Professional soccer player Maximilian Thalhammer from Freising really starts at SC Paderborn.
A real highlight is ahead of him with the cup hit against Dortmund.
Freising / Paderborn
- Firstly, it sometimes turns out differently and secondly, than you think.
When Maximilian Thalhammer, now 23 years old, packs his belongings in the summer of 2014 and goes to Ingolstadt, it is far from foreseeable that the Freisinger would be a seasoned second division kicker in 2021, with SC Paderborn in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup stands and lives the dream that many young boys dream of: to be a professional soccer player.
Thalhammer still wears the SE Freising jersey for the U17 juniors, and of course always belongs to the perspective players of his teams, at the end of the day he is relegated to the national league.
Despite this, or perhaps because of this motivation to also make it in the higher leagues, Maximilian Thalhammer moved to Ingolstadt in the summer - the FCI, now one of the top addresses in the youth field, had called.
And the Domstadt, not yet 17 years old, wants to try his hand at it.
"At the time, to be honest, I didn't really think twice about whether I would become a professional footballer."
U19 Bundesliga as a springboard
At Ingolstadt, Thalhammer can initially play in the A-Junior Bayern League.
If it should be enough for paid football at all, "then that was a very late step anyway," says Thalhammer, looking back.
Others have long made a name for themselves at this age.
Obviously it was not too late: The first year is going well, the Freising native has made numerous assignments in his new team.
And - perhaps with one of the most decisive steps on the career ladder: The Ingolstadt-based company has made it to the junior Bundesliga.
Thalhammer is not only allowed to stay, but also regularly plays in the games in the U19 upper house in 2015/16 - in the league that can become a springboard for ambitious young footballers.
Step by step on the way up
After his time in the junior division, Maximilian Thalhammer has to take a back seat first.
Although the talented midfielder continues to kick in the Audistadt, for the time being, those responsible have only earmarked him a place in the second team, which plays in the Bavarian regional league.
In retrospect, however, that could have been the great luck for Maximilian Thalhammer.
“It was perhaps the right way,” the lanky, 1.92 meter tall professional footballer sums up himself today. On the one hand, he was able to get used to the men's division in the fourth division and was allowed to train in the second division team at least in the second half.
And on the other hand, his coach in the reserve team was then Stefan Leitl.
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It all started at SE Freising.
In 2012, for example, Maximilian Thalhammer (back, 3rd from left) played in the U15 indoor championship.
© Matthias Spanrad
Second division debut on February 3, 2018
Leitl is to be promoted to coach of the second division squad in August 2017 after Maik Walpurgis' short-term dismissal after only three season games.
And he soon remembers his former pupil, Maximilian Thalhammer, then 20.
Thalhammer is already in the second division squad on the ninth matchday - and on February 3, 2018, in the derby against Greuther Fürth, the Freisinger will finally celebrate his debut for the FCI.
He is even in the starting eleven and will only be substituted after 66 minutes.
Since then, there has been a steep upward trend: there are now 30 second division and 32 third division games in the vita of the 23-year-old.
Thalhammer currently plays for SC Paderborn, tenth in the table in the 2nd Bundesliga, and has signed a contract there that runs until the end of June 2022.
Many advocates and sponsors
And yet in conversation with Maximilian Thalhammer the word luck comes up again and again.
Lucky to be able to take this path, lucky to have repeatedly found sponsors who recognized and promoted the potential of the defensive midfielder.
Like Stefan Leitl at FC Ingolstadt or others at Jahn Regensburg.
The young man can be loaned there in 2018, after his first half-year as a professional in Ingolstadt.
He had too many experienced players in front of his chest at the FCI, and deployment times were not guaranteed.
In Regensburg, too, Thalhammer initially only sat on the bench, but then duped in the 5-0 win against the venerable Hamburger SV - and it was soon impossible to imagine the Jahn-Elf of coach Achim Beierlorzer without it.
The Freisinger becomes one of the pivotal points in the midfield.
And yet his guest appearance at the second division only lasts a year.
“I would have liked to stay,” Thalhammer looks back a year and a half later.
Because the FC Ingolstadt has not remained hidden, what kind of talent they have given to the Upper Palatinate.
Thalhammer has to go back to Upper Bavaria and the way to the 3rd league, in which the FCI was relegated.
Certainly a painful step for an aspiring footballer, but a happy one for Ingolstadt.
Thalhammer hardly misses a game of the season, scores three goals - and is also an important part of the FCI team.
Brutal defeat in relegation
And yet the Freising should experience the most painful moment of his still young career with the Ingolstadt team: In the end, the Ingolstadt team scratched their return to the 2nd Bundesliga, initially just missing third place and thus the direct qualification.
