Professional about to leave:

“Some things in soccer have become too extreme!”

Marcel Ziegl says "goodbye".(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

368 competitive matches in 16 professional years - and all of them for SV Ried! But before Marcel Ziegl says goodbye to "his" club on Saturday in the second division home game against FC Dornbirn, the "Krone" spoke to the 31-year-old about how much soccer has changed in all these years . . . 

"Farewell to Marcel Ziegl for 4 euros on the West!"

Ried has been using this slogan for weeks to promote the last appearance of its "long-term number 4". Although Marcel Ziegl can only do this on Saturday (from 17.30) in civilian clothes. "I won't be playing any more, not even at amateur level," announced the 31-year-old, who has spent his footballing life in Ried. He says of his first memory of the club: "When I was eleven, Zauner Rudi (the current team manager) was sitting at our house in Seewalchen and asked if I would be interested in joining SV Ried."

The best memory!

For whom he made his professional debut on November 29, 2008 at the age of just 15 (!) in the away derby at LASK - and for whom he made his last appearance on May 27, 2023 after 368 competitive matches. His best memory? "The promotion in the coronavirus year," he returns surprisingly: "Because the whole constellation was extreme. We had previously failed twice to get promoted again. At the third attempt, first came corona, then the break and later an unsuccessful season, before we narrowly made it in the end!" Postscript: "That was a phase over weeks and months in which you had everything inside."

We all started playing for fun and enjoyment. And even if there is much more to soccer as a professional, this factor should never be forgotten.

Marcel Ziegl

It's also interesting to see how professional soccer has changed over the years, according to Ziegl: "Today, everything can be measured. Fitness, running, strength, CK values and, and, and. A lot of it is also very positive! But some things - and I say this in general - have become too extreme!" He continues: "We all started playing for fun and enjoyment. And even if there's a lot more to soccer as a professional, this factor should never be forgotten!"