Alexander Meier

Alexander Meier (born 17 January 1983) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or as a forward. He was the 2014–15 Bundesliga top scorer with 19 goals in 26 games.

Alexander Meier

Meier in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Alexander Meier
Date of birth	17 January 1983
Place of birth	Buchholz, West Germany
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, forward
Youth career
1988–1989	JSG Rosengarten
1989–1990	TuS Nenndorf
1990–1995	TSV Buchholz 08
1995–1998	Hamburger SV
1998–1999	MSV Hamburg
1999–2001	Hamburger SV
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2003	FC St. Pauli	25	(7)
2003–2004	Hamburger SV	4	(0)
2004	Hamburger SV II	6	(0)
2004–2018	Eintracht Frankfurt	336	(119)
2019	FC St. Pauli	16	(6)
2019–2020	Western Sydney Wanderers	12	(1)
Total		399	(133)
National team
2006	Germany U21	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Early career

Meier began his professional career with FC St. Pauli in 2002. In the 2001–02 season, Meier appeared on matchdays 32 and 33.[1] In the 2002–03 season, he became a regular fixture appearing in 23 league matches (scoring seven goals)[2] and two cup matches.[3] He signed his first professional contract on 10 April 2003.[4] He moved to local rivals Hamburger SV in 2003; signing a three–year contract.[5] Borussia Mönchengladbach also inquired about Meier.[4] In his only season, he made four league appearances for the first team and six appearances for the reserve team.[6]

2004–09

Meier signed for Eintracht Frankfurt on 1 July 2004,[7] and made his debut for the club in a 2. Bundesliga match against Alemannia Aachen,[8] which finished in a 1–1 draw[8] with him scoring the goal for Frankfurt.[8] He then played in the next four matches without scoring.[9] He then scored in two consecutive matchdays when Frankfurt defeated Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 6–2 and drew Rot-Weiss Essen 4–4.[9] In between matchdays, he scored against Greuther Fürth in the DFB-Pokal.[10] He would not score again until matchday 21 when he scored from the penalty spot against LR Ahlen.[9] He scored three goals against Energie Cottbus on matchday 33 on 15 May 2005.[11] He scored nine goals in 34 league matches and one goal in three cup matches.[9]

He made his season debut on matchday one in a 4–1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen[12] on 4 August 2005.[13] His first goal of the season came on 14 October 2005 against MSV Duisburg in a 1–0 win.[14] He then scored the following week on 21 October 2015 in a 6–3 win against 1. FC Köln.[15] He then scored two goals against Schalke 04 in a 6–0 cup win on 25 October 2005.[16] The scoring streak stopped on matchday 10 against Werder Bremen.[12] The following week, Meier scored two goals against Arminia Bielefeld.[12] He scored against Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich in back–to–back matchdays.[12] however, Frankfurt lost to Hamburg 2–1[17] and Bayern Munich 5–2.[18] Meier started, and played 90 minutes, in the cup final.[19] Meier scored seven goals in 33 league matches and three goals in five cup matches.[12]

Meier made his season debut in a 1–1 draw against Schalke on matchday one.[20] He also made his European debut on matchday one of the UEFA Cup group stage in a 2–1 loss to Palermo.[20] On 23 September 2006, in a 1–1 draw against VfB Stuttgart,[21] Meier scored his first goal of the season.[20] He also scored a goal in each of the following two weeks against Hamburg and Hannover 96.[20] On 2 November 2006, in the UEFA Cup group stage, Meier was sent–off for a second bookable offence in a 1–1 draw against Celta de Vigo.[22] He scored six goals in 29 league matches and one goal in four cup matches.[20] He failed to score in any of his three UEFA Cup matches.[20]

