Persistent injury woes
The French centre-back suffered a double leg break whilst training for Bayern in 2006 and transferred to Hannover shortly after his recovery. However, Ismaël injured his knee against Bayer 04 Leverkusen a year ago, a match which was ultimately his last as a professional. An independent medical expert confirmed: "Valérien's injuries are no longer treatable and the continuation of his career as a professional footballer is impossible. In the long term he will require a prosthetic knee joint."

Successful career
Ismaël won the Bundesliga and DFB Cup double in 2004 with Werder Bremen and repeated the feat two years later with Bayern. He won the French Cup in 2001 with Racing Strasbourg, as well as the French League Cup in 1997 and in 1999 with RC Lens. Alongside a Bundesliga career which spanned 113 appearances and eight goals, Ismaël also studied International Management at the FHDW college in Hannover. In order to further his career prospects, he also completed an internship at the Sparkasse bank and is currently gaining experience within the Hannover 96 management team.

We wish Valé all the best for the future!