- Mark Schwarzer
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Mark Schwarzer 
Personal information Full name Mark Schwarzer Date of birth 6 October 1972 Place of birth Sydney, Australia Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)[1] Playing position Goalkeeper Club information Current club Fulham Number 1 Youth career Colo Cougars Penrith Blacktown Association Marconi Stallions Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1990–1994 Marconi Stallions 58 (0) 1994–1995 Dynamo Dresden 2 (0) 1995–1996 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4 (0) 1996–1997 Bradford City 13 (0) 1997–2008 Middlesbrough 367 (0) 2008– Fulham 115 (0) National team‡ 1989 Australia U-17 6 (0) 1990–1991 Australia U-20 8 (0) 1993– Australia[2] 94 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:31, 11 September 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:00,16 November 2011 (UTC+1)Mark Schwarzer OAM (born 6 October 1972) is an Australian association football (soccer) player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough. He represents Australia at international level, and was selected for both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup.
He is currently 10th in the all-time Premier League appearances table[3] and is currently Australia's most capped player at international level, surpassing Alex Tobin's appearance record in January 2011.
Contents
Early career
Schwarzer's first club was Colo Cougars in Richmond, New South Wales. Schwarzer has worn the same pair of shin pads since he started his professional career at the age of 19 with Marconi Stallions, in the National Soccer League.[4] He left the Sydney-based club to play in Germany with Dynamo Dresden and FC Kaiserslautern. He then traveled to England to play for Bradford City, where he eventually joined Middlesbrough in February 1997.[5]
Middlesbrough
Schwarzer made his debut for Middlesbrough against Stockport County in the League Cup semi-finals. He played in the final against Leicester City, a 1–1 draw, but injury kept him out of the replay, which Middlesbrough lost. He was part of the side, however, who beat Bolton Wanderers to win the 2004 League Cup Final, producing a superb display having recovered after his mistake in letting in a soft shot.
Perhaps his most important save for Middlesbrough came in the last match of the 2004–05 season against Manchester City, saving a Robbie Fowler penalty in stoppage time to preserve a 1–1 draw. The draw was sufficient to put Middlesbrough in seventh in the final league table and ensure qualification for the UEFA Cup. Had Fowler converted the penalty, Man City would have qualified for the UEFA Cup at Middlesbrough's expense.
Schwarzer was granted a transfer request by Middlesbrough late in 2005 and sought to join a new club, but he withdrew his request on 20 January 2006, and rejoined the team. A fractured cheekbone sustained against West Ham United, however, looked like it had ruled Schwarzer out for the rest of the season, but he returned for the UEFA Cup final against Sevilla, albeit playing with a protective mask. When he played in Middlesbrough's 1–0 victory over Portsmouth on 29 December 2007, he became the Premier League's longest-serving foreigner at one club beating Dennis Bergkamp's record of 315 games.[6]
Mark Schwarzer playing for Fulham F.C.
Fulham
Schwarzer's contract with Middlesbrough expired in June 2008, and although he was offered a new contract,[7] manager Gareth Southgate had to plan a future with a new goalkeeper, as on 21 May 2008, Schwarzer signed a two-year deal at Fulham, ending an 11-year association with the Teesside club.[8] Schwarzer revealed in an interview with The World Game that he had received offers from Bayern Munich and Juventus but declined their offers because they could not guarantee him the position as the number-one keeper.[9]
Schwarzer made his Fulham debut in a 2–1 defeat to newly-promoted Premier League side Hull City, but he followed up by keeping a clean sheet in his next match in a 1–0 win at home to Arsenal and played every minute of the 2008–09 season. He kept ten clean sheets during the 2008–09 season in all competitions.
