Walter Schachner
Encyclopedia
Walter "Schoko" Schachner (born 1 February 1957 in Leoben
Leoben
Leoben is a Styrian city in central Austria, located by the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial center and hosts the University of Leoben which specialises in mining...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

) is a football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 manager and former Austrian national player (forward).

As he always brought chocolate to the games when he was a boy, he got the nickname schoko
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

. He was one of the most successful Austrian players in Italian football, as he played for 4 clubs over 7 years.

Club career

Much-travelled Schachner started his professional career at local outfit Alpine Donawitz
DSV Leoben
DSV Leoben is an Austrian association football club based in Leoben. It was founded in 1928. They play at the Donawitz Stadium.-Current squad:-Famous players: Mugur Gusatu Amir Saadati Rainer Torres Amarildo Zela Bajro Župić...

 at 18 in the 1975/1976 season, earning a place in the national team after only one and a half season. He was duly picked up by Vienna giants Austria Wien but moved abroad to play in Italy for seven years, from 1981 to 1988, in A.C. Cesena
A.C. Cesena
Associazione Calcio Cesena is an Italian football club based in Cesena, Romagna. The club was formed in 1940 and won the first promotion to Serie A in 1973. Since then, the club have been in the Italian Premier League for a total of in 11 seasons, reaching the best achievement in 1976 with the 6th...

 (58 matches, 17 goals), Torino F.C.
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....

 (85 matches, 18 goals) and U.S. Avellino
U.S. Avellino
Associazione Sportiva Avellino 1912 , since summer 2010, is the new name of the Italian football club, based in Avellino, Campania. The club was founded in 1912 and its traditional colours are green and white...

 (48 matches 13 goals). In 1981 when Cesena was promoted to Serie A, the ultras changed their title to Weisschwarz Brigaden (meaning “Black-and-white Brigades” in German language) to honor the Austrian forward. He returned to Austria in 1988, moving from one club to another and mostly in the second division before finally hanging up his boots at 41 years of age at Eintracht Wels.

International career

He made his debut for Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

 in a December 1976 World Cup qualification match against Malta
Malta national football team
The Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game in February 1957, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory came in...

 and was a participant at the 1978
1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth...

 and 1982 FIFA World Cup
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...

s. He earned 64 caps, scoring 23 goals. His final international game was an August 1994 friendly match against Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...

 which was his farewell match since he was replaced by Harald Cerny
Harald Cerny
Harald Cerny is a former Austrian football right midfielder. He played mostly for TSV 1860 München.-Club career:After coming through the youth ranks at Admira Wacker, Cerny began his professional career at German giants FC Bayern Munich in 1992–93, making his top division debut on 27 October 1992,...

 early in the game and he had played his previous international over 4 years earlier.

On June 21, 1978 at the World Cup held in Argentina he was among starting 11 of the Austrian team that beat the reigning champions, West Germany 3:2 and eliminated them from the competition, a historic match named “The Miracle of Cordoba
Miracle of cordoba
The Miracle of Cordoba describes the game of football between defending World Champions Germany and Austria that occurred on 21 June 1978 at the conclusion of the second round of the 1978 FIFA World Cup, in Córdoba, Argentina...

”.

Managerial career

He started his career as a coach in the season 1999/2000 in FC Zeltweg and led them to promotion from 4th to 3rd division.

In seasons 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 he coached FC Kärnten
FC Kärnten
FC Kärnten was an Austrian association football club based in Klagenfurt, Carinthia. It was founded in 1920 under the name of KSK Klagenfurt. They last played home games at the Sportzentrum Fischl.- History :...

 in the Austrian Football First League. Under his leadership the team got promoted to the Austrian Bundesliga and won the National Cup in the first year and the National Supercup in the second.

