Benedikt Pichler (born 20 July 1997) is an Austrian 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 lea ...

who plays as a forward for club

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

Career

Pichler was born in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, Austria, and began his youth career with local club USK Gneiss. In 2010, he joined the academy of the USK Anif. Ahead of the 2014–15 season, he moved to the amateurs of

Grödig Grödig is a market town of Salzburg-Umgebung District in the state of Salzburg in Austria. Geography Grödig is located south of the Salzburg city limits in the historic ''Flachgau'' region, near the border with Bavaria, Germany. The market t ...

, making his debut in the Salzburger Liga in August 2014, when he was substituted for Marinko Sorda in the 58th minute on the first matchday of that season against his former side USK Anif. In the same month, he scored his first goal in the fourth division in a 4–2 victory against the

Salzburger AK 1914 Salzburger AK 1914 is a football club based in the city of Salzburg, Austria who currently plays in the 3rd tier Regionalliga Salzburg. It was founded in 1914 and is the oldest football club from that city. History The club was formed by pupils ...

. In July 2016, he made his debut for Grödig's first team in the Austrian Regionalliga when he came off the bench at half-time for Julian Feiser on the first matchday of the 2016–17 season against

FC Kufstein Fußballclub Kufstein is an association football club based in the town of Kufstein, Tyrol, Austria, that competes in Regionalliga Tirol, one of the third tiers of the Austrian football league system. Founded in 1987, it is affiliated to the ...

. Pichler scored his first goal in the Regionalliga in September 2016 in a 2–0 win against TSV St. Johann im Pongau. For the 2018–19 season, he moved to the 2. Liga club Austria Klagenfurt. He made his competitive debut in July 2018, when he was in the starting eleven on the first matchday of the season against Austria Lustenau. For the 2019–20 season, he moved to the

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

club

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

, where he signed a four-year contract. In two years with the

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

, he made 43 Bundesliga appearances, in which he scored eleven goals. Pichler moved to 2. Bundesliga club

Holstein Kiel Kieler Sportvereinigung Holstein von 1900 e.V., commonly known as Holstein Kiel () or KSV Holstein, is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. From the 1900s through the 1960s, the club was o ...

from in August 2021, having agreed a four-year contract. On 11 May 2024, he scored a goal in a 1–1 draw against

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

, securing his club's promotion to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

for the first time in their history. On June 16 2025, Pichler signed a 2-year contract with 2. Bundesliga side

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pichler, Benedikt Living people 1997 births Footballers from Salzburg Austrian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Austrian Regionalliga players 2. Liga (Austria) players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players SV Grödig players SK Austria Klagenfurt (2007) players FK Austria Wien players Holstein Kiel players Holstein Kiel II players Austrian expatriate men's footballers Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany 21st-century Austrian sportsmen