Kevin Friesenbichler (born 6 May 1994) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a forward for 2. Liga club DSV Leoben.
Club career Born in Weiz, Friesenbichler joined local team SC Weiz at the age of five before joining Austrian giants FK Austria Wien in 2008. After a year he moved on to Admira Mödling and in 2010, he joined German heavyweight Bayern Munich. For the then 16-year-old Bayern even paid a transfer fee believed to be €500,000. He enjoyed a debut hat-trick for their U17 side and spent subsequently three years playing for their U19 squad, scoring 27 goals in 37 appearances. His impressive form lead him to be promoted to FC Bayern Munich II for the 2012–13 Regionalliga season. However, it was the 2013–14 season that he arrived at the scene, scoring 15 goals in 22 appearances as Bayern Munich II topped their table.
On 22 May 2014, Friesenbichler signed a four-year deal with Portuguese champions Benfica on a free transfer. On 26 July 2014, he scored his first goal for Benfica B on his debut in a friendly match win (4–3) against Ajax II.
On 22 August 2014, after not even two months at Benfica, Friesenbichler was loaned to Polish side Lechia Gdańsk on a season-long deal. According to his father he wouldn't have had many chances to play for Benfica and was therefore looking to pick up match practice. He made his professional debut on 31 August 2014 against Ruch Chorzów (3–3), also scoring his first goal in process.
On 22 July 2015, Friesenbichler was loaned to Austria Wien for one season. Exactly a year later, the loan was extended by a further season. On 1 July 2017, he signed a permanent deal with the Austrian club.
On 2 July 2019, Friesenbichler joined VfL Osnabrück on a two-year deal.
In June 2023, Friesenbichler returned to Austria with DSV Leoben following a short spells in Latvia and Poland with RFS and Lechia Gdańsk respectively.
International career
On 14 August 2009, Friesenbichler made his debut for Austria U16 in an 8–0 victory over Liechtenstein U16, scoring 2 goals. He made his debut in competitive youth level international football on 18 November 2013 against Hungary in a 4–2 victory, in which he scored 1 goal.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBayern Munich II2011–12Regionalliga Bayern00———002012–13Regionalliga Bayern121———1212013–14Regionalliga Bayern2215——2Appearances in the Regionalliga playoff02415Total3416——203616Benfica2014–15Primeira Liga000000—00Lechia Gdańsk (loan)2014–15Ekstraklasa17500——175Austria Wien (loan)2015–16Austrian Bundesliga31644——35102016–17Austrian Bundesliga325339Appearances in the UEFA Europa League2—4410Austria Wien2017–18Austrian Bundesliga3081081—3992018–19Austrian Bundesliga13232——164Total106211191730013433Wolfsberger AC2018–19Austrian Bundesliga12200——122VfL Osnabrück2019–202. Bundesliga6010——70Sturm Graz2019–20Austrian Bundesliga12010——1302020–21Austrian Bundesliga24451——295Total364610000425FK RFS2021Latvian Higher League93426Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League1—1962022Latvian Higher League3281011Appearances in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League2—4410Total411152173006316Lechia Gdańsk2022–23Ekstraklasa12000——120DSV Leoben2023–242. Liga20831——239Career Total2846726133462034686
Honours RFS Latvian Higher League: 2021 Latvian Football Cup: 2021
References
External links
Kevin Friesenbichler at kicker.de