Markus Berger (born 21 January 1985) is an Austrian professional football coach and a former central defender. He works as an individual coach at AKA Vorarlberg.

Markus Berger
Berger (left) in action for Chornomorets
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-01-21) 21 January 1985 (age 39)[1]
Place of birth Salzburg, Austria[1]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
AKA Vorarlberg (individual coach)
Youth career
1993–1999 Austria Salzburg
1999–2002 Stuttgart
2002–2004 Eintracht Frankfurt
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Eintracht Frankfurt II 24 (2)
2004–2007 Ried 61 (1)
2007–2011 Académica 71 (5)
2012–2014 Chornomorets Odesa 52 (0)
2014 Start 11 (1)
2014 Ural 3 (0)
2015 Gil Vicente 11 (1)
2015–2016 Tondela 3 (0)
2016–2018 Grödig 41 (3)
2018–2020 SAK 1914 39 (3)
International career
2004–2007 Austria U21 34 (0)
Managerial career
2018–2020 SAK 1914 (assistant)
2020–2021 SV Seekirchen (youth)
2021– AKA Vorarlberg (individual coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Having started his professional career at SV Ried, Berger helping to promotion to the Bundesliga in his first year, and played 14 games as the team finished in a best-ever runner-up position in 2006–07. Primeira Liga side Académica de Coimbra signed him in July 2007, as a free agent;[2] after going almost unnoticed throughout the season,[3] he scored in his fifth match with the Students in a 3–0 away win against S.L. Benfica.[4]

Berger was first choice in his last two years with Académica,[3] netting a combined four league goals in the process. During January 2009, he went on a trial period with Hibernian from the Scottish Premier League,[5] and his agent later claimed that a loan deal had been agreed between the clubs with Hibs having the option to buy the player at the end of the campaign for £500,000,[6] but the move was not completed.

On 30 December 2011, after nearly 100 official appearances for Académica, Berger penned a three-year contract at Ukrainian Premier League's FC Chornomorets Odesa. At the start of March 2014, he left his team due to the civil unrest caused by the 2014 Ukrainian revolution,[7] going on to sign for Tippeligaen club IK Start late into that month.[8] He made his debut on 6 April in a 3–1 home victory over FK Haugesund, in which he also scored his first goal.[9]

In June 2014, after only a few months in Norway, Berger moved to the Russian Premier League with FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast.[10][11] However, in January of the following year, he returned to Portugal after signing with Gil Vicente F.C. until the end of the season.[12]

Berger agreed to a one-year deal with C.D. Tondela in early July 2015, after suffering relegation.[13] He returned to his country on 20 June 2016, joining Regional League West side SV Grödig.[14]

Personal life

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Berger's older brother, Hans-Peter, was also a footballer.[15]

Honours

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Académica

References

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  1. ^ a b c "M. Berger" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Académica contratou defesa austríaco Markus Berger ao SV Ried" [Académica signed Austrian defender Markus Berger from SV Ried] (in Portuguese). Futebol 365. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Académica: Markus Berger renova por dois anos" [Académica: Markus Berger renews for two years] (in Portuguese). Futebol 365. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Benfica-Académica, 0–3 (ficha)" [Benfica-Académica, 0–3 (report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Hibs look at Berger". Sky Sports. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  6. ^ Acedo, Francisco (25 January 2009). "Hibs agree Berger loan". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Five foreign players leave Football Club Chornomorets because of situation in Ukraine". Kyiv Post. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Start henter midtstopper" [Start acquire defender] (in Norwegian). IK Start. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Mjelde etter Start-magi: – Trudde nesten ikkje det eg såg" [Report for Start magic: – Almost did not believe what I saw] (in Norwegian). NRK. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  10. ^ «УРАЛ» ЗАКЛЮЧИЛ КОНТРАКТ С МАРКУСОМ БЕРГЕРОМ [Ural signed a contract with Markus Berger] (in Russian). FC Ural. 19 June 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  11. ^ «Урал» подписал четверых новичков [Ural signed four new] (in Russian). Sportbox. 28 June 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  12. ^ Ruela, João (30 January 2015). "Gil Vicente anuncia contratação do defesa Markus Berger" [Gil Vicente announce signing of defender Markus Berger]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Markus Berger assina com o CD Tondela" [Markus Berger signs with CD Tondela] (in Portuguese). CD Tondela. 5 July 2015. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  14. ^ "Grödig holt Hans-Peter und Markus Berger" [Grödig get Hans-Peter and Markus Berger] (in German). Laola1. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  15. ^ Köhn, Katharina (20 June 2016). "Markus Berger wechselt mit Bruder Hans-Peter zum SV Grödig" [Markus Berger moves to SV Grödig with brother Hans-Peter] (in German). Salzburg 24. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Académica: percurso notável até à conquista da taça" [Académica: remarkable run until the cup conquest] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
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