Schwarzer's contribution was phenomenal as his performances lead Fulham to a high seventh place finish and a place in Europe the next season, a massive improvement on Fulham's 17th place finish just a season before. Notable scalps included wins over Arsenal, Manchester United and a draw with Chelsea largely due to many spectacular saves from Schwarzer. He received the Fulham Player of the Year 2008–09 in his first year at the club. He was also named Barclays Premier League's Player of the Month for February 2010, in which he only conceded one goal in his team's two wins and two draws that month, making him the first Australian to do so.
He played an important role in Fulham reaching the Europa League Final in 2010, but Schwarzer lost his second European final with a narrow defeat to Atlético Madrid of Spain.
After impressive displays in 2009–2010 season Schwarzer caught the eye of Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger who stated that Arsenal are in the market for a new keeper after seeing the form of Manuel Almunia and Łukasz Fabiański come into questioning. It had been reported that a bid of around £2m in May 2010 had been made for Schwarzer and second bid of around the same value had been made in August 2010, however both were rejected by Fulham.[10]
It was reported on 11 August 2010 that Schwarzer had handed in a transfer request, paving a way for his move to Arsenal to be complete, which was later confirmed by Fulham Manager Mark Hughes who also rejected his request. On 31 August 2010, it was reported that Arsenal had made a last ditch bid to bring Schwarzer to the Emirates Stadium before the transfer window closed, however Fulham Manager Mark Hughes denied that any approach was made.
International career
Schwarzer playing for Australia in 2010Schwarzer made his international debut for Australia against Canada in Edmonton in a 1994 World Cup qualifier. He came on as a substitute for Milan Blagojevic after first-choice Robert Zabica was sent off 17 minutes into the match.[11] In the return leg in Sydney, he covered himself in glory when he saved two penalties to send Australia to the final phase of qualifying against Argentina. Schwarzer did not play in these matches, and Australia were defeated 2–1 on aggregate.
He was instrumental in Australia's qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in the play-off against Uruguay. After Uruguay won the first leg 1–0 in Montevideo, Australia won 1–0 in Sydney. In the penalty shootout, Schwarzer saved two penalties to see Australia victorious 4–2.
At the World Cup Finals, he played the first two games in Australia's group matches, conceding a controversial goal against Japan and two goals against Brazil. In the third match, he was replaced by Željko Kalac, but after Kalac's disappointing performance, he was reinstated for the Round of 16 match against Italy.
Even though he predicted the direction of the penalty kick, he was unable to save the penalty in the second round of the World Cup against Italy, which was scored by Francesco Totti in injury time and sent Australia out of the World Cup.
After the World Cup in 2006, he vowed to return for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played in all of Australia's matches in the 2007 Asian Cup. Although he performed admirably against Oman in the 1–1 draw, he made an error which led to a goal in the 3–1 loss to Iraq and could not match Japanese goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi during the penalty shootout, which saw the Socceroos crash out of the competition in their debut at the tournament. Schwarzer said that the penalty shootout in the Asian Cup quarter-finals was the first penalty shootout in his career that he had ever lost.[12]
Schwarzer saved an 89th minute Shao Jiayi penalty against China in Australia's 0–0 draw in the 2010 World Cup qualifier in March 2008, continuing his record of stopping penalty kicks.[13] He received his second yellow card of the tournament against Qatar in Doha, in which Australia were 3–1 winners. He also missed Australia's second leg game against the Chinese in Sydney. He played every minute for the Socceroos in round two of qualification, conceding only one goal, which was in the final game against Japan.
Schwarzer made several vital saves to secure Australia's Asian Cup Qualifier 2–1 comeback win over Oman in Muscat after conceding from his penalty save rebound.
He was the country's first-choice keeper for all three matches of the Group Stage in the 2010 World Cup in a group composed of Australia, Germany, Ghana, and Serbia. In the first match, Australia were crushed 4–0 by the Germans, but they recovered with a 1–1 draw against Ghana in the next game. In the final match, Australia beat Serbia 2–1, thus finishing third in the group with four points, just missing qualification to the Round of 16 on goal difference with Ghana.
After the tournament, Schwarzer declared his interest in performing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, at which time he would be 41 years old.
