Torsten Ziegner

Torsten Ziegner (born 9 November 1977 in Neuhaus am Rennweg) is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is now manager of FSV Zwickau.

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. He retired at the end of the 2011–12 season, and was appointed as Zwickau's manager.

Controversy

Ziegner was given a five-match ban in October 2008 for racially abusing Nigerian player Kingsley Onuegbu during a match against Eintracht Braunschweig.^[1]

References

External links

• Torsten Ziegner profile at Fussballdaten