Stefan Maierhofer

Stefan Maierhofer (born 16 August 1982) is an Austrian football manager and former player who is head coach of Regionalliga East club Kremser SC. He played as a striker and is known in Austrian football by the nickname the Major .

Maierhofer was working as a cook in his parents' inn and playing fourth-tier football for SV Langenrohr when he arranged his own trial at Bayern Munich in 2005. He became captain of the reserve side and made two Bundesliga appearances before spells with the 2. Bundesliga clubs TuS Koblenz and Greuther Fürth. That form took him to Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2009, although he made only nine league appearances in two years and spent loan spells at Bristol City and MSV Duisburg.

He returned to Austria with Red Bull Salzburg in 2011 and won the league and cup double in his first season, finishing as joint top scorer in the Austrian Bundesliga alongside Jakob Jantscher. Eleven further clubs followed in five countries, among them 1. FC Köln, Millwall, AS Trenčín, SV Mattersburg, FC Aarau and Würzburger Kickers. Maierhofer retired in 2023 after a season as player-coach at Kremser SC. Between 2008 and 2011 he made 19 appearances for Austria, scoring once.

Maierhofer returned to professional sport in 2025 as a placekicker for the Vienna Vikings in the European League of Football, reaching the championship game in his only season. He completed the UEFA Pro Licence while coaching at the Burgenland academy and was appointed head coach of Kremser SC in July 2026. His parents took over the Hochram-Alpe inn in the town, and he began playing for the local club SV Gablitz at the age of eight. He trained as a cook and restaurant specialist at his parents' insistence and worked in the family business from the age of fourteen. The demands of the trade cost him a move to the Rapid Wien youth setup and interrupted his playing altogether for two years.

Koblenz, Greuther Fürth and Rapid Wien

Maierhofer joined TuS Koblenz of the 2. Bundesliga on 1 February 2007 and scored three goals in 14 league matches. In July 2007 he signed a two-year contract with another club in the division, Greuther Fürth, but started only rarely and made ten league appearances before the winter break. Rapid signed him permanently on a three-year contract in summer 2008.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Maierhofer signed a three-year contract with newly promoted Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on 31 August 2009 for an undisclosed fee reported as an initial £1.8 million. A hernia injury then kept him out for several months, and he found no way back into the side.

In March 2010 he joined Championship club Bristol City on a one-month emergency loan.

Manager Mick McCarthy told Maierhofer in summer 2010 that he was no longer part of his plans, and he moved to MSV Duisburg of the 2. Bundesliga on a season-long loan. He scored 12 goals in 32 matches for Duisburg, including one in the DFB-Pokal semi-final that took the club to the final, where they lost to Schalke. He returned to Wolves for the 2011–12 season and made one further appearance as a substitute before leaving. He was without a club until 14 March 2014, when Millwall signed him on a short-term deal until the end of the 2013–14 season. Both of his goals for the club came in a 2–1 win at Middlesbrough in April.

On 19 November 2014 he signed a short-term contract with SC Wiener Neustadt of the Austrian Bundesliga. Trenčín won both the Slovak league and the Slovak Cup that season. He made 41 competitive appearances for Mattersburg and scored nine goals. He scored 11 league goals in the 2018–19 season as the club climbed to second place and reached the promotion play-offs, where they lost to Neuchâtel Xamax. He extended his contract for a further year in June 2019, then left by mutual agreement in January 2020 after 40 league appearances. Würzburg was the 22nd club of his career. He told the Kurier that the arrangement was intended to give him the head-coaching experience required to apply for the UEFA Pro Licence.

Maierhofer made 20 league appearances and scored once in the 2022–23 season. He and Wagner both left the club at the end of the campaign, and in summer 2023 he announced his retirement at the age of 40 and took a role coaching talents at the Burgenland academy.

International career Maierhofer's form on loan at Rapid Wien earned him a first call-up in April 2008, when Josef Hickersberger named him in Austria's provisional squad for UEFA Euro 2008 on home soil, although he did not make the final selection. He won 19 caps in total, the last of them in 2011. On 12 May he confirmed on ServusTV that he had signed with the Vienna Vikings of the European League of Football as a placekicker. Owner Robin Lumsden said the club was looking for someone who fitted both athletically and personally. The Vikings won 41–7 in front of 10,275 spectators. NÖN reported that the performance drew praise despite the result. Krems took two points from their first four league matches of the 2026–27 season, drawing with SV Donau Wien and SC/ESV Parndorf and losing to SV Gloggnitz and FC Marchfeld Donauauen.

Player profile Style of play Maierhofer stood 2.02 metres tall and played as a target man, relying on aerial strength and physical presence rather than technique. Hermann Gerland worked extensively on his heading at Bayern and made it the strongest part of his game.

Reception Maierhofer divided opinion in Austria more than almost any other player of his generation, according to Laola1.

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals First Vienna FC 2002–03 Austrian Regionalliga East

2005–06 Regionalliga Süd

2006–07 Regionalliga Süd

Bayern Munich 2006–07 Bundesliga

TuS Koblenz 2006–07 2. Bundesliga

Greuther Fürth 2007–08 2. Bundesliga

2007–08 Austrian Bundesliga

2008–09 Austrian Bundesliga

2009–10 Austrian Bundesliga

2009–10 Premier League

2011–12 Premier League

Bristol City (loan) 2009–10 Championship

MSV Duisburg (loan) 2010–11 2. Bundesliga

2011–12 Austrian Bundesliga

2012–13 Austrian Bundesliga

1. FC Köln 2012–13 2. Bundesliga

Millwall 2013–14 Championship

SC Wiener Neustadt 2014–15 Austrian Bundesliga

Millwall 2014–15 Championship

AS Trenčín 2015–16 Slovak Super Liga

2016–17 Austrian Bundesliga

2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga

2018–19 Swiss Challenge League

2019–20 Swiss Challenge League

WSG Swarovski Tirol 2019–20 Austrian Bundesliga

Admira Wacker 2020–21 Austrian Bundesliga

Würzburger Kickers 2020–21 2. Bundesliga

Kremser SC 2022–23 Regionalliga East

386!!113!!27!!13!!16!!4!!3!!1!!432!!131

International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAustria 2008 3 0 2009 7 1 2010 4 0 2011 5 0Total 19 1

Score and result list Austria's goal tally first. No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 5 September 2009 UPC-Arena, Graz, Austria 1–0 3–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Career Total

Honours Association football Rapid Wien Austrian Football Bundesliga: 2007–08

MSV Duisburg DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2010–11

Red Bull Salzburg Austrian Football Bundesliga: 2011–12 Austrian Cup: 2011–12

AS Trenčín Slovak First Football League: 2015–16 Slovak Cup: 2015–16

Individual Austrian Football Bundesliga top scorer: 2011–12

American football Vienna Vikings European League of Football runner-up: 2025