Career statistics
Club
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Australia League Cup League Cup Oceania/Asia Total 1990–91 Marconi Fairfield National Soccer League 1 0 0 0 0 0 1991–92 9 0 0 0 0 0 1992–93 23 0 0 0 0 0 1993–94 25 0 0 0 0 58 0 Marconi Fairfield Total 58 0 0 0 0 58 0 Germany League DFB-Pokal Premiere Ligapokal Europe Total 1994–95 Dynamo Dresden Bundesliga 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Dynamo Dresden Total 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1995–96 Kaiserslautern Bundesliga 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1996–97 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kaiserslautern Total 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total 1996–97 Bradford City Division 1 13 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 Bradford City Total 13 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 1996–97 Middlesbrough Premier League 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 10 0 1997–98 Division 1 34 0 3 0 7 0 0 0 44 0 1998–99 Premier League 34 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 35 0 1999–00 37 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 43 0 2000–01 31 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 34 0 2001–02 21 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 25 0 2002–03 38 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 39 0 2003–04 36 0 1 0 7 0 0 0 44 0 2004–05 31 0 2 0 0 0 10 0 43 0 2005–06 27 0 6 0 3 0 11 0 47 0 2006–07 36 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 42 0 2007–08 34 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 39 0 Middlesbrough Total 367 0 32 0 26 0 21 0 445 0 2008–09 Fulham Premier League 38 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 44 0 2009–10 37 0 5 0 0 0 18 0 60 0 2010–11 31 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 32 0 2011–12 9 0 0 0 1 0 11 0 21 0 Fulham Total 115 0 10 0 3 0 29 0 157 0 Total Australia 58 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 58 0 Total Germany 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 Total England 495 0 45 0 29 0 50 0 619 0 Career total 558 0 45 0 29 0 50 0 682 0 - As of 13:53, 27 October 2011.
National team statistics
Australia national team Year Apps Goals 1993 2 0 1994 2 0 1995 0 0 1996 1 0 1997 0 0 1998 0 0 1999 0 0 2000 4 0 2001 10 0 2002 0 0 2003 3 0 2004 6 0 2005 8 0 2006 7 0 2007 8 0 2008 11 0 2009 10 0 2010 8 0 2011 9 0 Total 89 0 Honours
Club
- Middlesbrough
- Football League Cup (1): 2003–04
- UEFA Cup Runner-up: 2005–06
- Football League Cup Runner-up: 1996–97, 1997–98
- Fulham
- UEFA Europa League Runner-up: 2009–10
International
- Australia
- OFC Nations Cup (1): 2004
- 2011 Asian Cup - Runner Up
Individual
- Fulham F.C. Player of The Year (1): 2008–09
- FFA Australian Football Awards: Footballer of the Year (2): 2009, 2010[16]
- Football Media Association Australia International Player of the Year (1): 2009[17]
- Order of Australia Medal 2009
- Australian Professional Football Association Player of the Year (1): 2010[16]
- Premier League Player of the Month (1): February 2010
Personal life
Schwarzer was born in North Richmond, a semi-rural suburb in North-Western Sydney, and attended Richmond North Public School and Colo High School. He played for the local soccer (football) club the Colo Cougars. His parents Hans-Joachim and Doris emigrated to Australia from Germany in 1968.[18] He speaks English, Spanish, and German. Schwarzer and his wife Paloma have two children; a son, Julian, and a daughter, Amaya. In 2009, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.[19] He is also the co-author of the kid's soccer books series, Megs Morrison and had his 2006 World Cup Diary Published under the title "Mark Schwarzer's World Cup Destiny: From Sydney to Stuttgart".
