Having been hailed as the future of German football at the turn of the millennium, Deisler could never manage to reach his full potential due to several cruciate ligament ruptures and other major injuries, as well as depression.

At age 15, he was scouted and signed by the Bundesliga outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach and played for the club at junior level from 1995 to 1998.

As Borussia Mönchengladbach were relegated at the end of the season, Deisler moved on to Hertha BSC for 4.5 million DM.

[2] Almost simultaneously, German tabloid Bild made known that an agreement had been reached between the player and FC Bayern Munich.

Deisler faced immense critique from the fans and the media for not having announced the agreement earlier as well as accepting the payment.

Deisler later stated that he was asked to keep silent by the Hertha BSC manager Dieter Hoeneß to avoid unrest.

At the same time, Deisler struggled to endure the pressure he was exposed to at Bayern[3] and developed a depression for which he was treated as a stationary patient in a Munich clinic from November 2003.

Although Deisler came back in November, he felt exhausted and, citing his lack of confidence in ever regaining the necessary stability in his often-injured knee, he announced his retirement on 16 January 2007.

[5] Bayern general manager Uli Hoeneß stated that Deisler's contract, which ran until 30 June 2009, would not be dissolved but instead be in abeyance.