There's music in the air
Andreas Ivanschitz was born on the 15th of October 1983 in Eisenstadt, the state capital of Burgenland, Austria. Both his parents are teachers, his mother as a high school teacher in Schattendorf and his father as a music teacher at the Haydn Conservatory in Eisenstadt. Andreas inherited music, which course through his veins, he played in his hometown Baumgarten's
(900 inhabitants) brass band, started playing the big drum at seven, and enjoyed years of piano and oboe lessons. He wasn't the only one though; both of his older brothers – Martin, who is now a doctor and Clemens, a
Music graduate – play a range of instruments.
The lives of the young Ivanschitz brothers revolved first and foremost, around a leather ball. At four years old Andi could be seen happily playing on the local 'Karliwiese' a stone's throw from their family home. This was the meeting point for the kids of Baumgarten and his enjoyment and talent could be seen, even back then. Not a day went by without him enthusiastically chasing a ball, regardless of whether it was plastic or leather. It was therefore only logical for his parents, who both have some interest in football, to register their youngest for the local club. Andi joined ASK Baumgarten at the age of six.
The calling of Rapid Vienna
At 6, Andreas Ivanschitz followed the calling to local club ASK Baumgarten. From that point on,
'little Andi' was ultimately and irrevocably hooked on playing football. Until the age of 14 he enjoyed years of happy and light hearted football for the club, who had joined together with neighbouring community Shattendorf to form a select team. Ivanschitz and his teammates made it all the way to the
Burgenland under 14's final, in which they lost
4:2 to a Lafnitztal select team. Ivanschitz had already managed to break into the district and
State teams by the end of his "career" at ASK
Baumgarten. "Learning from very good coaches without losing the enjoyment for the game, that's what I was given at my junior club and it's something I'm still grateful for
today", Ivanschitz said years later as he made his first steps into the professional game.
The left footed player points to a time towards the end of the 90's when he was allowed to train with the senior squad at 13 - who were competing the 3rd tier of Austrian football - under coach
Hans Schöll, as an incredibly important experience. Though he never played with the adults, he was playing regularly for the under 16's which is where he learnt to establish himself against bigger and more experienced players."This experience helped to shape me and really
pushed my development on", says Andreas Ivanschitz.
His good performances in the select teams and at his club soon made scouts from Austria's biggest clubs aware of him. Johann Wlasits very quickly suggested Ivanschitz to the former head of development at SV Rapid Vienna, Manfred Uhlig, and organised a trial for Andi at the club he had supported as a kid. At Austria's most successful club, Ivanschitz played under Sergey Shavlo – the former Rapid Vienna and Russian international player who later went on to coach Spartak Moscow.
Shavlo soon recognised the abilities, talent and potential in the 14 year old Ivanschitz and brought him to the country's capital.

That brought about an end to Ivanschitz's potential career in music, which was disappointing for his father, although he was pleased for his son and supported him in any ways which he could.
Ivanschitz had a whole new life with his move to Rapid, which included changing schools. He moved from his local high school in Mattersburg to ORG Maroltingergasse, a partner school of his new club, in the 16th district in Vienna. He lived with other footballers, including Gyuri Garics, and students in a boarding school and passed his exams 'very well' four years later.
"Despite the dual responsibility of pro-sport and school, it was always my goal to leave school with good grades. The ORG Maroltingergasse allows athletes the chance to go to school, alongside training and competitions. It was very intense, hard work but fun too.
Years on, I still can't thank the Professors and the former Director, Johannes Jelenko
enough for their support."
Taument is a fan of Ivanschitz
Andreas Ivanschitz started playing football for Sergey
Shavlo's under 16's team in February 1998. In this team Ivanschitz went on to win the BNZ championship,
WFV championship and the Austrian Cup. The team included Stefan Kulovits and Ilco Naumoski, who both went on to represent their countries, Austria and
Macedonia respectively. In June 1999, he made the step up to play for the under 18's team, following his mentor and coach Sergey Shavlo, to the next age group.
He made the next step up again, only a few months later. Ivanschitz broke into the amateur squad which just missed out on promotion from the
Vienna city league to the regional league, under coach Fritz Riedmüller. The pain was eased by the fact that Ivanschitz had played himself into the attentions of former sport director Ernst Dokupil and then senior team coach Heribert Weber. The latter gave the fresh faced 16 year old Ivanschitz his competitive debut for the club on the 26th of October 1999. Rapid were hosting lower league team ATSV Ranshofen in the ÖFB Cup and Ivanschitz was brought on for former German
Bundesliga player Jens Dowe in the 63rd minute, with the score tied at 1:1. It was a bitter debut as he couldn't help to avoid the goalless extra time and an embarrassing penalty shoot out loss
(4:1), to the gutsy amateurs from the north-west of Austria.
From that point onwards, Andreas Ivanschitz was in the squad of Vienna's main team, at least. He was training with stars like Dejan Savicevic and a few years later, Gaston Taument, who said of
Ivanschitz, "Other than him I've only seen one player at 16 who was as advanced as him, and that was Clarence Seedorf." He trained with players such as Rene Wagner (Czech Republic), Krzysztof
Ratajczyk (Poland), Farhad Majidi (Iran), Peter
Schöttel, Michael Hatz, Arnold Wetl and Andreas
Heraf (all Austria), who advanced the Burgenland natives' development massively. Ivanschitz celebrated his Austrian Bundesliga debut on the
20th of May 2000. It was only a short appearance, through the substitution of Rene Wagner in the last minute of the game in Salzburg, but that was the start of a pulsating career.
(The ÖFB had been aware of the talented left-footer for some time, Ivanschitz had six appearances for the under 17's and ten for the under 16's national team.)

