Mark Schwarzer facts for kids
Schwarzer in 2008
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Mark Schwarzer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 6 October 1972 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | North Richmond, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.94 m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colo Cougars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penrith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blacktown Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marconi Stallions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1994 | Marconi Stallions | 58 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Dynamo Dresden | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Bradford City | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2008 | Middlesbrough | 366 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2013 | Fulham | 172 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Chelsea | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Leicester City | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 625 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989 | Australia U17 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Australia U20 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2013 | Australia | 109 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Mark Schwarzer is a famous Australian former professional football player. He was a goalkeeper, which means he was the player who tries to stop the ball from going into the goal. Mark played for the Australian national team from 1993 to 2013. He even played in two FIFA World Cups, in 2006 and 2010.
Mark started playing football in youth teams like Colo Cougars and Marconi Stallions. He became a professional player in 1990. Over his long career, he played for many big clubs. These included Middlesbrough, Fulham, Chelsea, and Leicester City. He holds a special record for playing over 500 games in the Premier League. This makes him the non-British player with the most appearances in the league's history.
Contents
About Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer was born in North Richmond, New South Wales, a suburb near Sydney, Australia. His parents, Hans-Joachim and Doris, moved to Australia from Germany in 1968. Mark can speak German fluently.
In 2009, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia. This award recognizes people who have done great things for Australia.
Mark also wrote a series of children's books called "Megs and the Vootball Kids." These books are about a boy named Megs who moves to Australia and makes new friends.
After a long career, Mark retired from playing football in 2016 when he was 43 years old. He then started working as a football expert for Optus Sport, a sports TV channel. His son, Julian Schwarzer, is also a goalkeeper and plays for a club in Indonesia.
Mark's Club Career
Mark Schwarzer's journey in football started when he was young.
Early Days in Football
Mark's first club was Colo Cougars in Richmond, New South Wales. He began his professional career at 19 with Marconi Stallions in Australia. In 1994, he moved to Germany to play for Dynamo Dresden and 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Then, in 1996, he went to England to play for Bradford City. In February 1997, he joined Premier League club Middlesbrough.
Time at Middlesbrough
Mark played his first game for Middlesbrough in February 1997. He helped Middlesbrough reach the League Cup final that year. He also played in the 1998 League Cup final.
In 2004, Mark was part of the team that won the League Cup. This was a big win for Middlesbrough. In the last game of the 2004–05 season, Mark made a very important save. He stopped a penalty kick from Robbie Fowler of Manchester City. This save helped Middlesbrough finish seventh in the league and qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Mark played 446 games for Middlesbrough in total. He became the longest-serving foreign player at one club in the Premier League. He left Middlesbrough in May 2008.
Moving to Fulham
After leaving Middlesbrough, Mark signed with Fulham in May 2008. He had offers from big clubs like Bayern Munich and Juventus. But he chose Fulham because they promised him the main goalkeeper spot.
Mark played every minute of the 2008–09 season for Fulham. He helped the team finish seventh in the league. This meant Fulham qualified for a European competition. Because of his great performances, he was named Fulham's Player of the Year for 2008–09. He also won the Premier League's Player of the Month award in February 2010.
Mark was very important in helping Fulham reach the Europa League final in 2010. However, Fulham lost the final to Atlético Madrid.
In 2010, Arsenal tried to sign Mark, but Fulham rejected their offers. In April 2013, Mark played his 500th Premier League game. He was the first player from outside Britain or Ireland to reach this milestone. Mark left Fulham in June 2013.
Time at Chelsea
On 9 July 2013, Mark joined Chelsea. He said it was an honor to sign for one of the world's biggest clubs. He made his first appearance for Chelsea in a League Cup game.
On 11 December, Mark became the oldest player to make his debut in the UEFA Champions League. He was 41 years and 65 days old. He also became Chelsea's oldest player in the Premier League. This happened when he played against Sunderland in April 2014.
Mark played a crucial role in a game against Liverpool in April 2014. He kept a "clean sheet" (meaning he didn't let in any goals) and made amazing saves. Chelsea won the game 2-0. This was his 150th clean sheet in the Premier League.
Joining Leicester City
On 6 January 2015, Mark moved to Leicester City. He joined as a backup goalkeeper. He became Leicester's oldest player ever when he made his debut for them.
Mark was part of the Leicester City squad that famously won the 2015–16 Premier League title. Even though he didn't play enough games to get a winner's medal, it was a huge achievement. He was the first player since Eric Cantona to be in a championship-winning team at different clubs in back-to-back seasons. Mark left Leicester City at the end of the 2015–16 season.
Mark's International Career
Mark Schwarzer played for Australia's national youth teams before joining the senior team. He made his international debut for Australia in 1993. This was in a World Cup qualifier against Canada. In the return game in Sydney, he saved two penalties. This helped Australia move closer to qualifying for the World Cup.
Mark was key to Australia qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. In a play-off game against Uruguay, the game went to a penalty shootout. Mark saved two penalties, and Australia won! This sent Australia to the World Cup finals.
At the 2006 World Cup, he played in most of Australia's games. He also played in all of Australia's matches at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.
In 2011, Mark became Australia's most capped male player. This means he had played the most games for the national team. He played a total of 109 games for Australia.
Mark was the main goalkeeper for Australia at the 2010 World Cup. He played in all three group games. Australia finished third in their group.
On 5 November 2013, Mark announced his retirement from international football.
Honours
Marconi Stallions
- National Soccer League: 1992–93
Middlesbrough
- Football League Cup: 2003–04; runner-up: 1997–98
Australia
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 3rd place, 2001
- AFC Asian Cup: runner-up 2011
- OFC Nations Cup: 2004
Individual Awards
- FFA Australian Footballer of the Year: 2009, 2010
- Football Media Association Australia International Player of the Year: 2009
- Australian Professional Football Association Player of the Year: 2010
- Australia's Greatest Ever Team: 2012
- Premier League Player of the Month: February 2010
- Fulham Player of The Year: 2008–09
- Football Australia Hall of Fame: 2021
- Alex Tobin OAM Medal: 2014
- Order of Australia Medal: 2009
Records
Middlesbrough
- Most international appearances while a Middlesbrough player: 53
Chelsea
- Chelsea oldest all-time player: 41 years and 218 days
Leicester City
- Leicester City oldest all-time player: 43 years and 32 days
Australia
- Australia all-time top appearance maker: 109
- Australia all-time most clean sheets: 44
- Longest Australia career: 20 years, 38 days
- Australia oldest all-time player: 40 years and 336 days
See also
In Spanish: Mark Schwarzer para niños
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
