Andre Schurrle is one of those footballers who probably won’t be remembered by the majority of football fans in a decade or two.
He had a bit of a ‘what could have been’ career, with injuries and some bad decisions ruining him.
With that being said, it’s not like the ex-Chelsea winger did not achieve admirable things in his career. Schurrle will probably be best remembered for his heroics at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
He scored a brace after coming on as a substitute in Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of Brazil in the semi-final.
Schurrle made an even bigger contribution in the final against Argentina, as he came on as a substitute and assisted Mario Gotze’s winner.
But his career only went down from that incredible high. One year after that, he left Chelsea to return to Bundesliga club Wolfsburg. Schurrle spent five years at Borussia Dortmund from 2016-2020, during which he just made 33 league appearances for them.
Out of that, two of the final seasons were spent on loans which didn’t really materialize into anything special either. In 2020, he opted to retire at the age of just 29 after mutually terminating his Dortmund contract.
From Football Field to Frosty Peak
Since then, the winger has stepped away from football altogether and has rarely been seen at the highest level.
It looks like he has taken up a different passion altogether since his retirement from the beautiful game. Normally, footballers like to take up coaching or punditry or maybe get into some business after retiring early in their careers.
Schurrle seems to have ignored all that and done something so physically taxing that it could end a normal person.
The German recently posted a series of pictures showing him wearing only a pair of shorts and with a bare body in the middle of a gruelling snowstorm.
Andre Schurrle braving -19 degree weather and 100km/h winds with just a pair of shorts on
He has taken up a passion for extreme mountain trekking with the help of a breathing expert and low-temperature survival expert Wim Hof.
Known as ‘The Iceman’, Wim Hof is a motivational speaker and extreme athlete known for his ability to withstand incredibly low temperatures.
In simple terms, the Wim Hof method is ‘a way to keep your body and mind in its optimal natural state.’
The method is through combining breathing, and cold therapy and encourages commitment to help you connect more deeply to your body.
Some of the benefits for it involved better sleep, increased energy, reduced stress, heightened focus and a stronger immune system.
Schurrle appears to be trying to exorcise the ghosts of his past by using this method.
Using the Wim Hof experience, the 2014 World Cup star trekked up a snow-covered mountain in sub-zero temperatures – while semi-naked. As part of this, he walked up the mountain topless, wearing only shorts, gloves and hiking boots on his journey.
The German seems to have taken up a whole new extreme passion after walking away from football and silenced anyone doubting just how physically and mentally tough he is.
Schurrle even earned a lot of respect from ex-Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba, who commented on the post: “Fashion week! Proud of you my man – my body would have stopped functioning straight away.”
While it’s uncertain what lies in the future for Schurrle, it sure looks like the Wim Hof experience has helped him deal with a lot of mental and physical issues with ease.
