EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) – From sixth-tier football to the European Championship while bypassing all of Germany’s youth sides, Jonas Hector’s remarkable rise has caught most people by surprise.
The 26-year-old Cologne defender, who only made his Bundesliga debut in 2014, is the only member of Germany’s squad at Euro 2016 not to have played for one of its under-age teams, his talents hidden while playing for hometown team SV Auersmacher until he was 20.
“You can tell it’s something different when it’s the European Championship, when it’s such a big tournament,” Hector said Thursday at the team’s base in Evian-les-Bains.
“I’m really looking forward to it, I’ve to keep my feet on the ground. It’s a new experience to be on the road for four or five weeks, hopefully until July 10,” Hector said, referring to the date of the final at the Stade de France.
Hector was 18 when he broke into Auersmacher’s senior side, then playing sixth-tier football in the southwestern Saarland league before securing promotion at the end of the season.