Josef Hickersberger has had a very interesting career and has also been labelled as one of the most enigmatic figures ever to come out of Austrian football. He made appearances at World Cup finals as a player and as a coach and will have to draw upon that huge experience as he tries to guide Austria through the Euro 2008 finals. This will not prove an easy task considering some of the displays and mixed results achieved through the early periods of their preparation.

Hickersberger began his playing career in 1966, signing for FK Austria Wien where he won league titles in 1969 and 1970. He followed this with a move to Germany where he was to remain for the next eight years with spells at Offenbacher Kickers 1901 and Fortuna Düsseldorf.

He returned to Austria after achieving the final cap of his 39 game Austrian playing career at the 1978 World Cup Finals, and signed for SSW Innsbruck. His playing career ended with two successful seasons at SK Rapid Wien, with whom he won the league again in 1982.

His coaching career began by looking after the Austrian Under-21 side before taking over the helm of the senior team in 1988. Under his guidance Austria gained a spot at the 1990 World Cup Finals but when they were defeated 1-0 in their first EURO '92 qualifying game by the Faroe Islands, his spell as national team coach ended in dismissal.

There followed spells at Düsseldorf, Austria Wien and in the Middle East before making a return to Rapid Wien where he won the Austrian league title in 2004 and subsequently guided his team through to the group phases of the UEFA Champions League after which he was reinstated as the Austrian national coach.