Florian Grillitsch (born 7 August 1995) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre back for side Frosinone and the Austria national team.
Club career Early career Born in Neunkirchen, Austria on 7 August 1995, Grillitsch played for SVSF Pottschach and St. Pölten in his youth football career.
Werder Bremen
2013–15 Grillitsch joined Werder Bremen on 1 July 2013. He split the 2013–14 season between the Werder Bremen U19 team and Werder Bremen II. He made 15 appearances in the A-Junioren-Bundesliga Nord/Nordost scoring 11 goals and made five appearances in the Regionalliga Nord for Werder Bremen II. In the 2014–15 season, Grillitsch made 26 appearances scoring nine goals for Werder's reserve team.
2015–16 season Grillitsch made his first team debut during the 2015–16 season. He played the full 120 minutes including extra-time in the 2–0 win against Würzburger Kickers in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on 8 August 2015, notably assisting Anthony Ujah for 1–0. His first Bundesliga match was a 3–0 loss to Schalke 04 on matchday one on 15 August 2015. He replaced the veteran Clemens Fritz after 70 minutes at 2–0. He also played for Werder Bremen II during the 2015–16 season. Grillitsch achieved his first assist in the Bundesliga as Werder beat Mainz 3–1 on 24 October 2015 setting up Fin Bartels for the third goal. He played the full 90 minutes. Four days later, Grillitsch prominently featured in Werder's 1–0 second-round DFB-Pokal victory over 1. FC Köln, providing a major goal-scoring chance for Ujah, playing multiple through-balls and almost scoring. Afterwards, he was voted "Man of the match" by the club's fans.
2016–17 season On 18 March 2017, Grillitsch scored his second goal of the 2016–17 season in a 3–0 win against RB Leipzig, a match that saw all three of Werder Bremen's Austrian players score in the club's highest win of the season.
TSG Hoffenheim
On 16 January 2017, Grillitsch signed a contract with TSG Hoffenheim until 2021, starting from the 2017–18 season.
He made his debut for the club in the league match against Bayer Leverkusen (1–1 draw) on August 26, 2017. Grillitsch scored his first goal for 1899 Hoffenheim on 2 November that year in the UEFA Europa League against Istanbul Başakşehir. However, Hoffenheim finished last in the group behind Istanbul Başakşehir, Braga and Ludogorets.
Things went better in the Bundesliga, with a fourth-place finish in 2017–18, and a group stage spot in the UEFA Champions League. The following seasons, Grillitsch finished eighth, seventh, eleventh and eighth again with Hoffenheim, in his five seasons at the club, where he clocked up 151 appearances with eight goals and eleven assists.
Grillitsch was a starter in the vast majority of those matches. But in the summer of 2022, Grillitsch let his contract expire with the club.
Ajax and TSG Hoffenheim return After moving to then Dutch Eredivisie champions Ajax in September 2022, Grillitsch returned to TSG Hoffenheim after a year on a free transfer, signing a contract until 2026.
Loan to Valladolid On 3 February 2025, Grillitsch was loaned to Spanish La Liga side Valladolid for the remainder of the 2024–25 season.
Braga On 29 August 2025, Grillitsch signed a two-season contract with Braga in Portugal.
Frosinone On 12 August 2026, Grillitsch signed a one-year contract with newly promoted Italian Serie A side Frosinone, with a club option to renew.
International career On 18 May 2026, Grillitsch was selected in Ralf Rangnick’s 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, marking Austria’s first appearance in the tournament since 1998.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsWerder Bremen II2013–14Regionalliga Nord50———502014–15Regionalliga Nord269———2692015–163. Liga51———51Total3610———3610Werder Bremen2015–16Bundesliga25151——3022016–17Bundesliga23210——242Total48361——544TSG Hoffenheim2017–18Bundesliga25110—312922018–19Bundesliga30000—613612019–20Bundesliga31031——3412020–21Bundesliga26210—723442021–22Bundesliga18000——180Total130351—1641518Ajax2022–23Eredivisie10030—50180TSG Hoffenheim2023–24Bundesliga29110——3012024–25Bundesliga8020—40140Total37130—40441Valladolid (loan)2024–25La Liga130———130Braga2025–26Primeira Liga2013030102363Career total295182023035635226
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAustria20176020187120193020203020211402022202023502024100202570202640Total611
Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Grillitsch goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Florian GrillitschNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 27 March 2018 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 2–0 4–0 Friendly
References
External links
(national team)