Thomas Hitzlsperger profile

A midfielder with a thunderous shot, Thomas Hitzlsperger forced his way back into the Germany squad in time for the World Cup.

Seemingly out of the reckoning for one of the 23 places in Jurgen Klinsmann's squad, an end-of-season rally handed Hitzlsperger a tournament lifeline.

"He is a young player who hopefully will go on to be a really good player. He has got the potential. Only time will tell whether he will be."
David O'Leary

The Munich-born 24-year-old spent his educative years with home-town club Bayern before moving to England with Aston Villa six years ago.

He made his debut for the Premiership club in January 2001 against Liverpool and later that year undertook a spell on loan at Chesterfield.

Upon his return to Villa Park, the forward-thinking midfielder worked his way into the Villa side and became noted for his powerful shooting.

But, after making over 100 appearances for Aston Villa, Hitzlsperger headed back to Germany last summer to link up with Stuttgart on a free transfer.

Earlier this year, Hitzlsperger returned to England when Stuttgart tackled Middlesbrough in the Uefa Cup, although he only featured in the last 10 minutes at The Riverside.

Hitzlsperger was a regular feature in the Germany Under-21 side, making 19 appearances, before claiming his first senior cap against Iran in October 2004.

At last year's Confederations Cup, he was pressed into action as an emergency left back and moved into double figures for caps.

After featuring in last October's friendly against China, Hitzlsperger was overlooked for the spring friendlies and it appeared to end his World Cup prospects.

However, he was given a late reprieve by Klinsmann and was picked ahead of the more experienced Fabian Ernst.