References
- ^ "Fulham FC Profile". Fulhamfc.com. http://www.fulhamfc.com/MatchAndTeam/PlayerProfiles/ProfileDetails/MarkSchwarzer.aspx. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Football Australia – Player Profile". Footballaustralia.com.au. 1972-10-06. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/2009Socceroos/default.aspx?s=soc_player_profile_new&pid=325&tid=23. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ http://www.premierleague.com/page/Statistics Premier League statistics
- ^ Mangnall, Valkerie (2009-01-31). "Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer pads stand test of time". Herald Sun. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24984762-11088,00.html.
- ^ "The World Cup Dream – Mark Schwarzer's family". Migration Heritage. http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/worldcup/family-schwarzer.shtml.
- ^ "Mark Schwarzer nabs Premier League record". Herald Sun. 1 January 2008. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22992450-2883,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ "Schwarzer offered new Boro deal". BBC Sport. 2008-05-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/middlesbrough/7404883.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
- ^ "Fulham complete Schwarzer signing". BBC Sport. 2008-05-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/7414143.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
- ^ "Mark Schwarzer Exclusive". The World Game. 2008-05-25. Archived from the original on 2008-07-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20080727025345/http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/videos/details/index.php?playlistId=17. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Fulham rebuff second Arsenal Schwarzer offer". Daily Mirror (London). http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Transfer-news-Arsenal-have-had-a-second-bid-for-Mark-Schwarzer-rejected-by-Fulham-article558771.html.
- ^ "Australia vs. Canada Match Report". www.ozfootball.net. http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Socceroo/reports/vCAN93-1.html. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
- ^ "Schwarzer on wrong foot for first time", 25 July 2007 Retrieved on 25 July 2007
- ^ Smithies, Tom (2008-03-27). "Schwarzer: Ball just stuck in my legs". Herald Sun. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23438338-2883,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ "Mark Schwarzer Career Stats". Soccerbase. 1 January 2010. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=9923. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ ".. Player - Mark Schwarzer". National Football Teams. 1972-10-06. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=453. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ a b "Schwarzer grabs the gongs". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 October 2010. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/schwarzer-grabs-the-gongs-20101007-169g1.html. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ Ray Gatt. "Schwarzer claims inaugural FMA Award". Football Media Association Australia. http://www.footballmedia.org.au/asp/index.asp?page=awards. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ "The World Cup dream – Mark Schwarzer's Family". www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au. http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/worldcup/family-schwarzer.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
- ^ The Age (2009). Australia Day honours. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
External links
- Fulham profile
- FFA – Socceroo profile
- OzFootball profile
- FIFA profile
- Mark Schwarzer career stats at Soccerbase
- Career Details at National Football Teams
- Migration Heritage Centre feature on Schwarzer family
Fulham F.C. – current squad 1 Schwarzer · 2 Kelly · 3 J. A. Riise · 4 Sidwell · 5 Hangeland · 6 Baird · 8 Johnson · 9 Sá · 10 Kasami · 11 Ruiz · 13 Murphy (c) · 14 Senderos · 15 Gecov · 16 Duff · 17 B. H. Riise · 18 Hughes · 20 Etuhu · 21 Frei · 22 Somogyi · 23 Dempsey · 25 Zamora · 26 Grygera · 28 Briggs · 29 Davies · 30 Dembélé · 32 Halliche · 34 Donegan · 37 Harris · 38 Etheridge · 39 Arthurworrey · 40 Smith · 41 Bettinelli · 42 Trotta · 43 Pritchard · Manager: Jol
Categories:- Australian soccer players
- Association football goalkeepers
- Australian expatriate soccer players
- Australia international soccer players
- 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- 2007 AFC Asian Cup players
- 2010 FIFA World Cup players
- Marconi Stallions players
- Dynamo Dresden players
- 1. FC Kaiserslautern players
- Bradford City A.F.C. players
- Middlesbrough F.C. players
- Fulham F.C. players
- The Football League players
- Premier League players
- Expatriate footballers in Germany
- Sportspeople from Sydney
- Australian people of German descent
- 1972 births
- Living people
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
- National Soccer League (Australia) players
- Fußball-Bundesliga players
- 2011 AFC Asian Cup players
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