Super talent coming through
He'd made the jump into the professional squad; Andreas Ivanschitz was given the No. 2 kit and signed his first professional contract on the 1st of July 2000 (until 2005). Rapid coach Heribert
Weber - who had a hand in Ivanschitz's development - had to go, and was replaced by sport manager Ernst Dokupil, who was a part of his recruitment in 1998. In the autumn of 2000, the 17 year old Ivanschitz was still being asked to "wait outside" by most of the club players. Yet he made his Europa Cup debut in August 2000 in a 2:0 home victory against Albanian club Teuta Durres. He was introduced at half time for Arnold Wetl.
The next achievement in his young career came in the last league game before the winter break – his first goal! On his sixth appearance, his first start, on the 2nd of December 2000 against
Black-White Bregenz, Ivanschitz opened the scoring of what would be a 5:0 victory with a wonderful goal (with his weaker right foot) in the
25th minute. In the first home game after the break, Ivanschitz found himself on the score sheet again, in a 2:1 loss to Admira
Wacker. Ivanschitz would go on to make 14 league appearances in his first full season, though he didn't manage to find the net again.
That season, Rapid were runners up in the league and got into the quarter finals of the ÖFB Cup.
In August 2000, Ivanschitz made another appearance for the national team, a 4:1 loss to Slovenia with the under 17's, in which he scored the consolation goal. That was followed by appearances against Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Russia (1 goal) and Azerbaijan with the under 18's. On the 24th of April 2001, he made his debut for the under 21's in a 1:1 draw against France in a European Championship qualifier. In one season, he'd played games for three different ÖFB teams.
Breakthrough under Hickersberger
He played nine more under 21 games, up until his 19th birthday on the 15th of October 2002.
He headed in the golden goal for a 1:0 victory against Moldova in a Euro's qualifier.
Rapid started the new season with big ambitions after finishing runners up in the league the previous season. Under Ernst
Dokupil, Ivanschitz only played a bit-part role.
He lived through a crisis at Rapid; following losses to newly promoted Kärnten (3:0, away) and GAK (4:0, home) as well as a poor Europa
Cup showing in San Marino (1:0 win), fans began to protest and after another loss, in the
Vienna derby, Ernst Dokupil had to leave his post as sport manager, on the 13th of August 2001.
German football legend Lothar Matthäus was appointed coach at the beginning of September 2001 and it was under him that Andreas Ivanschitz played his first game from start to finish. On the
16th of September he scored the equaliser in a 1:1 draw against Sturm Graz, which would prove to be his only goal for Lothar Matthäus. Rapid finished the season in 8th place, the worst position ever in its over 100 year history. The 5:1 victory against Partizan Belgrade in the UEFA-Cup was a

