Josef Hickersberger (born 27 April 1948) is a former 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'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player and former

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

of the

Austria national football team The Austria national football team (german: Österreichische Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Austria in men's international Association football, football competition and it is controlled by the Austrian Football Association (German: Ös ...

and Austrian club side

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

Club career

Hickersberger was born in Amstetten, Austria. He started his playing career with

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...

, where he was brought in by

Ernst Ocwirk Ernst Ocwirk (7 March 1926 – 23 January 1980) was an Austrian football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest Austrian footballers of all time. He spent the majority of his playing and coaching years between Austria and Ital ...

in 1966. After six successful seasons he was sold for 2.1 million schillings to

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 footb ...

side

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs ...

. He later moved on to

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

, then returned to Austria to join SSW Innsbruck and finished his professional career with

Rapid Vienna Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a '' cascade'' ...

. He continued playing for amateur sides Badener AC, UFC Pama, SV Forchtenstein and WSV Traisen where he took up his first coaching posts.

International career

Hickersberger made his debut for

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in May 1968 against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and was a participant at the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by ...

. He earned 39 caps, scoring five goals. His last international match was at the World Cup in 1978 against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

, a game dubbed ''The miracle of Córdoba'' which Austria won 3–2.

Managerial career

Since retiring as a player, Hickersberger has worked as a football coach. He was the coach of the Austria national team at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...

in Italy. However, after the sensational and embarrassing 1–0 defeat against the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

in the first qualifying game of UEFA Euro 1992, he decided to quit and subsequently coached

(1990–1992) and

(1993–94). Hickersberger then worked for a few years in the Middle Eastern region, where he trained several teams, among them the Bahrain national team, and

Al Wasl FC Al Wasl Football Club ( ar, نادي الوصل لكرة القدم) is an Emirati professional football club based in Dubai, that competes in the United Arab Emirates Football League. It is a part of the multi-sports club Al Wasl SC. Arge ...

Dubai, one of the most popular clubs in the UAE. In 2002, Hickersberger returned to Austria, and brought back success to

. With him as

, Rapid won the Austrian Championship of 2004–05, nine years after the last triumph, and accordingly qualified for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

group stage where Rapid faced the teams of

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

and

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

. He coached the Austria national team during the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

played in Austria and Switzerland, obtaining only one point out of nine. Austria lost 1–0 against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, and rescued a late draw, a 1–1 against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

with a goal of Ivica Vastić on minute 93. Austria stayed in the third position in the Group B, staying out of the competition in their own country. Hickersberger and

Joachim Löw Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ...

were sent off in the match between Austria and Germany after claiming some errors made by Manuel Enrique Mejuto González. On 23 June 2008, he quit the Austria national team post. On 10 December, Hickersberger signed a contract with

Al-Wahda FC (Abu Dhabi) Al Wahda Football Club ( ar, نادي الوحدة لكرة القدم) is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that competes in the UAE Pro League. The club was founded in 1974 and plays its home games at the Al Nahyan Stadi ...

as head coach until 30 June 2009. After finishing fourth, therefore earning a play-off berth in the Asian Champions League, and leading the team to the Etisalat Cup Final in his first year at the club, he signed a one-year extension. He also brought along two of his former national team assistant coaches, including Klaus Lindenberger.

Personal life

Hickersberger's son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

played for the Austria national team in 2002.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first.''

Managerial statistics

*1.Statistics includes league and Europe.

Honours

As a player

Austrian Football Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. The ...

: 1968–69, 1969–70, 1981–82 *

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th ti ...

: 1968–69, 1970–71, 1978–79

As a manager

: 1993–94 *

Bahraini Premier League The Bahraini Premier League is the main football competition in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Currently known as the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League, the first season was held in 1957. The winners of the domestic championship qualify for the AFC Cup. ...

: 1995–96 *

Qatari League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promoti ...

: 2001–02 *

: 2004–05

References

External links

Josef Hickersberger
at Austria Archive

at Rapid Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickersberger, Josef 1948 births Living people People from Amstetten, Lower Austria Austrian footballers Austria international footballers 1978 FIFA World Cup players FK Austria Wien players Kickers Offenbach players Fortuna Düsseldorf players FC Wacker Innsbruck players SK Rapid Wien players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Bundesliga players Expatriate footballers in Germany Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Austrian football managers Austria national football team managers Fortuna Düsseldorf managers FK Austria Wien managers Al-Ahli Club Manama managers Bahrain national football team managers Al-Shaab CSC managers Al-Wasl F.C. managers Al-Gharafa SC managers SK Rapid Wien managers 1990 FIFA World Cup managers UEFA Euro 2008 managers Expatriate football managers in Bahrain Austrian expatriate football managers Association football midfielders Expatriate football managers in Egypt Al Mokawloon Al Arab SC managers Footballers from Lower Austria Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Bahrain Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate football managers in Qatar Qatar Stars League managers Egyptian Premier League managers UAE Pro League managers Austrian Football Bundesliga managers Bahraini Premier League managers Bundesliga managers