club. In January 2022, Hitzlsperger told ARD, that a "collective coming out" of gay footballers could be a solution to their problems of hiding their sexuality. Hitzlsperger took the example of 125 Catholic priests in Germany who decided to come out at once. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hitzlsperger goal. Honours VfB Stuttgart Bundesliga: 2006–07 DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2006–07 Germany UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2008 FIFA World Cup third place: 2006 FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 2005 Individual kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2006–07 Federal Cross of Merit (2020) References External links Blog at Störungsmelder 1982 births Living people German footballers Aston Villa F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players VfB Stuttgart players S.S. Lazio players West Ham United F.C. players VfL Wolfsburg players Everton F.C. players Footballers from Munich Premier League players English Football League players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Italy Gay sportsmen German expatriate footballers Germany international footballers Germany under-21 international footballers Germany youth international footballers 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Bundesliga players German LGBT footballers Serie A players UEFA Euro 2008 players German expatriate sportspeople in England Association football midfielders Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany