Sigi's tips: Red card at the end of his career

Sigi Heinrich has been a sports reporter and TV commentator for decades.

One farewell follows another. The German soccer world champions of 2014, who once legendaryally defeated Brazil 7-1 in the semi-finals, are gradually saying goodbye to the big stage. Benedikt Höwedes played in the left-back position, which was completely unusual for him. Later in the final, André Schürrle gave the decisive pass to Mario Götze, who used it to score the winning goal against Argentina. Now both have announced their resignation. Höwedes was 32 years old, Schürrle was only 29 years old. But just like that: hang football boots on the famous nail and the memories in the wardrobe: that would have been too easy. Both of them dealt well again. Bad sport, this football. It takes your soul away, it actually forces you to go to the pitch once a week for a match and you have to give your best, otherwise there is a risk of trouble. Substitute bench and stuff. Loss of salary included due to lost bonuses. Loss of image too. Normal developments I have to stop for a moment and get a new pack of tissues to blow the sadness of such a difficult fate out of my nose. Both faced inhumane pressure and were even demoted towards the end of their careers, which they viewed as a personal catastrophe. Höwedes was suddenly no longer captain at Schalke 04 and Schürrle came from VfL Wolfsburg to Dortmund as the most expensive transfer at the time (30 million) and was never able to assert himself, even though he was a favorite player of the then coach Thomas Tuchel. Höwedes set off on a hike via Italy to Russia and Schürrle was relegated from the Premier League as a loan player from FC Fulham in England. This prompted both of them to once again point out in detail how hard top-class sport is and that gratitude can rarely be expected. Trapped in another world What world, I ask myself, do these kickers actually live in? And not just these two. The answer is relatively simple: it is a different world than ours. It's a bubble, a cocoon, a world within itself, made up of a thousand perks and incredible salaries. Everything is so far away that we, normal citizens, cannot understand it anyway. We are happy if we can make ends meet in these times. And we are often threatened with being left with a substitute bench or no place to sit at all when layoffs are announced. And speaking of pressure. Many people have that every day. The single parents, the owners of medium-sized businesses who are fighting for orders. The doctors who fight for our lives and risk theirs in the process. The saleswomen who fill the shelves with masks on for eight hours at 36 degrees. All of you may sometimes be overcome by the desire to resign in quiet hours or before falling asleep with the fear of the next day. But everyone simply can't afford one. The hard work continues and must continue. This is life. Restraint would be appropriate Schürrle terminated his contract early and is said to have received 2,5 million euros for it. A third of his otherwise due annual salary. And Höwedes has also made it clear that he won't have to starve from now on. Now she has released the bubble into the normal, truly merciless world. To prevent possible reactions: I am completely free from feelings of envy of any kind. Everyone can be the creator of their own happiness and I am happy for those who are successful (although I have also had a great time by being able to turn my hobby into a career at Eurosport ). However, in these economically and socially problematic times, a little more restraint combined with a little humility would certainly serve football players around the world well, especially as the sources that provided milk and honey in abundance are gradually drying up. Football has to reinvent itself and with it its protagonists. As in the real game, kicking is not helpful and is a bad foul that is punished with a red card.

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Sigi's tips: Red card at the end of his career

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