Tobias Nickenig (born 1 August 1984) 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 lea ...

who played as a defender.

Career

1. FC Köln

Born in

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

, Nickenig came through the

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

youth system. In the 2005–06 season, he was called up for the first team of 1. FC Köln and he was eventually loaned out to

Sportfreunde Siegen Sportfreunde Siegen is a German association football club based in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia. After going through insolvency in 2008, the first team was forcibly relegated to the fifth-tier NRW-Liga. Promotion to fourth division Regionallig ...

in the winter transfer window. After he returned to 1.FC Köln in summer 2007 he was starting for Köln in the first 10 games of the season 2007–08 until a long time injury stopped him – 2 groin operations – and he was out for almost nine months. This season the club finished 1st place and got promoted 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 ...

. He gave his debut in the Bundesliga on 17 December 2008 before he left Köln on 1 January 2009 moving to Liechtenstein-based club

FC Vaduz Fussball Club Vaduz (En: ''Football Club Vaduz'') is a professional association football, football club from Vaduz, Liechtenstein that plays in the Challenge League (Switzerland), Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. The club pla ...

of 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 ...

, coached by Pierre Littbarski, former world cup winner 1990.

VfL Osnabrück

After his Vaduz contract ended on 1 July 2009 he signed a one-year contract with

VfL Osnabrück VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its Association football, football section. The footba ...

on 9 July 2009. In Osnabrück he became one of the outstanding players and an important part of the team that achieved promotion to 2. Bundesliga in 2010.

Later years

After his second year in Osnabrück and a couple of injuries he left the club in 2011 and signed with Turkish side

Orduspor Orduspor is a Turkish football club founded in 1967. The club is located in Ordu, Turkey and played their home games at 19 Eylül Stadium. The team managed to qualify for the Turkish Super League again in 2011. But the last spell in top level ...

which was playing in

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

. There he just had 7 appearances in the first half of the season and after not getting paid he terminated his contract in April 2012. In July 2012 he signed with German 2. Bundesliga club

FC Erzgebirge Aue Fußball Club Erzgebirge Aue e.V., commonly known as simply FC Erzgebirge Aue or Erzgebirge Aue (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Aue-Bad Schlema, Saxony. The former East German side was a founding member of the 3. ...

. There, he again became one of the most important players in the following two seasons and helped the club avoid relegation. On 17 April 2014, he played his last game as a professional footballer in the derby against Dynamo Dresden. In summer 2014, he was one of three players to be released by the club. He had to retire aged 29 due to knee problems after several operations.

Post-playing retirement

In 2016, Nickenig became sporting director of Thai club

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima (, ) is the capital of Nakhon Ratchasima province, the largest city in Isan, Northeastern Thailand and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, third-largest city in Thailand. It is 250 km (1 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nickenig, Tobias Living people 1984 births Sportspeople from Neuwied German men's footballers Men's association football defenders Footballers from Rhineland-Palatinate 1. FC Köln players 1. FC Köln II players FC Vaduz players Orduspor footballers VfL Osnabrück players FC Erzgebirge Aue players Süper Lig players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Liechtenstein Expatriate men's footballers in Liechtenstein German expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey German expatriate football managers German expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Expatriate football managers in Thailand 21st-century German sportsmen