Markus Berger (born 21 January 1985) is an Austrian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays for
Salzburger AK 1914
Salzburger AK 1914 is a football club based in the city of Salzburg, Austria who currently plays in the 3rd tier Regionalliga Salzburg. It was founded in 1914 and is the oldest football club from that city.
History
The club was formed by pupils ...
as a
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
.
Club career
Having started his professional career at
SV Ried
SV Ried is an Football in Austria, Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis, Upper Austria. The team plays its home matches at Josko Arena, a stadium with a capacity of 7,680. After being relegated from Austrian Football Bundesli ...
, Berger helping to promotion to the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
in his first year, and played 14 games as the team finished in a best-ever runner-up position in
2006–07.
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
side
Académica de Coimbra signed him in July 2007, as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
; after going almost unnoticed throughout
the season,
he scored in his fifth match with the ''Students'' in a 3–0 away win against
S.L. Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...
.
Berger was first choice in his last two years with Académica,
[ netting a combined four league goals in the process. During January 2009, he went on a trial period with Hibernian from the ]Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
, and his agent later claimed that a loan deal had been agreed between the clubs with Hibs having the option to buy the player at the end of the campaign for £500,000, but the move was not completed.
On 30 December 2011, after nearly 100 official appearances for Académica, Berger penned a three-year contract at Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League'') ...
's FC Chornomorets Odesa
FC Chornomorets Odesa ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Odesa.
The club's home ground is the 34,164 capacity Chornomorets Stadium opened in 1935 and rebuilt in 2011. According to the club's website, it was formed in 1936 a ...
. At the start of March 2014, he left his team due to the civil unrest caused by the 2014 Ukrainian revolution
The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, , going on to sign for Tippeligaen
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...
club IK Start
Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start, translates to The sports club Start ) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The clu ...
late into that month. He made his debut on 6 April in a 3–1 home victory over FK Haugesund
Fotballklubben Haugesund (English: ''Football Club Haugesund''), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional Norway, Norwegian association football, football club from the city of Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway. The club currently ...
, in which he also scored his first goal.
In June 2014, after only a few months in Norway, Berger moved to the Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
with FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast
FC Ural Yekaterinburg (russian: ФК Урал) is a Russian association football club based in Yekaterinburg. They play in the Russian Premier League.
History
The club was founded in 1930 and was known as Avangard (1930–1948, 1953–1957), Ze ...
. However, in January of the following year, he returned to Portugal after signing with Gil Vicente F.C.
Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Gil Vicente, founded in 1924, is a Portuguese football club that plays in Barcelos. It competes in the Primeira Liga, the top division of football in the country, and it is named after the Portugues ...
until the end of the season.
Berger agreed to a one-year deal with C.D. Tondela
Clube Desportivo de Tondela () is a Portuguese professional football club that plays in Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. They are based in the town of Tondela, located in Viseu District, and play in the Estádio João Cardoso ...
in early July 2015, after suffering relegation. He returned to his country on 20 June 2016, joining Regional League West side SV Grödig
Sportverein Grödig is an Austrian association football club from Grödig. The team currently competes in the Regionalliga Salzburg, the third tier of Austrian football.
Grödig were relegated from the Austrian Bundesliga at the end of the 2 ...
.
Personal life
Berger's older brother, Hans-Peter, was also a footballer.
Honours
Académica
*Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...
: 2011–12
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Markus
1985 births
Living people
Footballers from Salzburg
Austrian footballers
Association football defenders
Austrian Football Bundesliga players
2. Liga (Austria) players
SV Ried players
SV Grödig players
Primeira Liga players
Associação Académica de Coimbra – O.A.F. players
Gil Vicente F.C. players
C.D. Tondela players
Ukrainian Premier League players
FC Chornomorets Odesa players
Eliteserien players
IK Start players
Russian Premier League players
FC Ural Yekaterinburg players
Austria under-21 international footballers
Austrian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Portugal
Expatriate footballers in Ukraine
Expatriate footballers in Norway
Expatriate footballers in Russia
Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine
Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Norway
Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Russia