league match of 2006–07, and also appeared in the club's Champions League qualifying round against Arsenal – the English had tried to sign him in the past – a 0–3 home defeat. On 19 August 2006, Nowotny suffered an injury during Dinamo's home match against NK Međimurje, a 4–1 win. Even though he was not fully healed and had played all 90 minutes for Germany in a friendly match only three days earlier, he asked to play because his wife and children came to Zagreb to watch him. Coach Josip Kuže, as he later admitted, had his doubts about the player's decision to play; he also had thoughts to substitute him by the end of the match, but changed his mind because of the fans, who had accepted Nowotny with acclamation. After the match, his injury became more serious, and needed surgery, and a one-month layoff (he missed both legs of the side's 2–5 aggregate loss against AJ Auxerre, for the UEFA Cup). Eventually, on 22 January 2007, Nowotny announced his retirement from football, not being able to fully recover. He said: "To think I may have to wait another 10 months through physiotherapy and returning to training – this is enough.", said the 33-year-old. International career Nowotny made his debut for the German national team on 30 April 1997, in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ukraine played in Bremen, replacing striker Fredi Bobic after 15 minutes. He was subsequently part of the squads at two UEFA European Football Championships, 2000 and 2004, totalling five appearances in two group stage exits; he missed the 2002 World Cup due to a serious injury. Nowotny was then picked for the 2006 World Cup in his country, after two years of absence from international football. However, the experienced stopper spent the whole tournament as backup to younger Christoph Metzelder and Per Mertesacker, only playing in the third-place play-off against Portugal (3–1 win), as stand-in for the injured Mertesacker. In total he won 48 caps, scoring his only goal in a friendly match, a 7–0 victory over Malta on 27 May 2004. Career statistics Club International Score and result list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Nowotny goal. Honours Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga runner-up: 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02 UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2001–02 DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2001–02 Dinamo Zagreb Croatian First Football League: 2006–07 Croatian Football Cup: 2006–07 Germany FIFA World