Former Lazio and Juventus full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner has opened up on life after football and the issues professionals may face in deciding what to do after hanging up their boots, and even had time to throw in a prediction for this season’s Serie A campaign.
The 37-year-old former Switzerland international turned out 301 times in Serie A for the two above mentioned clubs, scoring 15 goals and winning seven Scudetto titles, five Coppa Italia trophies and four Supercoppa Italiana trophies during his ten-year spell in Italy.
After going into retirement in 2020, the man dubbed ‘Forrest Gump’ for his lung-busting runs, has spoken to Tuttomercatoweb about all things from watch making to hockey as he attempts to find his next hobby for all the free time he has on his hands.
“Watches are my passion,” Lichtsteiner said. “Once I retired I used it as an opportunity to focus on the world of watches,” he added.
“I did a three month internship with Maurice de Mauriac [a Zurich based company] where I discovered a new world.
“I spent a lifetime as a footballer and football players live in another world, so for this reason I wanted to take on the experience to grow as a man.
“It was an amazing experience but I don’t think I’m cut out for that type of work, I’m a sporty guy so I think that’s the way for me to go”.
Lichtsteiner, who clocked up 108 caps and is third on the list of all-time appearance holders for his country then went on to talk about another sport he loves; hockey.
“It’s another matter of the heart,” he exclaimed. “I’m a massive hockey fan and I wasn’t able to follow it as I would have liked, due to my dedication to football.
“For me, it’s a new role [administrator with Hockey Club Lugano]. It’s a great club and they always want to win and do better. I’m not taking care of the technical side of things, but it’s still great,” he said.
Lichtsteiner then added his thoughts on Serie A and even threw in a prediction, tipping former club, Juventus, to lift the Scudetto by saying, “It’ll be a, finely balanced season, but Juventus will go on to win it”.
