World Cup winner Mertesacker to play one more time for boyhood club

Per Mertesacker, footballer and soccer expert, attends the "Sport Bild" Award 2024 ceremony in Hamburg. Mertesacker will return to the pitch one more time next week to play for his boyhood club TSV Pattensen. Christian Charisius/dpa
Former Germany defender Per Mertesacker will return to the pitch one more time next week to play for his boyhood club TSV Pattensen.
The northern German amateur side play second division Hanover, where he started his professional career, on June 27 on the occasion of their 135th anniversary.
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"It is a big honour for me to lace my boots one more time for the club where I started at the age of 4," the Bild paper on Thurs quoted Mertesacker as saying.
Mertesacker said he was "halfway in shape", hopes to last for around 30 minutes, but is not planning to play on a regular basis again.
"It is not supposed to be a Per Mertesacker show but a great experience for TSV," he said.
Mertesacker, 40, joined Pattensen at the age of 4 before moving on to Hanover when he was 11. He made his Bundesliga debut for Hanover eight years later and then also played for Werder Bremen and Arsenal where he ended his career in 2018.
The 2014 World Cup winner Mertesacker has remained in London as head of Arsenal's academy.

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