Over the years, many impressive footballers have played in England from abroad, particularly in Europe. Countries such as France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Portugal have always attracted top players, more often than not because of the wages that clubs have been able to offer, though also because of the competitive standard.
However, there have also been players from other, more obscure countries around Europe playing their trade in England, that are not, perhaps as ‘notable’ in the footballing landscape, though nevertheless, these have still proved their worth.
As such, we take a look at some of the best Austrian footballers that have made their mark in England over the years.
Marko Arnautovic
Having arrived in England with a considerable reputation, Arnautovic made a considerable impact while playing for Stoke City. Having arrived from Werder Bremen, he was particularly prolific for the Staffordshire side, scoring 26 goals and making 28 assists in 145 appearances.
He especially became adept at scoring spectacular goals and was an important part of a Stoke side that, uncharacteristically, played some attractive football, forming a great on-field relationship with fellow attacker Bojan Krkic. During his downtime, Arnautovic is rumoured to have enjoyed trips to the casino in Stoke and those wishing to follow in his footsteps can enjoy the Austrian Rex Casino as well!
His great form earned him a move to fellow Premier League outfit West Ham United, where he instantly became a fan favourite. He continued his prolific record in East London, scoring 22 goals and making 12 assists in 65 appearances.
Andreas Weimann
Another Austrian footballer that commands a good amount of respect in the English game. While he didn’t pull up trees as a prolific goalscorer, Weimann proved to be a consistent performer, operating just off the main striker and was mainly known for his industry and work rate, which often led to chances being created for his teammates, due to the pressure that he would put on opposition defenders.
Particularly adept at coming in off the wing and drifting between the lines, he proved to be a great support player, along with Gabriel Agbonlahor, for centre-forward Christian Benteke at.
He is best remembered for his spell at Aston Villa, where he scored 24 goals and recorded 12 assists in 129 appearances. Following his time at the West Midlands club, he dropped down a tier to Bristol City, where his top-flight experience shone through. As a result, he scored 51 goals while contributing 29 assists in 216 appearances and is fondly remembered in Somerset.
Christian Fuchs
Perhaps one of the most underrated left-backs in the Premier League, Fuchs was a mainstay at Leicester City, enjoyed some stunning moments in a Foxes shirt, and is one of the most successful Austrian footballers to play in England.
During his 152 appearances, where he scored three goals and contributed 13 assists, he was a key part of the historic Premier League title-winning Leicester team under iconic manager Claudio Ranieri, which took some considerable scalps. Fuchs also won the FA Cup at the club, beating Chelsea at Wembley.
Paul Scharner
The defensive midfielder enjoyed his best spell in England while at Wigan Athletic, where he scored 17 goals and contributed seven assists across 174 appearances.
Scharner was part of the Wigan side that upset the odds of winning the FA Cup in the 2012/13 season. They were underwhelming underdogs against a star-studded Manchester City side—one of the biggest upsets in English domestic football of the last couple of decades.
Following his spell at Wigan, he moved to West Bromwich Albion, where he scored seven goals and assisted on three occasions across 64 appearances.
Emmanuel Pogatetz
A mainstay at centre-back while plying his trade for Middlesbrough, Pogatetz proved to be a very useful and astute footballer on Teeside.
In 158 appearances for the club, the player scored four times and had seven assists. He had a mixed disciplinary record, collecting 33 yellow cards and just one red. However, Pogatetz proved to be arguably one of the best Austrian defenders of his generation and became somewhat of a cult hero during his stay at the Riverside.
Alex Manninger
Manninger proved to be an effective number two goalkeeper during his time. He was a useful member of the Arsenal squad under Arsene Wenger. During his time at the Gunners, the custodian won the 1997/98 Premier League title, becoming the first Austrian player to win the English top flight and the FA Cup during the same season.
Despite being the club’s number two, he still managed to accumulate 64 appearances and was particularly impressive, conceding 74 goals, though keeping a remarkable 22 clean sheets, albeit aided by a fantastic defence.