“An experience I will never forget!” – Ex-Chelsea star and World Cup winner Andre Schurrle on taking unique endurance challenge after retirement
Former Chelsea star Andre Schurrle, who won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany, recently took up a unique endurance challenge, one of the most difficult challenges in the world.
Schurrle called time in his career back in 2020 at the age of 29 with Borussia Dortmund being his last club. He recently took part in an endurance challenge, named the Wim Hof Method.
This is one of the most difficult challenges in the world and requires a participant to climb the frozen Sniezka Mountain in the Czech Republic, which is above 1630 meters the sea level, with only shorts and no shirt on.
Speaking about his surreal experience, Schurrle said (via @b360sports on Instagram):
"The last minutes I couldn't feel anything and I had to find something deep inside me to keep going. An experience I will never forget! -19 degrees, 100 km/h wind in our faces, heavy snow and rain. What I learned... my body and I are stronger than I thought if I put my mind and soul into it I can do it all."
Andre Schurrle was a fantastic player in his heyday and played for clubs like Mainz, Chelsea, Wolfsburg, and more. He played 65 times for Chelsea, scoring 14 goals and providing three assists.
Schurrle was a key player for Germany when Joachim Low's side won the World Cup back in 2014. He scored thrice in that tournament and also assisted Mario Gotze's winner in the final against Argentina. Schurrle represented Die Mannschaft 57 times during his career, scoring 22 goals and providing seven assists.
Andre Schurrle said eating chicken ruined his Chelsea career
Andre Schurrle was at the top of the world after winning the FIFA World Cup with Germany in 2014. However, three months after the win, food poisoning cost the player his Chelsea career, according to the German.
Schurrle said he ate chicken while away on international duty and fell really sick. That made him lose a considerable amount of weight and he became weaker. It was hard for the player to recover from who fell behind Eden Hazard and Willian in the pecking order.
Speaking on the issue, Schurrle said (via The Sun):
“It was a bit of chicken and I’ve never eaten chicken since. It was only me. It was an away game in Poland."
He added (via The Sun):
“You see how skinny I am so to lose three, four, five kilos it took me a really long time to get my strength back. I was being sick and really feeling like I can’t get out of bed. We found out it was salmonella.”
Despite being a spectacular player, Andre Schurrle never flourished at Chelsea. He also played for clubs like Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, and more during his career.