Former World Champion Retires From Football Aged 32, Becomes a Coach Immediately

• A former Arsenal star, who won the World Cup with Germany, has hung his boots aged 32 and immediately took up a coaching job
• The retired defender made over 300 appearances in his 15-year football career, with 151 of those being in Arsenal colours
• His first job after retirement will be with an Under-17s national team, where he will work under Marc Meister

Former Arsenal defender, Shkodran Mustafi, has announced his retirement from football, taking up a role as a coach almost immediately after.

Mustafi, 32, left Spanish outfit Levante last summer and ultimately decided to bring an end to a 15-year football career.

The former Gunner is still set to stay within the footballing realm, as reports claim he will become the new Germany Under-17 coach.

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"I have long thought about wanting to gain experience as a coach. On the one hand, it's a shame that it comes so early because I would have liked to play football longer," Mustafi told the Germany federation’s website.

"On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to this time and to taking my first steps as a coach at the DFB. I want to pass on all the experience I gained during my time in the U15 to the U21 and of course the senior national team to the boys."

Mustafi’s playing career

In 2009, Mustafi signed for Everton’s academy team, and despite breaking into the first team, he barely made any appearances for The Toffees before transferring to Sampdoria in Italy.

After two years with the Serie B team, the German moved to Spain, joining Valencia CF in a five-year deal, according to Transfermarkt.

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In 2016, Arsene Wenger brought Mustafi to the Emirates from Valencia for a reported fee of £35 million, just two years after he became a World Champion with the German national team.

Over a five-year spell with the Gunners, the defender formed solid partnerships with the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Sead Kolasinac and was an integral member of Wenger, Unai Emery, and Mikel Arteta’s initial teams.

Internationally, he earned 20 caps for Germany between 2014 and 2017 and was consistently trusted by Joachim Lowe in the team’s defence.

Since leaving Levante, Mustafi has been keeping fit with training drills by himself in the hopes of landing a new club, but nothing was forthcoming. He ultimately decided to take a dip into coaching.

About Brighton’s new manager

Sports Brief also reported on some of the facts about Brighton and Hove Albion’s new manager, Fabian Hurzeler.

At 32, Hurzeler is the youngest manager ever in the Premier League.

He prefers to play with a back three, with his preferred formations being the classic 3-4-3 or 5-2-3, which utilizes wingbacks as make-shift midfielders.