On 5 August 2007, Meier made his season debut in a 4–1 cup win against Union Berlin.[23] He scored three goals in the match.[23] He made his league debut on 11 August 2007 against Hertha BSC.[24] He scored a goal each on matchdays two and three and two on matchday five.[25] Meier came up with a knee injury against Borussia Dortmund in a cup match.[26] Then on 4 March 2008, it was announced that Meier would have knee surgery.[27] He had not played since October 2007[27] and finished the season with four goals in 11 league matches and three goals in two cup matches.[25]

Meier made his season debut on matchday one on 17 August 2008 in a 2–0 loss to Hertha BSC,[28] his second match on 20 September 2008 in a 1–0 loss to Schalke,[29] and his third match on 23 September 2008 in a 2–1 cup loss to Hansa Rostock.[30] He didn't play again until a 2–1 loss to Hertha BSC on matchday 18.[31] He finished the season with three goals in 19 league matches.[31] He didn't score in his only cup match.[31]

2014–2018

Meier with Frankfurt in 2017

Meier finished the 2014–15 season with 19 goals in 26 games[32] despite his campaign being cut short by injury with seven games remaining. This made him the league's top scorer, with two more than Bayern Munich pair Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski.[33]

In the 2015–16 season, Meier scored 12 goals in 19 games.[34] In February 2016, Meier suffered a knee injury which caused him to pause until the end of the season.

On 14 July 2016, Eintracht Frankfurt confirmed that Meier has extended his contract until 30 June 2018.[35] He finished the 2016–17 season with five goals in 25 appearances.[36]

His only appearance during the 2017–18 season was on matchday 33 against Hamburger SV.[37] He scored a goal in the match.[37]

On 28 May 2018, Eintracht Frankfurt announced that the expiring contract of Alexander Meier would not be extended.[38]

Return to FC St. Pauli

In January 2019, Meier returned to former club FC St. Pauli having agreed a contract until the end of the season.[39] On 23 May 2019, the club announced that he would leave at the end of the season.[40]

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 20 September 2019, Western Sydney Wanderers signed Meier as a marquee player.[41] After 12 matches, on 17 January 2020, he left the club by mutual termination. Meier was having a poor season that was compounded by off-field problems including his family not being given visas to join him in Australia.[42]

On 28 January, 11 days after leaving Western Sydney Wanderers, Meier announced his retirement as a player.[43]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total		Ref.
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC St. Pauli	2001–02	Bundesliga	2	0	0	0	—		—		2	0	[1]
	2002–03	2. Bundesliga	23	7	2	0	—		—		25	7	[3]
	Total		25	7	2	0	—		—		27	7	—
Hamburger SV	2003–04	Bundesliga	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0	[6]
Hamburger SV II	2003–04	Regionalliga Nord	6	0	—		—		—		6	0	[6]
Eintracht Frankfurt	2004–05	2. Bundesliga	34	9	3	1	—		—		37	10	[9]
	2005–06	Bundesliga	33	7	5	3	—		—		38	10	[12]
	2006–07	Bundesliga	29	6	4	1	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	—		36	7	[20]
	2007–08	Bundesliga	11	4	2	3	—		—		13	7	[25]
	2008–09	Bundesliga	19	3	1	0	—		—		20	3	[31]
	2009–10	Bundesliga	34	10	3	2	—		—		37	12	[44]
	2010–11	Bundesliga	24	2	3	0	—		—		27	2	[45]
	2011–12	2. Bundesliga	32	17	2	0	—		—		34	17	[46]
	2012–13	Bundesliga	31	16	1	0	—		—		32	16	[47]
	2013–14	Bundesliga	22	8	2	0	6[lower-alpha 2]	7	—		30	15	[48]
	2014–15	Bundesliga	26	19	1	1	—		—		27	20	[32]
	2015–16	Bundesliga	19	12	1	0	—		2[lower-alpha 3]	0	22	12	[34]
	2016–17	Bundesliga	21	5	4	0	—		—		25	5	[36]
	2017–18	Bundesliga	1	1	0	0	—		—		1	1	[37]
	Total		336	119	32	11	9	7	2	0	379	137	—
FC St. Pauli	2018–19	2. Bundesliga	16	6	0	0	—		—		16	6	[49]
Western Sydney Wanderers	2019–20	A-League	12	1	0	0	—		—		12	1	[50]
Career total			399	133	34	11	9	7	2	0	444	151	—

