Name: Josef Hickersberger
Nickname: "Pepi"; "Hicke"



Country: Austria
Club: Kickers Offenbach (1972-1976), Fortuna Düsseldorf (1976-1978)
Position: *CMF, DMF, AMF, SWP, SS (Optional)
Side: RF/BS
Age: 26-30 years (27/04/1948)

Height: 176 cm
Weight: 75 kg

Attack: 75
Defence: 72
Balance: 78
Stamina: 85
Top Speed: 79
Acceleration: 80
Response: 77
Agility: 78
Dribble Accuracy: 76
Dribble Speed: 78
Short Pass Accuracy: 81
Short Pass Speed: 80
Long Pass Accuracy: 75
Long Pass Speed: 78
Shot Accuracy: 74
Shot Power: 80
Shot Technique: 74
Free Kick Accuracy: 67
Curling: 73
Header: 77
Jump: 78
Technique: 82
Aggression: 76
Mentality: 82
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 81

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 6
Weak Foot Frequency: 6
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Standard

CARDS:
S05 - 1-touch Play
P08 - Box to Box
P14 - Free Roaming


SPECIAL ABILITIES: Reaction - Centre - 1-touch Play

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Balanced


INFO:
Not so good finishing, but great technician. Had played everything from sweeper to striker in Düsseldorf. If he was deployed as a forward (such as in 1978 DFB Cup final), he would often go back to get the ball. In 1975 Hickersberger moved to the position of centre-forward, where he was to replace goalscorer Kostedde. But this experiment did not bring the desired success. Although Hickersberger was a prolific attacking midfielder, he didn't have the accuracy of Kostedde. Hickersberger was allowed to return to his original position after 15 games. In World Cup 1978, he was responsible in the centre for securing, winning the ball, keeping an eye on things and plugging holes. His radius of action was extremely large, he worked so that Prohaska - strong in design but with weaknesses in defensive tackles - could carry the game forward with runs from deep.

Josef Hickersberger started playing football in Amstetten, where he quickly made it into the fighting team. In the summer of 1966 he moved to Austria Vienna. With the violets he became Austrian champion in 1969 and 1970 and in 1967 and 1971 he also won the cup with them. His first assignment for the Austrian national team also falls at this time. He came on the field in the 63rd minute in a 1-1 draw for Fiala against Romania. In 1972 he scored three goals in six minutes in a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win against Malta. As a result, German Bundesliga clubs became aware of him. After the runner-up title in 1972 (behind Wacker Innsbruck), he moved to the German Bundesliga with Offenbacher Kickers. In Hessen he came to 118 Bundesliga games and scored 29 goals. In 1976 Offenbach was relegated and Pepi Hickersberger moved to Fortuna Düsseldorf. Here he completed another 59 Bundesliga games and scored 5 goals for Fortuna.

Hickersberger experienced the high point of his international career with the Austrian national team, at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Under team manager Helmut Senekowitsch, he has long been a regular player, and the always rather inconspicuous midfield strategist played a large part in his team's promotion to the second round. With the strongest Austrian team in the last 20 years, Hickersberger not only finished seventh, but also celebrated with the “ Miracle of Córdoba ”, the legendary 3-2 victory over the reigning world champion Germany, a football-historical sensation that is still unforgettable in Austria today. With this triumph, the Lower Austrian, who played in all six World Cup games, ended his international career after 39 international appearances for his country, in which he scored five goals.

Hickersberger returned to his homeland during the summer break in 1978 and played for the SSW Innsbruck for two years. He did not perform as expected for the Innsbruck team. In 1979 they managed to win the Cup, but Innsbruck had to be relegated from the Bundesliga and the targeted immediate re-promotion failed. Hickersberger switched to SK Rapid Vienna in 1980. With the Hütteldorfern he finished third in the championship in 1981 and celebrated his last great success on the field under the coaches Walter Skocik and Rudolf Nuske at the end of his professional career by winning his third Austrian championship title.