Franz Burgmeier (born 7 April 1982) is a Liechtenstein 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 lea ...

, who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Born in

Triesen Triesen (; dialectal: ''Tresa'') is the third largest municipality in Liechtenstein. It contains several historic churches dating from the fifteenth century. It also has a weaving mill from 1863 that is considered a historical monument. The popu ...

, Burgmeier was a burgeoning footballer and keen

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International ...

, until he gave up the latter sport at 16 following a serious injury. Having been a youth player for

, he started his professional career with Vaduz. Burgmeier won several Liechtensteiner Cups with Vaduz, who were promoted to the Swiss Challenge League in 2001, and played in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. After two unsuccessful attempts to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

, Burgmeier left for

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...

in 2005. He spent only one season with Aarau before a move to the previous season's runners-up

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

in 2006. His two seasons with Basel were broken up by a

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

spell with

Thun Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...

, before he moved to England with

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in August 2008, where he played for one year. Burgmeier won 112

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and scored nine goals for his

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. He was a right-footed player competent as either a

left midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, with the ability to deliver a good cross. He made his international debut in 2001 against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and three years later scored one of the goals that helped secure his country's first point in World Cup qualification matches.

Personal life

Burgmeier was born in

, Liechtenstein, a small town with a population of 4,500, close to the border with Switzerland. He is the younger son of Heinz and Elsbeth, following Patrick Burgmeier, who played football for

Vaduz Vaduz (; or ; High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' ...

and

USV Eschen/Mauren USV Eschen/Mauren is a Liechtensteiner football club from Eschen and Mauren. They play at the Sportpark Eschen-Mauren, which used to be the national football stadium, until the Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz was built. USV Eschen/Mauren, like al ...

. From a young age, Franz played both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and skied. He played for the Liechtenstein youth team in Swiss competitions from ages 11 to 16, winning the championship when he was 13. However, at 16, a knee injury, which he suffered while skiing, nearly ended his football career and prompted him to stop the former sport. Burgmeier is married to Monika. She also plays football, as a full back, for

FC Triesen FC Triesen is a Liechtensteiner football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''footb ...

, and also is a coach at the youth level for Liechtenstein's women.

Club career

Vaduz

Burgmeier started out as a youth at

before moving to Vaduz in 2000. Although based in his home country, like all Liechtenstein clubs Vaduz played league football in Switzerland—at the time in the third tier—but also competed in the Liechtenstein Football Cup. In Burgmeier's first season the team won promotion to the Challenge League and won the Liechtenstein Cup with a 9–0 defeat against Ruggell in the final. He scored his first goal at the higher level on 31 July 2001, in a postponed game from the first round of the season, which finished in a 4–1 victory against

. However, Vaduz finished in 11th place in the Fall Season, before results improved and they finished in second place in the Final Table, avoiding being relegated. The team also successfully defended their Liechtenstein Cup defeating USV Eschen/Mauren 6–1 in the final. Vaduz's success in their nation's cup ensured they gained access to the

, and in August 2002, Burgmeier scored his first European goal during a 1–1 with Livingston, the Scottish side's first game in Europe. In the second leg, Vaduz had a late goal disallowed during a 0–0, and so they went out in the qualifying round for the third successive year, losing on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. Vaduz topped the Fall Season table that season, but failed to win promotion to the

after finishing fourth in the Final League. Their failure was offset with another victory in the Liechtenstein Cup, this time defeating Balzers in the final. In June 2003, he was set to join St. Gallen; however, the deal never went through because the Swiss side could not afford the transfer fee. Instead he started with Vaduz, who came closer to gaining promotion but were again unsuccessful, after they lost in the promotion–relegation play-off match. Burgmeier scored one of the goals in the second leg against Neuchâtel Xamax, but Mobulu M'Futi scored to ensure Neuchâtel won over the two legs, and Vaduz stayed in the Challenge League. Despite his side defending their Liechtenstein Cup, Burgmeier missed the final. However, their cup success helped Vaduz to another UEFA Cup, which resulted in their first win in the competition with a 4–2 aggregate victory against

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

-holders Longford Town in July 2004. Burgmeier netted his second European goal during the ties, during the 3–2 second-leg victory, before they were defeated in the second qualifying round to Belgian-side

Beveren Beveren () is a former municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') ...

