Christian Hochstätter
He was born in Augsburg on 19th October, 1963. He played 339 Bundesliga games as a midfield player, where he scored 55 goals and was also part of the German national team.
After his career as a football player, he successfully became a football manager. He now manages the VFL Bochum. Together with Horst and Philipp Köppel, he eastablished Pro90 in 2012.
Clubs as a player:
Stationen als Sportdirektor:
Erfolge:
- DFB-Pokalsieger
My way to Gladbach
I was 18 years old when I left my hometown. At that time I was already playing for the FC Augsburg when my friend Armin Veh, who was a player of Borussia, took me to Mönchenglabach. I participated in test training session for VfL and impressed coach Jupp Heynckes. A few days later I signed my contract. My parents didn't know about all of this and were less then enthusiastic about it. But I wanted to go my own way, make my own decisions and my own mistakes.
At that time Uwe Kamps, Michael Frontzeck and I were newcomers at Borussia. We wanted to be successful and show older players what we can do.
It was a school of hard knocks for a young player. The older players trained the younger ones. Those who didn't do as they were told, got into trouble. But that's how it was at the time.
I've learned a lot, not only about how to play football, but also about respect, discipline and team spirit. At some point I wasn't the newcomer anymore and, like the others, I tried to pass on the things that I've learnt.
A football team is a little like a family. You have to go hand in hand to trust each other. At least if you want to be successful.
Christian Hochstätter