andre Schurrle, The German World Cup winning Midfielder who assisted Mario Gotze's winning and only goal in the World Cup Final, you probably will remember this name.  Chelsea fans will never forget this name because he was really instrumental during Chelsea's 2013/14 Season.  But why did Schurrle terminate his contract with Borussia Dortmund and Retire at the age of 29?

Image Credits: Oh My Goal.

  We are going to track down his career right from his Rise to Downfall.

THE RISE - SHURRLE THE YOUNG PHANTOM!
 
                                       Andre Shurrle was born in Ludwigshafen in Germany.  He started his footballing career with his local club Ludwigshafener SC.  After spending 10 years at the local club, Shurrle moved to Mainz, to join the youth side of Jurgen Klopp's FSV Mainz.  He spent three years at the youth level at Mainz and was promoted into the first team in 2009 By Thomas Tuchel.

Shurrle With His Mentor..

After Spending two successfull seasons were he nearly made 70 appearances for the club, he moved on to start a new chapter in his life and was bought by Bayer Leverkusen in the start of 2011/2012 season.

 The 20 year old did not wait for anything, he started to impress everyone with his passing and his speed and his Goal Scoring Abilities.  Shurrle once again did not spend more than two years at Leverkusen as he went on to Join Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in transfer worth 21 million Euros.

Start Of A New Chapter.

  And he did not dissappoint the Londeners and slowly gained Mourinho's respect with his Performances.  He scored over 7 goals in the season and had nearly 10 assists but he was very valuable.  Due to his splendid performances, Mourinho's side finished third behind Manchester City and Liverpool.  His crucial goal against Paris Saint Germain in an UEFA Champions League match  was applauded by many football Pundits.

                                           At the end of the season the German National Team for the World Cup was impressed by Shurrle's Performances at Chelsea and decided to take him with them to Brazil.  Joachim Low really liked Shurrle, as he did not fail to get him on the pitch as a substitute.  Shurrle did not dissappoint his coach, he scored against Algeria coming on as a substitute and also scored twice against Brazil in the Semi Finals after replacing Miroslav Klose.  He once again came on as a substitute against Messi's Argentina in the Finals and won the game for Germany by assisting Mario Gotze's goal which proved to be the decisive one.

His Efforts Did Not Go In Vain, What A Proud Moment..

  Lifting the World Cup at very early age was really a gift and was a proud moment in Shurrle's career, Lifting the World Cup is a dream that every single professional footballer would have.

THE DRAMA - CHICKEN THE GAME CHANGER
                                    
                                            Winning the World Cup for Germany really boosted himself and he took all of the confidence he gained from the World Cup and was looking to use it in the form of his performances.  He really did that as well.  He Scored a goal against Burnley in the first game of the new season.  Then Shurrle went on to look after his international duties.  After playing a match for Germany, Andre Shurrle had some Chicken and was affected by Salmonella.  Due to that he suddenly lost 4 to 5 kilos of his normal weight.  After that he went on to look very skinny and he could never perform like before.

                                            

A Skinny And Weak Shurrle..

  He also said in an interview that after consuming the Chicken he was affected by Salmonella and  lost 4 to 5 kilos of weight.  He also added that that sudden weight loss affected his fitness.  He never performed well for Chelsea after that and he asked Mourinho to sell him and Mourinho did sell him to VFL Wolfsburg for 22 million Euros.
 
                                               Shurrle returned to the Bundesliga and he once again started to rediscover his form as he won the DFB Pokal with Wolfsburg.

Finally He Rediscovered Some Of His Form Again..

He started scoring goals in a regular manner. Everyone thought that Shurrle is back.  His goal scoring prowess was rediscovered again and he was scoring regularly for Wolfsburg in both Bundesliga and the Champions League.  His Fitness was back and his precision too.  So with this Confidence he Signed for Borussia Dortmund to Join His good friend Mario Gotze. 

                                               But this move was known to be the worst stint in his career as he scored only 3 times for them.  The fans enraged by this mocked Shurrle by chanting "We Will Drink Untill Shurrle Scores"  Shurrle's confidence was really shaken by this.

Start Of The Demise..

  Then he went on loan to Fulham in 2018, but that was not better either.  Fulham had their worst moments in the top flight of English Football and were relegated that season.  He was not included in the squad of Borussia Dortmund as he was sent on loan once again and he joined Russian side Spartak Moscow.

                                               But this move was really disastrous as he managed to score only once for the Russian Side this season.  Being 29 Shurrle had 3 or 4 years in top flight of European football.  But his confidence was not with him.  He was so distraught and depressed about loneliness in top flight of European Football.  He was considering retirement before he joined Spartak Moscow.  He went on loan to Spartak Moscow to rediscover himself, but that has resulted in retirement.

FINALLY WHAT FORCED HIM TO RETIRE?

                                                 Nothing or Nobody forced him to retire.  It was his Personal decision.  He was depressed and was deeply concerned about his form and his inconsistency.  His confidence was not with him.  The confidence that he had when he was playing for Chelsea was not with him.  Was it the Chicken which turned his career upside down?

Chicken The Game Changer??

  Or is it his Inconsistency?  I would say, his inconsistency really shattered his confidence of playing.  He would play fantastically for 5 or 10 games and would play really very poorly for another 10 or 20 games.  This had shattered his confidence and his respect in the team.

                                                Shurrle had it, he had really good pace and good fitness levels even when he was playing for Spartak Moscow this season, but his inconsistency in performing is my opinion about his retirement.  It is that which really took away all of his confidence and forced him to retire.

Lack Of Confidence, Depression, Is Clearly Visible In His Face And His Playing Style..

Because 29 is the age at which most of the players get into top of their careers and become as legends of the game by their performances, take an example of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.  He was a very normal player untill his 30's but the older he got the better he got.  Shurrle was sick of the competion inherence in top flight football.  He had requested Borussia Dortmund to terminate his contract.

"I no longer need the applause. The depths became deeper and the highlights less and less"

"You always have to play a certain role in order to survive in the business otherwise you will lose your job and will not get a new one. Only performance on the pitch counts."

"On behalf of myself and my family I want to thank everybody who was a part of these phenomenal years! The support and love you shared with me was unbelievable and more I could have ever asked for!

"Now I'm ready and open for all the beautiful possibilities that are coming towards me."

These are the words that he said after announcing his retirement from football.  But how do we know, he could come back even very stronger like Arjen Robben who returned back to football after retiring in 2019.