Then the Audistädter will be left behind in the relegation against 1. FC Nürnberg: The first leg in July 2020 is lost 2-0, at home Ingolstadt is already 3-0 - and only conceded the bitter 3-1 in stoppage time , the non-ascent is sealed.
“We were devastated,” recalls Thalhammer.
"You saw how brutal football can be."
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Maximilian Thalhammer (center) experienced the most painful moment of his career during his time in Ingolstadt (here a scene from the 2020 league game against the Lions) with the last-minute knockout in the relegation.
© Haist
He doesn't have much time to think about it.
At his own request, the chapter ends in Ingolstadt, even if Thalhammer, one day after his 23rd birthday, would have loved to say goodbye as part of a promotion ceremony and perhaps even stayed.
But as it is, he does not extend his contract and changes to SC Paderborn.
"I really wanted to go to the 2nd Bundesliga," stressed Thalhammer.
But things are not going well at the sports club at first: At the beginning of the season, the newcomer broke his metatarsus and is out for months.
Cup coup against Union Berlin
Thalhammer only celebrates its comeback at the end of December, first in the league, then even in the sensational coup in the DFB Cup kick at the Bundesliga club Union Berlin.
"Nobody in the team has a guarantee of engagement," says Thalhammer.
However, he already knew "that I am a full member of the team" before he switched.
At SCP, they think highly of the 23-year-old: “Maximilian has numerous advantages that are very important for our game.
In addition to very good duels and a strong header game, he is also strong in passing. ”This is how the club welcomed its newcomer in the summer.
And Thalhammer pays back the trust, accelerates in every training session, plowing and toiling for success after the first major injury of his career.
What's next?
Of course, Maximilian Thalhammer has a long-term plan, at some point he wants to play in the 1st Bundesliga.
Until then, the 23-year-old, whose market value is around half a million euros, will first have medium-term goals on the agenda: “First and foremost, I want to be successful with Paderborn,” says the Freising native.
The sports club is currently in the first division in 2014/15 and 2019/20, although it is only in tenth place.
In the 2. Bundesliga this year everything is extremely tight - “We want to keep the season open as long as possible,” emphasizes the 23-year-old.
Looking forward to the Signal-Iduna-Park
There is also a real highlight in the DFB Cup after Paderborn knocked Union Berlin 3-2 out of the competition in the second round, with Thalhammer in the starting line-up.
"Of course it would be a great thing to compete with one of the greats", the Freinger dreamed before the draw for the round of 16.
Fortuna seemed to have listened - on February 2nd, Thalhammer and the Paderborn team will show up in Dortmund's Signal-Iduna-Park.
The highlight of his career so far.
Nevertheless, the Lerchenfelder does not look like a typical football professional from a dazzling glittering world.
Although the 23-year-old can also be found on social networks, his followers can at least share a little in his (private) life via Instagram.
There he presented his new, blue and black dress with the 23 on it weeks ago, and a holiday photo with his girlfriend Annika was also there.
Overall, however, Thalhammer leads a quiet life in North Rhine-Westphalia.
“I'm not really recognized yet,” says Thalhammer, “and somehow I'm happy too.” His partner Annika has moved to Paderborn with them.
“You”, Thalhammer admits, “is a big pillar for me here.” Because it is not easy for football professionals to find their way around new places, to get used to a different environment.
Provision for the time after football
In addition, Thalhammer also provides for the time after his career: In Ingolstadt, the Freising native completed the 13th grade at the technical college and thus the general Abitur, after graduating in Freising.
He is currently taking a distance learning course in financial management and has already tried sports management.
“It is important to me that I fill my free time in addition to football well.” In addition, there should be a mainstay for the years after my professional career.
Strong ties to the hometown club
Incidentally, Maximilian Thalhammer has never lost sight of his hometown club, SE Freising.
After all, his brother Sebastian (25) plays in the SEF regional league team.
The Lerchenfelder followed the results before the lockdown diligently, even though there was no time left for game day visits.
Brother Sebastian also reports again and again from the Bavarian amateur league.
"There is a lot of potential in Freising", praised Maximilian Thalhammer.
"The promotion to the Bayern League would of course be a nice thing." After his time as a professional footballer, he could well imagine becoming involved with his home club.
“I've thought about it before.
That could well be something if I then live in Freising. "
Until then, Maximilian Thalhammer wants to write a few more chapters in his book on professional football.
In the DFB Cup against the big BVB and maybe once against FC Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
Who knows where the path will lead him.
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