It was in the 88th minute that those in the HDI-Arena rose and applauded as Per Mertesacker ran the last few metres of his footballing career. After 15 extremely successful but taxing years of professional football, the ‘BFG’ finishes his career with 104 international appearances, a world cup trophy, and 150 games in a Werder shirt. The match was certainly a trip down memory lane for Mertesacker. Many companions like Metzelder from the national team, Jörg Sievers of Hannover 96, but also both former and current Werder players like Claudio Pizarro and Clemens Fritz paid their respects to Mertesacker. At the end of the game, it was the team of ‘Per’s World XI’ that beat the Mertesacker Hannover 96 team 10-9, thanks to a wonder goal from Mertesacker himself. But that was just a sideshow, the main aim being to have fun and celebrate the career of a big personality in German sport, who had tears in his eyes when completing a lap of the pitch at the end.
