Michael Liendl

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Michael Liendl

| image = 20131109 W10 Michael Liendl 9660.jpg

| caption = Michael Liendl in 2013

| fullname =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1985|10|25}}

| birth_place = Graz, Austria

| height = 1.75 m

| position = Midfielder

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| youthyears1 = 1992–1994

| youthclubs1 = FC Nenzing

| youthyears2 = 1994–2003

| youthclubs2 = FC Thüringen

| years1 = 2003

| clubs1 = Grazer AK

| caps1 = 0

| goals1 = 0

| years2 = 2004–2009

| clubs2 = Kapfenberger SV

| caps2 = 159

| goals2 = 37

| years3 = 2009–2012

| clubs3 = Austria Wien

| caps3 = 82

| goals3 = 10

| years4 = 2012–2014

| clubs4 = Wolfsberger AC

| caps4 = 57

| goals4 = 20

| years5 = 2014–2015

| clubs5 = Fortuna Düsseldorf

| caps5 = 52

| goals5 = 11

| years6 = 2015–2017

| clubs6 = 1860 Munich

| caps6 = 57

| goals6 = 12

| years7 = 2017–2018

| clubs7 = Twente

| caps7 = 15

| goals7 = 0

| years8 = 2018–2022

| clubs8 = Wolfsberger AC

| caps8 = 129

| goals8 = 35

| years9 = 2022–2023

| clubs9 = Grazer AK

| caps9 = 30

| goals9 = 7

| nationalyears1 =

| nationalteam1 = Austria U-17

| nationalcaps1 = 10

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalyears2 =

| nationalteam2 = Austria U-19

| nationalcaps2 = 3

| nationalgoals2 = 0

| nationalyears3 = 2014

| nationalteam3 = Austria

| nationalcaps3 = 1

| nationalgoals3 = 0

| pcupdate = 20 June 2023

}}

Michael Liendl (born 25 October 1985) is a retired Austrian professional association football player who was the central midfielder for WAC.{{cite web |title=Michael Liendl |url=http://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/michael-liendl/ |accessdate=13 October 2024 |website=worldfootball.net}}

Club career

File:Michael Liendl - SV Kapfenberg.jpg

Liendl started his career playing for FC Nenzing and FC Thüringen. Later on, he played for Grazer AK, Kapfenberger SV, Austria Wien and Wolfsberger AC, before moving to Germany to join Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2014,{{cite web |url=https://www.f95.de/aktuell/news/profis/detail/15853-michael-liendl-verstaerkt-die-fortuna/1bfb68ec309f97f01b32406e0372e3b3/ |title=Michael Liendl verstärkt die Fortuna |website=f95.de |language=German |date=31 January 2014 }} and 1860 Munich in 2015.{{cite web |url=http://www.tsv1860.de/aktuell/news/vom-rhein-an-die-isar-michael-liendl-wird-loewe |title=Vom Rhein an die Isar. Michael Liendl wird Löwe |website=tsv1860.de |language=German |date=26 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150828022516/http://www.tsv1860.de/aktuell/news/vom-rhein-an-die-isar-michael-liendl-wird-loewe |archive-date=28 August 2015 }}

Later on, he played for the Dutch club Twente,{{cite web |url=https://www.tubantia.nl/fc-twente/michael-liendl-op-weg-naar-fc-twente~a69b251b/ |title=Michael Liendl op weg naar FC Twente |website=tubantia.nl |language=Dutch |date=13 August 2017 }} then he returned to Austria to rejoin Wolfsberger AC in 2018.{{cite web |url=http://rzpelletswac.at/component/zoo/item/michael-liendl-ist-zurueck?Itemid=160 |title=Michael Liendl ist zurück! |website=rzpelletswac.at |language=German |date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614121844/http://rzpelletswac.at/component/zoo/item/michael-liendl-ist-zurueck?Itemid=160 |archive-date=14 June 2018 }} On 29 October 2020, Liendl scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 away win over Feyenoord in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, to become the third oldest player to achieve that feat, only behind Zlatan Ibrahimović and Aritz Aduriz.{{cite web |url=https://kurier.at/sport/fussball/historischer-abend-des-wac-in-der-europa-league-kapitaen-michael-liendl-auf-den-spuren-von/401081640 |title="Historischer Abend" des WAC: Liendl auf den Spuren von Ibrahimovic |website=kurier.at |language=German |date=30 October 2020 }}

On 2 June 2022, Liendl joined Grazer AK, the club where he began his professional career. He signed a one-year contract.{{cite news |title=Michael Liendl heuert beim GAK an |url=https://www.kicker.de/michael-liendl-heuert-beim-gak-an-904549/artikel |access-date=23 July 2022 |work=kicker |date=2 June 2022 |language=de-DE}}

International career

On 3 June 2014, he made his debut for the Austria national football team under coach Marcel Koller, in a friendly away match against Czech Republic, in which he came on as a substitute to Andreas Ivanschitz in the 63rd minute. However, the match ended in a 2–1 win for Austria.{{cite web |url=https://www.weltfussball.at/news/_n1120902_/21-oefb-glueckssieg-in-tschechien/ |title=2:1! ÖFB-Glückssieg in Tschechien |website=weltfussball.at |language=German |date=3 June 2014 }}

Sports commentator

Michael Liendl has been a co-commentator for ORF broadcasts of the Austrian National Soccer Team games since 2024.{{Cite web |last=Singer |first=Lukas |date=2024-10-13 |title=Wer überträgt Österreich gegen Norwegen am 13.10. im Free-TV? |url=https://www.fussball-wm.pro/nations-league-news/oesterreich-norwegen-free-tv/ |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Fussball WM & EM |language=de-DE}}