, during which Burgmeier was injured forcing him to undergo a knee operation and miss the first month of the league season. Vaduz repeated their efforts domestically, defeating USV Eschen/Mauren in the cup and reaching the promotion play-off game. However, they were defeated by

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

and were left with only ten players on secure contracts for the following season. Burgmeier himself left Vaduz after five years with the club, during which he played 115 league games and scored 27 goals.

Aarau

Burgmeier, instead, moved to

in Switzerland. His debut came in a 2–0 league defeat to Thun, before he was substituted near the end of the second half. Aarau were in the Super League, and finished seventh in Burgmeier's only season with the club, in which he played 35 league games. His only league goal came in the second round of matches against St. Gallen, but he also scored in both the first two rounds of the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

—his first games in the cup since Vaduz were not eligible for the competition—before they were eliminated in the quarter-finals on penalties. His form with Aarau won Burgmeier the Liechtensteiner Footballer of the Year award, one point ahead of fellow international Mario Frick, and also earned him a move to

, for whom he signed a three-year contract.

Basel

Burgmeier's first role with Basel was to play in the Uhrencup as they defeated German-side FC Köln 2–1, to share the trophy with

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

. Basel had finished the previous season as runners-up in the league to Zürich on

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

and so qualified for the following season's

. Burgmeier made his Basel debut in the competition as they defeated Kazakhstan's

Tobol The Tobol (, ) is a river in Western Siberia (in Kazakhstan and Russia) and the main (left) tributary of the Irtysh. Its length is , and the area of its drainage basin is . History The Tobol River was one of the four important rivers of the S ...

3–1 on 13 July, before he was replaced by Scott Chipperfield. The second leg ended in a draw, sending Basel through. The second qualifying round draw gave Burgmeier a chance to return to Vaduz. He was a substitute in both games as his new team won on away goals. They went on to qualify for the group stages, in which they finished bottom of their division, with two points from four games. Burgmeier scored his first goal for his new club in a 4–2 away defeat against Sion, but again the side only ranked in the Championship behind Zürich, this time by one point. Their disappointment was offset by an

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

victory over

Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

in the final of the Swiss Cup. Burgmeier injured his ankle at the start of the 2007–08 season, and after playing only four league games, Thun signed him on a six-month loan deal in January 2008. He played 17 times for Thun, who finished bottom of the Super League. Thun were also knocked out of the Swiss Cup by Burgmeier's main employers in the semi-finals. On 13 July 2008, his contract with

was terminated early to allow him to find himself a new club after just 23 league appearances because he was seen as surplus to requirements by manager

Christian Gross Christian Jürgen Gross (born 14 August 1954) is a Swiss football manager and former player. He played as a sweeper and central midfielder. Gross was manager of Basel from 1999 to 2009, winning four Swiss Super Leagues and four Swiss Cups. As ...

Darlington

While playing for Liechtenstein against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in a 2004 European Championships qualifying match at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in 2003, Burgmeier was spotted by Max Houghton. Although Liechtenstein lost 2–0, Houghton was impressed by Burgmeier's stamina and effort. When Burgmeier was released by Basel in 2008, Houghton, then 12 years old, suggested to his grandfather, George Houghton, who was chairman of English side

that he should be given a trial. Following a successful trial, Burgmeier, who was keen to move abroad, was signed by the League Two-side on a one-year contract at the end of August 2008 to become the first Liechtensteiner to play in

. Burgmeier made his debut on 23 August, in a 2–1 defeat to Gillingham at The Darlington Arena. He scored his first goal for Darlington in a 2–1 win against Port Vale on 13 September. Manager

