Injuries take toll as Nowotny retires

Fresh start
The 33-year-old had hoped for a fresh start in Croatia following his move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen last summer, only to suffer another minor knee injury in an August victory against NK Medimurje. He returned to action in late October and went on to make ten appearances for Dinamo before the curse struck again. "In terms of fitness I've experienced worse, but the thought of spending another ten months out, and more rehab, was just too much," he said. "It's not an emotional moment, as I always said when it's over it's over. After 15 years in professional football, the 2006 World Cup was my highlight. I also earned two titles: the most red cards in the league and the most torn cruciate ligaments."

Finals
Nowotny broke into the professional ranks at Karlsruher SC, making 103 appearances before a 1996 switch to Leverkusen where he proved himself a deft man-marker and a defender with the confidence to distribute the ball effectively when he had won possession. He went on to play 231 Bundesliga games for the Rheinland club, although a knee injury in 2002 ruled him out of three finals - the UEFA Champions League, German Cup and World Cup.

World Cup
He had recovered by January 2003, only to sustain an identical injury against FC Energie Cottbus. Two further knee complaints followed, yet Nowotny showed tremendous determination to win a place in Germany's squad for last summer's World Cup on home soil, where he took his cap count to 48 by featuring in the third-placed play-off against Portugal.