"That was a period where I already learned a lot about life, how important it is to be healthy, and how grateful you can be to be healthy and to follow your dream.” "It was not clear that I could play football as a kid anymore." The former Hoffenheim defender even felt he was on the verge of a senior call up to the German national team at one stage, only to suffer a serious knee injury. He was just 20 at the time. Jaissle refused to give up, and "kept the dream for a lot longer than the doctors did", but the setback ultimately curtailed his career and he retired a few years later in 2014.   submitted by   /u/Sparky-moon [link]   [comments]