Torsten Ziegner

Torsten Ziegner
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-11-09) 9 November 1977 (age 46)
Place of birth Neuhaus am Rennweg, East Germany
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1988–1991 BSG Mikroelektronik Neuhaus
1991–1995 Carl Zeiss Jena
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1998 Carl Zeiss Jena 21 (0)
1998–2000 FSV Zwickau 48 (4)
2000–2001 Stuttgarter Kickers 37 (0)
2001–2003 Rot-Weiß Erfurt 69 (9)
2003–2004 Mainz 05 II 30 (3)
2004–2011 Carl Zeiss Jena 161 (24)
2011–2012 FSV Zwickau 24 (5)
Total 390 (45)
Managerial career
2012–2018 FSV Zwickau
2018–2020 Hallescher FC
2021 Würzburger Kickers
2022–2023 MSV Duisburg
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Torsten Ziegner (born 9 November 1977) is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder.

Career

Ziegner began his career with Carl Zeiss Jena, joining the club from amateur club BSG Mikroelektronik Neuhaus at aged 13. He was part of a successful Jena youth team alongside Robert Enke and Mario Kanopa and was capped by the Germany youth team. He made his first-team debut in September 1995 in a 2. Bundesliga match, and made a further twenty appearances over the following three seasons, leaving the club in 1998 after they'd been relegated to the Regionalliga Nordost.

Ziegner, along with Jena team-mates Heiko Cramer and Frank Nierlich, joined FSV Zwickau, who had been relegated to the same level. Zwickau finished in fourth place in Ziegner's first season, but started the following season badly: the Regionalliga was being restructured, and only the top seven teams would avoid relegation. Zwickau's poor start to the season made this almost impossible, and so there was a mass exodus of players during the season – Ziegner was one of the players to leave, returning to the 2. Bundesliga to sign for Stuttgarter Kickers. Zwickau finished the season bottom of the table.

Ziegner spent eighteen months at Kickers, the highlight being a DFB-Pokal tie in which they took Bundesliga side Werder Bremen to extra time, before losing 2–1. The following season ended in relegation, though, so in July 2001 Ziegner returned to his native Thuringia, signing for Rot-Weiß Erfurt of the Regionalliga Süd. After two successful seasons with Erfurt, he signed for second division side FSV Mainz 05, but didn't make a first-team appearance in his year with the club, mainly playing for the reserve team. At the end of the 2003–04 season, he left Mainz to return to Carl Zeiss Jena, who were by now in the fourth-tier NOFV-Oberliga Süd.

Ziegner missed just one game in the 2004–05 season, scoring nine goals as Jena won the division, and beat MSV Neuruppin in the playoff to earn promotion to the Regionalliga Nord. Another promotion followed immediately: Ziegner scored eight goals in 31 appearances as Jena finished second, behind Rot-Weiss Essen, returning to the 2. Bundesliga after an eight-year absence. An injury in an August match against 1. FC Köln caused Ziegner to miss much of the 2006–07 season, and the following year his 24 appearances couldn't prevent the club being relegated back to the third tier, now in the form of a national 3. Liga. He played a further three years for the club at this level, but was dropped from the team near the end of the 2010–11 season, and left the club in June 2011. He joined FSV Zwickau for a second spell, helping them win the NOFV-Oberliga Süd title, and promotion to the revived Regionalliga Nordost. Ziegner retired his player career at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Coaching career

After retiring his player career, Ziegner was appointed as Zwickau's manager. He was sacked after coaching a total 213 games in six seasons on 25 April 2018.[1]

He signed for the 2018–19 with Hallescher FC.[2] On 24 February 2020, he was sacked.[3]

On 24 May 2021, he was named head coach of Würzburger Kickers, starting with the 2021–22 season.[4] He was sacked after just four months, on 4 October 2021.[5] In May 2022, with two matches to go, he took over the reign of MSV Duisburg.[6] He was sakced in September 2023.[7]

Ban

Ziegner was given a five-match ban in October 2008 for racially abusing Nigerian player Kingsley Onuegbu during a match against Eintracht Braunschweig.[8]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 15 September 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
FSV Zwickau 1 July 2012 25 April 2018 213 102 55 56 317 221 +96 047.89 [9]
Hallescher FC 1 July 2018 24 February 2020 68 31 14 23 104 83 +21 045.59 [10]
Würzburger Kickers 1 July 2021 4 October 2021 15 4 4 7 20 17 +3 026.67 [11]
MSV Duisburg 4 May 2022 16 September 2023 48 13 17 18 71 72 −1 027.08
Career total 344 150 90 104 512 393 +119 043.60 —

References

  1. ^ "FSV Zwickau: Torsten Ziegner wird mit sofortiger Wirkung von seiner Tätigkeit als Cheftrainer beim FSV Zwickau e.V. entbunden". fsv-zwickau.de. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Ziegner wird neuer Trainer in Halle". kicker.de. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  3. ^ "HFC stellt Trainer Torsten Ziegner frei". dfb.de (in German). 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Torsten Ziegner wird neuer Cheftrainer des FC Würzburger Kickers" (in German). wuerzburger-kickers.de. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Würzburg stellt Trainer Ziegner frei" (in German). dfb.de. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Duisburg: Ziegner übernimmt für Schmidt" (in German). msv-duisburg.de. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  7. ^ "MSV stellt Torsten Ziegner & Michael Hiemisch frei". dfb.de (in German). 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  8. ^ "German player banned for racism". BBC. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  9. ^ "FSV Zwickau: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Hallescher FC: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Würzburger Kickers: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 31 October 2021.