Der Hammer has retired

[Virgil Caine]

Intelligent lad Thomas. Not a chance you will ever find him making a fool of himself through drink or whatever. I am sure we all wish him every success in his future career.

Welcome back to Villa Park anytime.

Apart from the 107mph in the Range Rover for which he would have got a ban had he not needed his licence as he was out of work. Not a complete angel but close enough.

[Deano's Mullet]

Any links to the Boggies goal?

[dcdavecollett]

Liked his attitude as much as anything.

He didn't lie about why he wanted to leave, didn't say he was considering signing a new contract to keep the fans onside, he just said he wanted to go back to Germany because of his international ambitions.

It's quite rare for a player to be so open and honest with the fans these days.

[placeforparks]

i liked the bit where he wrote articles for an anti-fascist magazine, and then joined lazio.

[DrGonzo]

I must admit to never understanding why we all like Hitz so much, he was decent but if he hadn't had a huge, rarely accurate, left boot would we really remember him?

[DrGonzo]

And good luck chap.  Hope it all goes well for you.

[pauliewalnuts]

Also loved his Brummy-German accent.

Yep, had a better Brummie accent than many Brummies.

He still had it when he was playing for West Ham a few years back. Remember seeing him interviewed around that time.

Certainly did.