Never losing sight of the goal | OneFootball

Michael Zetterer has shown perseverance and mental strength throughout his career, learning valuable lessons from difficult times. Get to know Frankfurt’s new goalkeeper

“It was clear that I would only leave Werder if something came along that appealed to me on all levels – that was the case right from the initial conversation here,” explained Zetterer after signing his contract. “The club has a clear vision. I’m glad to now be a part of it and will do everything I can to help us achieve our aims.”

His path

Patience, perseverance as well as the ability to process setbacks and grow from them are among the personal qualities of Eintracht’s new goalkeeper. Zetterer’s career began in Darching, around 40 kilometres south of Munich. He began playing for local club DJK before joining SpVgg Unterhaching at the age of 10. It was there that he matured, making 88 competitive appearances from U17 to first-team level. His senior debut came in March 2014 in a third-division match against Hallescher FC.

Eight and a half years after his arrival in Haching, the then 19-year-old moved to SV Werder Bremen. “That was a big step, 700 or 800 kilometres away from home and on my own for the first time, away from the ‘Hotel Mama’,” Zetterer told Sky Sports at the time. A lot of water would flow down the Weser before Zetterer made his professional debut for Bremen, but he ultimately played a total of 80 matches for the club in all competitions.

Zetterer the fighter

Serious injuries to the left hand, multiple scaphoid fractures and a capsule injury kept him out of action for lengthy periods. At one point, the 1.87-metre keeper went 13 months without kicking a ball, but his steadfast determination to make it in the Bundesliga kept him going.

“There were also days when the sun wasn’t shining and your mind was elsewhere,” Zetterer told Sky last year. “It was difficult to believe in the ultimate goal on those days, but essentially I was always just thinking about getting fit again.” He also revealed the role that his grandma played during that time. “I don’t know how often that woman had cancer and kept beating it. She never complained or whined – it was never ‘Why this again?’ To some extent she was an example and an inspiration to me. No self-pity.”

Zetterer fought through the setbacks caused by further operations on his injured hand and battled on. During loan spells at Austria Klagenfurt in Austria’s second tier and PEC Zwolle in the Dutch Eredivisie, he regained trust in his body. He also changed his diet during this period: for many years he has eaten mainly vegan food. “Since then I’ve been free of injuries,” he says.

Back in Bremen, the persistence and grit eventually paid off – the thing he’d been working towards for so long became reality. He made his first-team debut on Matchday 1 of the 2021/22 Bundesliga 2 season against Hannover 96, his first Bundesliga appearance in September 2022 against Augsburg, and from autumn 2023 he was the undisputed No. 1.

In retrospect, he can say that his time on the sidelines due to injury “made him the person and the sportsman I am today”. Any thoughts of an early retirement have been cast aside. They gave way to his great fighting spirit, but also to humility and appreciation for his situation – “the privilege of being a professional footballer”, as he once described it in an interview with the Bremen website.

That’s not to say the 30-year-old hasn’t thought about his post-football career, as he’s completed the IST diploma in ‘Football Management’ via distance learning.

In the heart of Europe

However, that time is a long way off. Eintracht Frankfurt is the present: Zetterer has signed a contract in the heart of Europe until 2029. Gude!

On Wednesday morning, he trained with his new colleagues for the first time in the shadows of Deutsche Bank Park, where Eintracht’s 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign begins on Saturday – against Werder Bremen.