Thorsten Legat (born 7 November 1968) is a German reality television personality and former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
He competed in the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
during his 15-year senior career, amassing totals of 243 games and 15 goals and representing mainly
Bochum
Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...
(five years) and
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
(four).
Football career
Born in
Bochum
Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...
, Legat started playing professionally at hometown's
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...
, making his
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
debut on 6 September 1987 (not yet 19) in a 1–1 home draw against
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
. He became an essential first-team member in the following seasons.
After a spectacular
1990–91 campaign (31 matches, seven goals, being crucial in helping Bochum retain its top division status), Legat signed with
SV Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...
. Facing stiffer competition, he still managed to play nearly 100 official games in three seasons and also helped the club win the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
in
his debut campaign, although he did not play in
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
against
AS Monaco FC
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...
.
Legat then spent one season at
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
, playing as a defensive complement to
Augustine Okocha
Augustine Azuka Okocha ( ; born 14 August 1973), commonly known as Jay-Jay Okocha, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played 73 times for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scorin ...
, and then moved for
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
. With the latter, he began suffering from injuries, undergoing two
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
surgeries.
Additionally, Legat was involved in a racist incident with Guinean
Pablo Thiam
Pablo Thiam (born 3 January 1974) is a Guinean former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He holds a German passport.
Club career
Born in Conakry, Thiam grew up as the son of a Guinean diplomat in the former German cap ...
, a teammate, in early 1999. He was immediately released, only appearing 40 times in four years combined, and spent two more injury-ravaged years at
FC Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...
, subsequently retiring.
In 2005–06, Legat spent one year coaching Werder's under-19 side. The following year, he would be involved in another incident, in which he brandished a
samurai sword
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
to a group of youngsters after being threatened alongside his wife, slightly hitting one in the head.
Off the field
Violence
In his time as an active player, Legat's career was overshadowed several times by derailments off the court. So he put a man into the hospital, for example, in New Year's Eve 1996/97 in Bochum after he had threatened him.
In June 2007, Legat made headlines when he fell in the parking lot of a
Remscheid
Remscheid () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third-largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on the south ...
fast food chain branch in dispute with a group of young people who allegedly threatened him. As a result, Legat pulled a
Samurai sword
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
, which earned him a legal proceeding for attempted dangerous bodily injury. The proceeding was stopped in December 2008 against a payment of an amount of €1,000 to a charitable institution.
TV appearances
In April 2014, Legat participated in the celebrity cooking show ''Hell's Kitchen'' and reached the final. In autumn of the same year, he joined the celebrity boxing event ''Promiboxen'', where he won his fight against the rapper Trooper Da Don. He has participated in several
ProSieben
ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media.
It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...
events, including ''TV Total Stock Car Crash Challenge'' in November 2014 and October 2015 and ''Die große ProSieben Völkerball Meisterschaft'' in April 2016.
In January 2016, Legat was candidate in the tenth season of the
RTL Television
RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by the RTL Group, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is consider ...
reality game show
''Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!'' and finished third. In June 2016, he worked together with his wife Alexandra at ''Das Sommerhaus der Stars – Kampf der Promipaare''. In July 2016, he was participant in the summer specials of ''Grill the Henssler'' and ''Ninja Warrior Germany'', and in August 2016 he took part in the show ''Bauer sucht Frau – Die große Bauernolympiade'' in the team of celebrities. In December 2016, Legat lost his challenge to his competitor
Detlef Soost
Detlef Soost (born 2 July 1970), also using the name D! (formerly ''Dee!''), most often called Detlef D! Soost, is a German television personality, dancer and choreographer who gained recognition as one of the jury members of the German talent ...
at ''
Schlag den Raab
''Schlag den Raab'' (, German for ''Beat (the) Raab'') was a live game show that was televised by German television channel ProSieben on Saturday evenings from September 2006 until December 2015. A total of six episodes were produced and broadca ...
'', where he also presented a tattoo translating to "Blood, Honour, Pride & Family", which strongly resembles the Nazi slogan
Blood & Honour
Blood & Honour is a Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi music promotion network and right-wing extremist political group founded in the United Kingdom by Ian Stuart Donaldson and Nicky Crane in 1987. It is composed of White Nationalism, White Nationalists an ...
. In January 2017, he strengthened the "Team Football" at ''Duell der Stars – Die Sat.1 Promiarena''.
Private
Legat grew up with his three brothers in the parents in
Werne
Werne an der Lippe (; Westphalian: ''Wäen'') is a town in the Federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Unna district in Germany. It is located on the southern edge of the Münsterland region near the Ruhrgebiet. The population of Werne ...
, a district of
Bochum
Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...
. In the 1990s, he married Alexandra, with whom he has two sons today. He and his children have been living in
Wermelskirchen
Wermelskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Wärmelßkirrshe'') is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26m).
Coat of arms
...
in
Bergisches Land
The Bergisches Land (, ''Berg Country'') is a low mountain range region within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over ...
for years.
According to his
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
''Wenn das Leben foul spielt'', which was published in 2014, Legat attributes his own outbursts of violence to years of sexual abuse as well as brutal and humiliating attacks by his often-drunk father to both him and the rest of the family during his childhood.
The father died in 2005.
Honours
Werder Bremen
*
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
:
1991–92
*
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
:
1992–93
*
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
:
1993–94
*
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
: runners-up
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
VfB Stuttgart
* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runners-up:
1997–98
* DFB-Pokal:
1996–97
*
DFB-Ligapokal
The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous ...
: runners-up 1997, 1998
Schalke 04
* DFB-Pokal:
2000–01
VfL Bochum
* DFB-Pokal: runner-up
1987–88
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legat, Thorsten
Living people
1968 births
Sportspeople from Bochum
German footballers
Association football midfielders
Bundesliga players
VfL Bochum players
SV Werder Bremen players
Eintracht Frankfurt players
VfB Stuttgart players
FC Schalke 04 players
Germany under-21 international footballers
Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia
Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus! participants
West German footballers