In the season 2002/2003 Schachner trained Austria Wien in Austrian Bundesliga until he was replaced by Christoph Daum
Christoph Daum
Christoph Daum is a German football coach, currently managing Club Brugge.-Career as a player:Daum began his football career in 1971 in the youth league with Hamborn 07, transferred in 1972 to Eintracht Duisburg and then in 1975 to 1...

 in early October despite an excellent start of the season. At the time of his dismissal the team lead the championship with seven points ahead of second place and just defeated Ukrainian Champions Shakhtar Donetsk 5:2 in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

.
A few days after his dismissal he was hired by Grazer AK
Grazer AK
Grazer AK, founded 18 August 1902 as Grazer Athletik-Sport Klub , is an Austrian sports club, from the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria . The football section is one of the most traditional Austrian clubs, most successful in the decade 1995 – 2005...

, which held the penultimate place in the Austrian Bundesliga. The team finished the season in second place behind Austria Vienna.

In the season 2003/2004 Schachner led Grazer AK to win their first and so far the only national champions title. In the same season they also won the Austrian Cup.
In season 2004/2005 the Grazer AK were runners-up in the Bundesliga and faced Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 of Rafael Benitez
Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....

, the future winners of the title, in the third qualification round of Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, managing to win the return leg at Anfield 1:0, after the home defeat of 0:2.

In January 2006 he was sacked by the club, officially to reduce costs, in real because he was in talks with several other clubs. He moved to TSV 1860 München
TSV 1860 München
Turn- und Sportverein München von 1860, commonly known as TSV 1860 München or 1860 Munich, is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. The club's football team plays in the Second Bundesliga, after relegation from the Bundesliga following the 2003–04 season...

 who were in the 2nd Bundesliga at the time and avoided relegation only in the penultimate round. The club was going through difficult period in those years and faced economic problems. On March 9, 2007, he and TSV 1860 München
TSV 1860 München
Turn- und Sportverein München von 1860, commonly known as TSV 1860 München or 1860 Munich, is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. The club's football team plays in the Second Bundesliga, after relegation from the Bundesliga following the 2003–04 season...

 agreed to terminate his contract at the end of the 2006-2007 season on June 30. His successor was Marco Kurz
Marco Kurz
Marco Kurz is a retired German footballer who is now a coach of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.-External links:*...

. Schachner signed a new contract at SK Austria Kärnten in April 2007. He did not achieve the desired results with the newly formed team and was fired by the management in December of that year.

In August 2008, Schachner replaced the coach of VfB Admira Wacker Mödling
VfB Admira Wacker Mödling
FC Admira Wacker Mödling is an Austrian football club from Mödling. The club was originally formed in 1905 as SK Admira Vienna in the Austrian capital...

 (Austrian First League), Heinz Peischl, who was fired for acquiring only 1 point in 5 games which left the team on the bottom of the ranking. With Schachner the team finished the season in the third place. Moreover, after 13 years Admira Wacker reached the National Cup final where they were defeated by Austria Wien 1:3.
He remained as a coach in VfB Admira Wacker Mödling for the season 2009/10 before being replaced by their youth team coach on April 26, 2010, leaving the team in third place with 4 points behind the leader, struggling for promotion 6 rounds before the end of the season.

Playing

  • Austrian Football Bundesliga (3):
    • 1979, 1980, 1981
  • Austrian Cup
    Austrian Cup
    The Austrian Cup, in German: ÖFB-Cup is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB.It has been held since 1919, with the exception of the time of the Anschluss between 1939 and 1945 and the period between 1950 and 1958 when the competition was deemed of...

     (1):
    • 1980
  • Austrian Bundesliga Top Goalscorer (2):
    • 1979, 1980
  • Italy Cup Top Goalscorer (1):
    • 1984 (8 goals)

Coaching

  • Austrian Football Bundesliga (1):
    • 2004
  • Austrian Cup
    Austrian Cup
    The Austrian Cup, in German: ÖFB-Cup is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB.It has been held since 1919, with the exception of the time of the Anschluss between 1939 and 1945 and the period between 1950 and 1958 when the competition was deemed of...

     (2):
    • 2001, 2004
  • Austrian Supercup
    Austrian Supercup
    The Austrian Supercup was a football competition held annually from 1986 until 2004 between the winners of the Austrian Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup.-Winners of Austrian Supercup:*1986: SK Rapid Wien...

     (1):
    • 2001

External links

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