Xaver Schlager

Xaver Schlager
Schlager with Austria in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-09-28) 28 September 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Linz, Upper Austria, Austria
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 RB Leipzig
Number 24
Youth career
2003–2009 SC St. Valentin
2009–2015 Red Bull Salzburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Liefering 46 (7)
2016–2019 Red Bull Salzburg 67 (7)
2019–2022 VfL Wolfsburg 69 (3)
2022– RB Leipzig 55 (1)
International career‡
2013 Austria U17 4 (2)
2015–2016 Austria U19 11 (2)
2017–2019 Austria U21 9 (2)
2018– Austria 43 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:28, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Xaver Schlager (German pronunciation: [ˈksaːvɐ ˈʃlaːɡɐ];[2][3] born 28 September 1997) is an Austrian footballer who plays as central midfielder for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Austria national team.

Club career

Red Bull Salzburg

After playing for the youth team of SC St. Valentin, Schlager joined the FC Red Bull Salzburg Academy in 2011, where he played in all teams. In 2015, Schlager was transferred to FC Liefering, the feeder team of FC Red Bull Salzburg.[4]

During the 2017–18 season, Salzburg had their best ever European campaign. They finished top of their Europa League group, for a record fourth time, before beating Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund thus making their first ever appearance in the UEFA Europa League semi-final.[5] On 3 May 2018, he played in the Europa League semi-finals as Marseille beat Salzburg 3–2 on aggregate to secure a place in the final.[6]

VfL Wolfsburg

On the 26 June 2019, Schlager signed for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.[7] During his time with Wolfsburg, Schlager made 81 appearances in all competitions, including 69 in the Bundesliga.[8] He missed 20 league matches through injury during his final season, but still averaged 27 pressures per game whilst producing a goal and two assists.[8]

RB Leipzig

On 17 June 2022, Schlager joined Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig, after the club activated a release clause in his Wolfsburg contract. He signed a contract until 2026.[9] Schlager helped Leipzig to win the German Cup and German Super Cup in 2023, starting the latter, coming on as substitute in the German Cup Final. In early May of 2024, Schlager was playing against Hoffenheim, when he was substituted off with an injury. Later tests confirmed that his ACL was torn, and underwent surgery, therefore missing the European Championship in the summer.

International career

On 23 March 2018, Schlager debuted for the Austrian senior squad in a friendly 3–0 victory over Slovenia.[10] The same year on 18 September, he scored his first goal in a 2018–19 UEFA Nations League match against Northern Ireland.[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 December 2024[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Liefering 2014–15 Austrian First League 11 0 — — — 11 0
2015–16 Austrian First League 22 3 — — — 22 3
2016–17 Austrian First League 11 4 — — — 11 4
2017–18 Austrian First League 2 0 — — — 2 0
Total 46 7 — — — 46 7
Red Bull Salzburg 2015–16 Austrian Bundesliga 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
2016–17 Austrian Bundesliga 13 1 2 0 2[a] 1 — 17 2
2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga 26 1 4 0 14[a] 0 — 44 1
2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga 26 5 6 2 12[b] 1 — 44 8
Total 67 7 12 2 28 2 — 107 11
VfL Wolfsburg II 2019–20 Regionalliga Nord 1 0 — — — 1 0
VfL Wolfsburg 2019–20 Bundesliga 23 1 0 0 5[a] 0 — 28 1
2020–21 Bundesliga 32 2 3 0 3[a] 0 — 38 2
2021–22 Bundesliga 14 0 1 0 0 0 — 15 0
Total 69 3 4 0 8 0 — 81 3
RB Leipzig 2022–23 Bundesliga 22 1 4 0 7[c] 0 0 0 33 1
2023–24 Bundesliga 29 0 2 0 8[c] 1 1[d] 0 40 1
2024–25 Bundesliga 4 0 1 0 0 0 — 5 0
Total 55 1 7 0 15 1 1 0 78 2
Career total 238 18 23 2 51 3 1 0 313 23
  1. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances one goal in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Appearance in DFL-Supercup

International

As of match played 26 March 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Austria 2018 7 1
2019 3 0
2020 6 0
2021 7 0
2022 9 2
2023 8 0
2024 2 1
Total 43 4

International goals

As of match played 26 March 2024
Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Schlager goal.[13]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 18 November 2018 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 1–0 2–1 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B
2. 6 June 2022 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria  Denmark 1–1 1–2 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A
3. 20 November 2022 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria  Italy 1–0 2–0 Friendly
4. 26 March 2024 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria  Turkey 1–0 6–1 Friendly

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg

RB Leipzig

References

  1. ^ "Xaver Schlager". RB Leipzig. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. ^ Kleiner, Stefan; Knöbl, Ralf (2015) [First published 1962]. Das Aussprachewörterbuch [The Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German) (7th ed.). Berlin: Dudenverlag. pp. 764, 911. ISBN 978-3-411-04067-4.
  3. ^ Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 905, 1062. ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6.
  4. ^ "Xaver Schlager joins RB Leipzig!". Red Bull Salzburg. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Salzburg v Marseille background". UEFA. 27 April 2018.
  6. ^ "FC Red Bull Salzburg 2–1 Marseille". BBC Sport. 3 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Verstärkung für das Mittelfeld". VfL Wolfsburg (in German). 26 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d "Xaver Schlager joins RB Leipzig from Wolfsburg". Bundesliga. 17 June 2022.
  9. ^ "RB Leipzig recruit Austria's Schlager from Wolfsburg". Yahoo Sports. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Xaver Schlager: "Der Teamchef soll mich kritisieren"". Salzburger Nachrichten (in German). 26 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Erstes Länderspiel-Tor: Schlager zuckt nicht aus" [First international goal: Schlager doesn't flinch]. Laola1 (in German). 18 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Xaver Schlager | Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Schlager, Xaver". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Christopher Nkunku-inspired RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt to win DFB Cup". Bundesliga. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  15. ^ Lisjak, Maja (12 August 2023). "Olmo s hat-trickom pokvaril veliki debi Kana pri Bayernu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija.
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