On the occasion of his 60th birthday on March 10, Tony Polster talks to “Presse am Sonntag” about obstacles in life and his sometimes crippling image as a disgraced brother. Austria's all-time top scorer explains what links Ronaldo and Messi at the football level.
Mr. Polster, the most important question we should start with: How is your health?
Tony Bolster: Good again now. I was lucky because that December day, at my wife's insistence, I went to the hospital two days after the actual stomach ruptured. If I wanted to leave after a day, I wouldn't have woken up. Life always presents you with new obstacles to overcome. That was an obstacle I didn't see.
Did this day, this process change your perspective on life?
But, yes. You're already thinking and trying to hear that warning shot and do things better than they were in the past. At 60, you are in the last third of your life. Recently, the president of Hertha Berlin passed away at the age of 43. Maybe he didn't think he'd have to leave early. But it doesn't help. You still have to enjoy life, enjoy it and realize that family is the most important thing. I have now found my sense of humor again.
How did you actually become a footballer?
My father, who played in the local league and twice participated in the national team, discovered my talent early. When I was eight years old, he asked me if I wanted to play for a club with real clothes and a real referee. That was the starting signal. It was always clear to me that I would never become an airplane captain, a lumberjack, a railroad worker, or a postal worker. For me, there was always only football.
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