Alexander Meier (born 17 January 1983) is a German former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or forward. He was the

2014–15 Bundesliga The 2014–15 Bundesliga was the 52nd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. The season started on 22 August 2014 and the final matchday took place on 23 May 2015. Bayern Munich won their 25th German title on 26 Apri ...

top scorer with 19 goals in 26 games.

Career

Early career

Meier began his professional career with

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. The football department is part of a larger ...

in 2002. In the 2001–02 season, Meier appeared on matchdays 32 and 33. In the 2002–03 season, he became a regular fixture appearing in 23 league matches (scoring seven goals) and two cup matches. He signed his first professional contract on 10 April 2003. He moved to local rivals

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of thr ...

in 2003; signing a three–year contract.

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

also inquired about Meier. In his only season, he made four league appearances for the first team and six appearances for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

Eintracht Frankfurt

2004–2009

Meier signed for

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

on 1 July 2004, and made his debut for the club in a

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

match against

Alemannia Aachen Alemannia Aachen () or ATSV Alemannia 1900 is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's second division, ''Alemannia'' enjoyed a three-year turn in the Bundesliga in the ...

, which finished in a 1–1 draw with him scoring the goal for Frankfurt. He then played in the next four matches without scoring. He then scored in two consecutive matchdays when Frankfurt defeated

Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Rot-Weiß Oberhausen is a German association football club in Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was formed as ''Oberhausener SV'' in December 1904 out of the merger of ''Emschertaler SV'' (1902) and the football enthusiasts of ''Oberh ...

6–2 and drew

Rot-Weiss Essen Rot-Weiss Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the German championship in 19 ...

4–4. In between matchdays, he scored against Greuther Fürth in the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

. He would not score again until matchday 21 when he scored from the penalty spot against

LR Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after the team was relegate ...

. He scored three goals against

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus ( Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, Energie played six seasons ...

on matchday 33 on 15 May 2005. He scored nine goals in 34 league matches and one goal in three cup matches. He made his season debut on matchday one in a 4–1 loss to

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, th ...

on 4 August 2005. His first goal of the season came on 14 October 2005 against

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was on ...

in a 1–0 win. He then scored the following week on 21 October 2015 in a 6–3 win against

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., commonly known as simply FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English, is a German professional football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs ''Kölner Ballsp ...

. He then scored two goals against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

in a 6–0 cup win on 25 October 2005. The scoring streak stopped on matchday 10 against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

. The following week, Meier scored two goals against

Arminia Bielefeld DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of ...

. He scored against Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich in back–to–back matchdays. however, Frankfurt lost to Hamburg 2–1 and Bayern Munich 5–2. Meier started, and played 90 minutes, in the cup final. Meier scored seven goals in 33 league matches and three goals in five cup matches. Meier made his season debut in a 1–1 draw against Schalke on matchday one. He also made his European debut on matchday one of the UEFA Cup group stage in a 2–1 loss to

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...

. On 23 September 2006, in a 1–1 draw against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. Vf ...

, Meier scored his first goal of the season. He also scored a goal in each of the following two weeks against Hamburg and

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...

. On 2 November 2006, in the UEFA Cup group stage, Meier was sent–off for a second bookable offence in a 1–1 draw against

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...

. He scored six goals in 29 league matches and one goal in four cup matches. He failed to score in any of his three UEFA Cup matches. On 5 August 2007, Meier made his season debut in a 4–1 cup win against

Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...

. He scored three goals in the match. He made his league debut on 11 August 2007 against

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

. He scored a goal each on matchdays two and three and two on matchday five. Meier came up with a knee injury against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional foot ...

in a cup match. Then on 4 March 2008, it was announced that Meier would have knee surgery. He had not played since October 2007 and finished the season with four goals in 11 league matches and three goals in two cup matches. Meier made his season debut on matchday one on 17 August 2008 in a 2–0 loss to Hertha BSC, his second match on 20 September 2008 in a 1–0 loss to Schalke, and his third match on 23 September 2008 in a 2–1 cup loss to

Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the forme ...

. He didn't play again until a 2–1 loss to Hertha BSC on matchday 18. He finished the season with three goals in 19 league matches. He didn't score in his only cup match.

2014–2018

upMeier with Frankfurt in 2017 Meier finished the 2014–15 season with 19 goals in 26 games despite his campaign being cut short by injury with seven games remaining. This made him the league's top scorer, with two more than Bayern Munich pair

Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots. Robben is regarded as one of the best players of his gen ...

and

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is c ...

. In the 2015–16 season, Meier scored 12 goals in 19 games. In February 2016, Meier suffered a knee injury which caused him to pause until the end of the season. On 14 July 2016, Eintracht Frankfurt confirmed that Meier has extended his contract until 30 June 2018. He finished the 2016–17 season with five goals in 25 appearances. His only appearance during the 2017–18 season was on matchday 33 against Hamburger SV. He scored a goal in the match. On 28 May 2018, Eintracht Frankfurt announced that the expiring contract of Alexander Meier would not be extended.

Return to FC St. Pauli

In January 2019, Meier returned to former club FC St. Pauli having agreed a contract until the end of the season. On 23 May 2019, the club announced that he would leave at the end of the season.

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 20 September 2019,

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premie ...

signed Meier as a

marquee player A marquee player is an athlete who is considered exceptionally popular, skilled, or otherwise outstanding, especially in professional sports. Its name comes from theater marquees, on which the names of the stars of productions in said theater ar ...

. After 12 matches, on 17 January 2020, he left the club by mutual termination. Meier was having a poor season that was compounded by off-field problems including his family not being given visas to join him in Australia. On 28 January, 11 days after leaving Western Sydney Wanderers, Meier announced his retirement as a player.

Career statistics

Honours

Eintracht Frankfurt *

: 2017–18; runner-up: 2005–06, 2016–17 *

runner-up: 2011–12 Individual * 2. Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2011–12 * Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2014–15

References

External links

Alexander Meier
at eintracht.de

at eintracht-archiv.de * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Alexander 1983 births Living people People from Harburg (district) Footballers from Lower Saxony Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards German men's footballers FC St. Pauli players Hamburger SV players Hamburger SV II players Eintracht Frankfurt players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Germany men's under-21 international footballers Germany men's B international footballers Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Kicker-Torjägerkanone Award winners Marquee players (A-League Men)