Josef Hickersberger (born 27 April 1948) is a former professional football player and former coach of the Austria national football team and Austrian club side Rapid Wien.

Club career Hickersberger was born in Amstetten, Austria. He started his playing career with Austria Wien, where he was brought in by Ernst Ocwirk in 1966. After six successful seasons he was sold for 2.1 million schillings to Bundesliga side Kickers Offenbach. He later moved on to Fortuna Düsseldorf, then returned to Austria to join SSW Innsbruck and finished his professional career with Rapid Vienna. 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 in May 1968 against Romania and was a participant at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. 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 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 in Italy. However, after the sensational and embarrassing 1–0 defeat against the Faroe Islands in the first qualifying game of UEFA Euro 1992, he decided to quit and subsequently coached Fortuna Düsseldorf (1990–1992) and Austria Wien (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 Dubai, one of the most popular clubs in the UAE.

In 2002, Hickersberger returned to Austria, and brought back success to Rapid Wien. With him as coach, Rapid won the Austrian Championship of 2004–05, nine years after the last triumph, and accordingly qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage where Rapid faced the teams of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Club Brugge.

He coached the Austria national team during the UEFA Euro 2008 played in Austria and Switzerland, obtaining only one point out of nine. Austria lost 1–0 against Croatia and Germany, and rescued a late draw, a 1–1 against Poland 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 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) 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 played for the Austria national team in 2002.

Career statistics Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first. # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 30 April 1972 Praterstadion, Vienna 1–0 4–0 1974 World Cup qualifier 2. 2–0 3. 3–0 4. 3 September 1972 Stadionul Central, Craiova 1–0 1–1 Friendly 5. 10 November 1976 Kavala National Stadium, Kavala 1–0 3–0 Friendly

Managerial statistics

TeamFromToRecordGWDLWin %Austria1 January 198814 September 1990Fortuna Düsseldorf1 January 199128 August 1991Austria Wien1 July 199330 June 1994Al Ahli SC1 July 199530 June 1997Bahrain1 January 199621 December 1996El Mokawloon SC1 July 199730 June 1999Al-Shaab CSC1 July 199930 June 2000Al Wasl FC1 July 200030 June 2001Al-Gharafa Sports Club1 July 200130 June 2002Rapid Wien1 July 200221 December 2005Austria1 January 200623 June 2008Al Wahda S.C.C.10 December 20081 June 2010Bahrain3 June 201020 October 2010Al Wahda S.C.C.22 October 201031 May 2012Total

1.Statistics includes league and Europe.

Honours

As a player Austrian Football Bundesliga: 1968–69, 1969–70, 1981–82 Austrian Cup: 1968–69, 1970–71, 1978–79

As a manager Austrian Cup: 1993–94 Bahraini Premier League: 1995–96 Qatari League: 2001–02 Austrian Football Bundesliga: 2004–05

References

External links Josef Hickersberger at Austria Archive Josef Hickersberger at Rapid Archive