Alexander Zickler (born 28 February 1974) is a German professional football coach and a former player who played as a striker. He is the assistant manager of Marco Rose at RB Leipzig.

Alexander Zickler
Zickler in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1974-02-28) 28 February 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth Bad Salzungen, East Germany
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
RB Leipzig (assistant coach)
Youth career
1980–1992 Dynamo Dresden
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1993 Dynamo Dresden 18 (3)
1993–1995 Bayern Munich (A) 21 (6)
1993–2005 Bayern Munich 214 (51)
2005–2010 Red Bull Salzburg 137 (56)
2010–2011 LASK Linz 15 (1)
2012 ASV Taxham 0 (0)
Total 405 (117)
International career
1993–1996 Germany U21 17 (7)
1998–2002 Germany 12 (2)
Managerial career
2012–2014 Red Bull Salzburg (assistant youth)
2014–2017 Red Bull Salzburg (youth)
2017 FC Liefering (assistant)
2017–2019 Red Bull Salzburg (assistant)
2019–2021 Borussia Mönchengladbach (assistant)
2021–2022 Borussia Dortmund (assistant)
2022– RB Leipzig (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He spent 12 years of his professional career with Bayern Munich, appearing in more than 300 official games and winning 19 major titles, notably seven Bundesliga championships and the 2001 Champions League. He also played six years in Austria with two clubs.

Zickler was a German international for four years, but did not attend any major international tournament.

Club career

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Dynamo Dresden

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Born in Bad Salzungen, East Germany, Zickler began his career with Dynamo Dresden, having joined the club's youth system in 1980 as a six-year-old.

In the 1992–93 season, he played with the first team in the Bundesliga, making his debut in the competition on 23 October 1992 in a 1–2 home loss against 1. FC Nürnberg and eventually helping them narrowly avoid relegation.

Bayern Munich

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In July 1993, Zickler transferred to FC Bayern Munich for 1,187,300, initially playing with the reserves. From his second season onwards he became a first-team regular,[1] helping the Bavarians capture seven German championships and four German cups, adding the 1996 UEFA Europa League (eight games and two assists from the player during the campaign).

Zickler played in 24 league games – scoring three goals – in 2000–01 as Bayern won the league. In the campaign's UEFA Champions League final, against Valencia CF, he entered the game as a substitute and successfully converted his penalty kick in the shootout, which ended in win.[2] During his time in the top flight, he broke the record as the highest goal-scoring substitute of all time, scoring 18 times in 102 appearances off the bench; however, his career was often hampered by injuries and medical conditions: in 2002, he had surgery to remove a tumor from his right shin bone which caused him to miss out on participation in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. One year later, he was again hospitalized with a break in his previously operated leg, followed by another shin break only a few days before the start of 2003–04.[3][4]

Shortly before his return into Bayern's first team, Zickler broke his shin for the third time while playing with Bayern Munich II.[5][6]

Austria

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Zickler with Salzburg in 2009

In June 2005, Zickler tried his chances at Austrian Bundesliga's FC Red Bull Salzburg, signing on a "performance-related" deal[7] alongside former Bayern teammate Thomas Linke.[8] In his first season, he helped the club to the second position, adding nine goals in 31 matches.

In the 2006–07 campaign, in the return leg of the Champions League second qualifying round, Zickler scored through a penalty to give the Red Bulls a 2–0 victory over FC Zürich and advance them into the next stage, where they lost to Valencia.[9] On 30 November 2006, he was voted the APA Footballer of the Year by the league's managers,[10] and finished the domestic campaign with 22 goals (a competition best), being instrumental, with Linke, in the side's national league conquest.

In the 2010 off-season, Zickler joined fellow league club LASK Linz as a free agent.[11] He made his debut on 21 August, replacing Florian Hart in the 61st minute in a 0–2 away defeat against FC Wacker Innsbruck.[12]

On 25 September 2010, Zickler scored his first and only goal for LASK, in a 3–3 draw at SV Mattersburg.[13] He retired from football at the end of 2010–11 aged 37, as his team also suffered relegation.

International career

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Zickler was capped 12 times for Germany.[14] He made his debut on 18 November 1998, coming on as a substitute for Mario Basler in a 1–1 draw against Netherlands. On 16 August 2000, he scored his first international goal(s), netting twice in a 4–1 friendly victory over Spain, in Hannover.[15]

Zickler made his final appearance for the national team on 11 October 2002 in a 1–1 away friendly draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina,[16] retiring from international football later in that year.

International goals

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Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 16 August 2000 AWD-Arena, Hannover   Spain 3–0 4–1 Friendly
2. 4–0

Honours

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Club

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Bayern Munich
Red Bull Salzburg

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (28 January 2016). "Alexander Zickler – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Bayern crowned European champions". BBC Sport. 23 May 2001. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Abermals Beinbruch: Zickler im Pech" [Another leg fracture: Bad luck for Zickler]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 13 March 2004. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Rückkehr eines Pechvogels" [Return of a living jinx] (in German). Stern. 11 January 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Zickler suffers another setback". UEFA. 29 July 2003. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  6. ^ "Zickler due a lucky break". UEFA. 15 February 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Forwards flock to Salzburg". UEFA. 7 June 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  8. ^ "Trikotstreit in Salzburg: "Die größte Bauerndisco der Welt"" [Jersey quarrel in Salzburg: "The world's biggest hillbilly disco"]. Der Spiegel (in German). 26 August 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  9. ^ Haisma, Marcel (28 January 2016). "Alexander Zickler – Matches in European Cups". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Zickler honoured in Austria". UEFA. 30 November 2006. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  11. ^ "Ageless Zickler swaps Salzburg for LASK". UEFA. 3 June 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  12. ^ "FC Wacker Tirol 2–0 LASK Linz". ESPN Soccernet. 21 August 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  13. ^ "SV Mattersburg 3–3 LASK Linz". ESPN Soccernet. 25 September 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  14. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (28 January 2016). "Alexander Zickler – International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Desastre" [Disaster] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 17 August 2000. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Jancker rettete wenigstens ein Remis" [Jancker rescues at least a draw] (in German). kicker. 11 October 2002. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
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