Josef Hickersberger
Encyclopedia
Josef Hickersberger is a former professional football player and former coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 of the Austria national football team
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 and Austrian club side Rapid Wien
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

.

Club career

Hickersberger's started his playing career with Austria Wien, where he was brought in by Ernst Ocwirk
Ernst Ocwirk
Ernst Ocwirk was an Austrian football player and coach. He is considered one of the greatest Austrian footballers of all time....

 in 1966. After six successful seasons he was sold for 2.1 million schillings to German League
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

 side Kickers Offenbach
Kickers Offenbach
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 including Melitia, Teutonia, Viktoria, Germania and Neptun...

. He later moved on to Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf
' is a German association football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, currently playing in the second tier of German league football, the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga...

, then returned to Austria to join SSW Innsbruck
FC Wacker Innsbruck
FC Wacker Innsbruck was Austrian association football club from Innsbruck, Tyrol.- History :The Fußball-Club Wacker Innsbruck was established in 1915 by Jakob Hanspeter, Benedikt Hosp, Josef Leitner, Josef Albrecht and other now unknown football enthusiasts and adopted club colours of black and...

 and finished his professional career with Rapid Vienna
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

. 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

He made his debut for Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 in May 1968 against Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

 and was a participant at the 1978 FIFA World Cup
1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth...

. He earned 39 caps, scoring five goals. His last international match was at the World Cup in 1978 against West Germany, a game dubbed The miracle of Córdoba which the Austrians won 3–2.

Managerial career

Since retiring as a player, Hickersberger has worked as a football coach. He was the coach of the Austrian national team
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 at the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

 in Italy. However, after the sensational and embarrassing 1–0 defeat against the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands national football team
The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association, the governing body for football in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and are the third...

 in the first qualifying game of UEFA Euro 1992, he decided to quit and after that coached Fortuna Düsseldorf (1990–1992) and Austria Wien (1993–94).

Hickersberger then worked for a few years in the Arabian region, where he trained several teams, among them the Bahrain national football team
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...

, and Al Wasl FC
Al Wasl FC
Al Wasl Sports Club is a multi-sports club in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. It is best known for its football team.-The Cheetahs:Being one of the most popular clubs in the UAE, AlWasl have had several nicknames. The most famous one being...

 Dubai, one of the most popular clubs in the UAE.

In 2002, Hickersberger came back to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, and brought back success to Rapid
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

. With him as coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

, Rapid won the Austrian Championship of 2004–05, nine years after the last triumph, and accordingly qualified for the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 group stage where Rapid faced the teams of Bayern Munich, Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

 and Club Brugge
Club Brugge
Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging is a football club from Bruges in Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and is one of the top clubs in Belgium. Its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,472....

.

He coached the Austrian national team
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 during the UEFA Euro 2008 played in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, obtaining only one point out of nine. Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 lost 1–0 against Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

 and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

, and rescued a late draw, a 1–1 against Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...

 with a goal of Ivica Vastić
Ivica Vastic
Ivica Vastić is a retired Croatian-born Austrian football midfielder, formerly a striker, who last played for LASK Linz and the Austria national football team and works now as Head Coach of FK Austria Wien Amateure.- Club career :Born in Split, Vastić started to play for local clubs Jugovinil and...

 on minute 93. Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 stayed in the third position in the Group B, staying out of the competition in their own country. Hickersberger and Joachim Löw were sent off in the match between Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

 after claiming some errors made by Manuel Enrique Mejuto González. On 23 June 2008, he quit the Austrian national team
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 post.

On 10 December he signed a contract by Al-Wahda FC (Abu Dhabi) 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
Klaus Lindenberger
Klaus Lindenberger is a retired Austrian football goalkeeper and last manager of Austrian Bundesliga side LASK Linz.-Club career:...

.

His son Thomas Hickersberger
Thomas Hickersberger
Thomas Hickersberger is a retired Austrian football player and a coach who is currently an assistant manager with First Vienna FC. He is the son of manager Josef Hickersberger.-External links:...

 played for the Austria national football team
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 in 2002.

As a player

  • Austrian Football Bundesliga (3):
    • 1968–69, 1969–70, 1981–82
  • Austrian Cup
    Austrian Cup
    The Austrian Cup, in German: ÖFB-Cup is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB.It has been held since 1919, with the exception of the time of the Anschluss between 1939 and 1945 and the period between 1950 and 1958 when the competition was deemed of...

     (3):
    • 1968–69, 1970–71, 1978–79

As a manager

  • Austrian Cup
    Austrian Cup
    The Austrian Cup, in German: ÖFB-Cup is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB.It has been held since 1919, with the exception of the time of the Anschluss between 1939 and 1945 and the period between 1950 and 1958 when the competition was deemed of...

     (1):
    • 1993–94
  • Bahraini Premier League
    Bahraini Premier League
    The Bahraini Premier League is the main football competition in Bahrain. The first season was held in 1957. The winners of the domestic championship qualify for the AFC Cup. The championship is currently contested by 10 clubs-Current Structure:...

     (1):
    • 1995–96
  • Qatari League (1):
    • 2001–02
      Qatar Stars League 2001–02
      -Overview:It was contested by 9 teams, and Al-Ittihad Doha won the championship.-League standings:-References:*...

  • Austrian Football Bundesliga (1):
    • 2004–05

External links

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