Marc Ziegler

Marc Ziegler (born 13 June 1976) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He appeared in 103 Bundesliga games over the course of 14 seasons, mainly at the service of VfB Stuttgart (eight years). He also competed professionally in Turkey and Austria.

Career Ziegler was born in Blieskastel.

VfB Stuttgart was immersed in a goalkeeping crisis after the defection of legendary Eike Immel to England's Manchester City in the 1995 summer. Youth graduate Ziegler – then 19 – won the battle for first choice over longtime backup Eberhard Trautner and played all the season's matches save five, but the club finished tenth with the second-worst defensive record in the Bundesliga, only winning to Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the following three years Ziegler only appeared in 12 more games combined, eventually leaving club and country in 2000 after a brief spell at Arminia Bielefeld: he started in Turkey with Bursaspor, then left in January 2001 to Austria, where he was the starter for FC Tirol Innsbruck in back-to-back national championship conquests. In his second year he also stayed unbeaten for more than 1,000 minutes, coming close to an all-time European best.

Ziegler moved teams but stayed in the country in the 2002 summer, signing with FK Austria Wien, where he played rarely in two years, which were interspersed with a return to his country, at Hannover 96. In the next two seasons, back in Germany, he played with former youth side 1. FC Saarbrücken (second division) and Arminia again.

Ziegler signed with Borussia Dortmund for the 2007–08 campaign, and split first-choice duties with Roman Weidenfeller in that first year. On 29 January 2008, he saved a penalty kick from SV Werder Bremen's Diego – who had already beaten him from the same spot – in the German Cup 2–1 home win; in the subsequent seasons, however, he was second choice.

On 13 May 2010, 34-year-old Ziegler signed a three-year contract with former side Stuttgart, effective as of 1 July 2010. His input in his second spell consisted of two appearances in the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, and he was released at the end of 2012–13.

Career statistics

Honours FC Tirol Innsbruck Austrian Bundesliga: 2000–01, 2001–02

1. FC Kaiserslautern DFB-Pokal: 1996–97

VfB Stuttgart UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: runner-up 1997–98 DFB-Ligapokal: runner-up 1997, 1998

Borussia Dortmund DFB-Pokal: runner-up 2007–08