1. Appearances in UEFA Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in Bundesliga relegation play-offs

Honours

Club

Eintracht Frankfurt

• DFB-Pokal: 2017–18; runners-up 2005–06, 2016–17
• 2. Bundesliga: runners-up 2011–12

Individual

• 2. Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2011–12
• Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2014–15

References

1. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
2. Arnhold, Matthias (22 October 2020). "Alexander Meier - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
3. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
4. Jäger, Christoph (10 April 2003). "Alexander Meier erhält einen Profi-Vertrag" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
5. "Meier bindet sich an den HSV" (in German). kicker. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
6. "Alexander Meier » Club matches". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
7. "Eintracht holt Alexander Meier" (in German). kicker. 1 July 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
8. "Plaßhenrich belohnt frühes Engagement" (in German). kicker. 9 August 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
9. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
10. "Eintracht entscheidet Zweitligaduell für sich" (in German). kicker. 21 September 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
11. "Meier bringt Frankfurt dem Aufstieg näher" (in German). kicker. 13 May 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
12. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
13. "Frankfurt bricht in der zweiten Hälfte ein" (in German). kicker. 4 August 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
14. "Meier sorgt für zweiten Sieg" (in German). kicker. 14 October 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
15. "Frankfurt demontiert den 1. FC Köln" (in German). kicker. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
16. "Die Eintracht deklassiert den Vizemeister" (in German). kicker. 25 October 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
17. "Trochowski trifft und legt auf" (in German). kicker. 16 February 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
18. ""Heiße" Bayern dominieren Frankfurt klar" (in German). kicker. 23 February 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
19. "Pizarro sorgt für die Entscheidung" (in German). kicker. 26 May 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
20. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
21. "Meier rettet Punkt für Eintracht" (in German). kicker. 23 September 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
22. "Verdienter Eintracht-Punkt in Vigo" (in German). kicker. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
23. "Union ohne Mittel gegen Alex Meier" (in German). kicker. 5 August 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
24. "Missglücktes Debüt für Favre" (in German). kicker. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
25. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
26. "Eintracht ohne Streit und Meier" (in German). kicker. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
27. Ebert, Michael (4 March 2008). "Meier muss unters Messer" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
28. "Ebert kontert Eintracht aus" (in German). kicker. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
29. "Ochs trifft ins falsche Tor" (in German). kicker. 20 September 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
30. "Hahnel hält Hansa im Pokal". kicker. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
31. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
32. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
33. "Injured Meier is Germany's top-scorer". The Times of India. Agence France-Presse. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
34. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
35. "Alex Meier bleibt ein Adlerträger" (in German). eintracht.de. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
36. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
37. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
38. "Striker Meier to leave Frankfurt after 14 years". xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
39. "Rückkehr-Coup: Alex Meier wieder am Millerntor". kicker Online (in German). 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
40. ALEX MEIER VERLÄSST DEN FC ST. PAULI, fcstpauli.com, 23 May 2019
41. "Signing news: Former Bundesliga star Meier joins Western Sydney". Hyundai A-League. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
42. "Signing news: Wanderers release Meier, land ex-Premier League striker Cox". Hyundai A-League. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
43. Durstewitz, Ingo (29 January 2020). "Eintracht Frankfurt (SGE): Alex Meier beendet Karriere als Fußballprofi". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2020.
44. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
45. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
46. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
47. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
48. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
49. "Alexander Meier". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
50. "Alexander Meier ALeague Stats". aleaguestats.com. ALeagueStats. Retrieved 18 October 2019.

External links

• Alexander Meier at eintracht.de (in German)
• Alexander Meier at eintracht-archiv.de (in German)
• Alexander Meier at fussballdaten.de (in German)