Forwards flock to Salzburg
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Article summary
SV Austria Salzburg have signed strikers Alexander Zickler and Vratislav Lokvenc from the German Bundesliga.
Article body
Performance-related deal
Out-of-contract Zickler leaves Germany after 12 seasons at the Olimpiastadion. The 31-year-old played 232 Bundesliga matches for Bayern and won seven German titles, four German Cups, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League with the club. The former German international has signed a performance-related deal with Salzburg, where he joins ex-Bayern team-mate Thomas Linke.
'Quality player'
"We all know that Zickler is a quality player," said Salzburg coach Kurt Jara, who spent four years in Germany with Hamburger SV and 1. FC Kaiserslautern. "He has been troubled by injuries in recent years but he still wants to prove he has got what it takes."
Old friends
Lokvenc, who was a first-choice centre-forward under Jara at Kaiserslautern, arrives in Austria from relegated Bochum and could play alongside Zickler next season after putting pen to paper on a three-year contract. The 31-year-old scored 46 goals in 148 Bundesliga games following a move from AC Sparta Praha in 2000.
Cash happy
Salzburg, heavily backed by a new investor, have recruited a string of players in recent weeks, including prolific Austrian striker Christian Mayrleb and former Kaiserslautern defender Aleksander Knavs. They finished second from bottom of the Austrian Bundesliga in 2004/05.