Dave Penney David Mark Penney (born 17 August 1964) is an English football manager and former player. Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Penney entered professional football at the relatively late age of 21. He had been working as a bricklayer an ...

praised Burgmeier for the start he made to the club, both as a goal scorer and creator, which also helped him to play his way into the affections of the club's supporters. When Burgmeier won his 49th cap for Liechtenstein against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, it was his fourth in the two months since he joined Darlington. It took him past the club record three caps of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Jason de Vos and New Zealander Adrian Webster, with a coach-load of Darlington fans there to see him play at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

. His next cap clashed with Darlington's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

first round replay with

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

-side

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the mid-19th cen ...

, in which they were defeated. Darlington's promotion campaign was dealt a blow in February 2009, when club chairman George Houghton placed the club in administration. As a result, the club were deducted 10 points, a penalty from which they could not recover finally finishing 12th. Burgmeier finished with two goals during the season having played 35 games, but like the rest of the playing squad, was told he could find a new club by Darlington's administrators.

Return to Vaduz

Following Darlington's financial problems, Burgmeier returned home to Liechtenstein and signed with his former club

on a one-year contract after the end of the 2008–09 season.

International career

Burgmeier is a Liechtenstein international who made his debut in a 2002 World Cup qualifier against

on 5 September 2001. It was the penultimate game of the side's qualifying campaign, in which they lost all eight games without scoring a goal. Despite starting the qualifying round for 2004 European Championships with a 1–1 draw with

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, Liechtenstein lost their remaining games to finish bottom of their group. Burgmeier featured in seven of the qualification matches. Burgmeier scored his first international goal in April 2003 in a friendly against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

to give Liechtenstein a 1–0 victory. On 10 October 2004, he scored his first competitive international goal as he helped Liechtenstein to record their first point in World Cup qualification matches. He and Thomas Beck scored Liechtenstein's goals in a 2–2 with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at the

Rheinpark Stadion Rheinpark Stadion (''Rhine Park Stadium'') in Vaduz is the national stadium of Liechtenstein. It plays host to home matches of the Liechtenstein national football team, and is also the home of football club (association football), football club F ...

. Burgmeier describes the draw as the "biggest moment of my career". Three days later, Burgmeier scored two more goals as Liechtenstein earned their first World Cup win with a 4–0 victory against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. They followed it up with a 0–0 draw against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and another victory over Luxembourg, to finish the

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

campaign with eight points from their 12 matches. Burgmeier played in nine games. Liechtenstein won another two games in their following qualifying campaign—for the 2008 European Championships. They had started with four defeats, in the last of which Burgmeier scored a consolation goal in a 4–1 win for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. A 1–0 victory against

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and a draw with

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

followed, but Liechtenstein picked up only seven points to finish bottom of their group, with Burgmeier playing in all but one game. Having earned eight points during the 2006 World Cup qualification games, Burgmeier said the target in the 2010 campaign was to pick up "as many points as possible", adding, "For us, the target is not to qualify but to just take each game as it comes, enjoy the matches, and try and do as well as possible." He won his 50th cap in a 4–0 friendly defeat to

on 19 November 2008. Burgmeier has scored seven goals and picked up a number of opposition shirts which he plans to put in a hall of fame. On 15 November 2014, he scored his second Euro qualifier and winning goal over

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Liechtenstein's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Burgmeier Template goal.''

Honours

Vaduz *

1. Liga Promotion The Promotion League, named the Hoval Promotion League for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Swiss football league system. Eighteen clubs compete in the league, playing each other twice over course of the season. The champions are prom ...

: 2000–01 *

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League (known as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the wi ...

: 2002–03, 2013–14 * Liechtensteiner Cup: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 Basel *

: 2007–08 *

: 2006–07, 2007–08 Individual * Liechtensteiner Footballer of the Year: 2005–06