highlight, though Ivanschitz took no role in that game. Matthäus had to go, and for him came
Josef Hickersberger in June 2002. The then 55 year old (and later) ÖFB coach placed immediate faith in Ivanschitz, and played in all 36 league games in the 2002/03 season. Introduced as a substitute in the first game of season, he scored two goals in 7 minutes in a 4:0 thrashing of
Sturm Graz. Hütteldorf began dreaming of a league title.
Youngest captain in ÖFB history
Ivanschitz's short appearances and tributes to his competition for starting places only lasted until
September, when he established himself in the first team. Alongside Austria's most capped player
Andreas Herzog and the later Rapid captain Steffen Hofmann, Ivanschitz brought creativity to the
Green-Whites. He was called up to the national team by ÖFB coach Hans Krankl and debuted straight away, on the 26th of March 2003. He was brought on for Markus Weissenberger at half time in a 2:2 draw against Greece in Graz. Rapid finished the season in fourth place in May 2003 and thereby missed out on a Europa Cup spot. The new season started perfectly for Ivanschitz.
Rapid amazed with an attacking style of football and played a championship worthy autumn. The main reason: Steffen Hofmann, the rejuvenated goal threat Rene Wagner and Andreas Ivanschitz.
He shone as an assister and goal scorer (six goals before the winter break) and played himself more into focus.
He wrote history on the 11th of October 2003. Days before his 20th birthday, Hans Krankl designated him as captain of the national team after Thomas Vögel left the pitch against the Czech Republic. He scored the goal in the 78th minute to take a 2:1 lead, though the team would eventually lose 3:2 thanks to late goals by the Czechs. Despite the loss, the hype over the "youngest captain of all time" had broken out.
Andreas Ivanschitz remained grounded, though the early part of 2004 didn't run well. In January 2004 he was called up by the armed forces for compulsory military service and at the beginning of April he injured himself in an ÖFB Cup game which made him miss the rest of the 2003/04 season. Rapid fell off the pace and finished the season in fourth place, though qualified for the UEFA-Cup.
Austria's footballer of the year
Andreas Ivanschitz was showered with accolades. In the annual vote by the Austrian press association, carried out by coaches and managers of Bundesliga clubs, Andreas Ivanschitz was crowned "Austria's football of the year 2003". He was also voted "Rapid's player of the year" through the clubs website, and he was honoured with
"Burgenland's sports personality of the year 2003."
In January 2004 he was finally able to celebrate a championship too. The legendary Vienna Indoor tournament was won by the
Green-Whites after an exciting final against local rivals Austria
Vienna. Ivanschitz scored the winning goal in extra-time, and the following year he was voted the "best player" of the tournament.

Ivanschitz and the league championship
On the 14th of July the 'year of Andreas Ivanschitz' began. He scored on the opening day of the season in a 5:1 win away to Bregenz. His free kick in 8th minute started the scoring spree and he added another to score his first Bundesliga brace and make it 4:1 in the 62nd minute.
A week later, Wacker Innsbruck were sent packing with a 4:1 thrashing in the Hanappi stadium, in which the 20 year old struck again. The UEFA Cup adventure began in
August with a difficult fixture against Russian side Rubin Kazan. After a 2:0 loss at home, no one gave them a prayer but on the 26th of
August 2004 they pulled off a 3:0 victory in
Russia - with two goals from Steffen Hofmann and another courtesy of Marek Kincl – which was branded the "Miracle of Kazan"!
A month later, Rapid lost 2:0 away to Sporting Lisbon in the
Euro's venue Jose Alvalade stadium. The match ended badly for
Ivanschitz on two fronts, the loss and he was injured in a brutal tackle by Brazilian Polga, for which he saw red. He was able to play in the home leg at the sold out
Hanappi stadium, but it was only good enough for a goalless draw which saw the UEFA Cup dream come to a halt.
Things were running better in the league, where Ivanschitz and his teammates suffered just two losses before the winter break to take them into the New Year top of the table, one point ahead of Austria Vienna. This position was the set target and the team wanted desperately to be there at the end of the season.
On account of a harsh winter and a then lack of underground heating in the stadium, Rapids season didn't start off again until the middle of March. It started with a 1:0 loss to local rivals
Austria Vienna. April saw Hickersberger's team lay down an impressive run in which they won 9 of their 10 league games between the 6th of April and the 14th of May. They were some of most emotional weeks of Ivanschitz's career, as his team and himself could do no wrong at the beginning of May. Two big wins in three days: 5:0 against Salzburg and then Admira 6:0. The 11th of May was a nervy encounter, away at Admira, which went into added time after the 90 minutes at 0:0. A Ferdl Feldhofer free kick which went in off Ivanschitz's shoulder sent the Rapid fans into ecstasy as they stormed the pitch, and sensed a title celebration may not be that far off. There was still a long way to go. Three days later and it was Bregenz's turn to visit the sold out Hanappi stadium, where Rapid celebrated a 4:1 victory. A few days later the team went to Vienna-Miedling to watch Pasching play Austria Vienna. Austria Vienna failed to win, which mathematically guaranteed the title for the 2004/05 season belonged to SK Rapid Vienna. The trophy outshone

everything before it, but the next target was already becoming clear – qualify for the Champions
League.
This target was met in August 2005. In a tie against
Lokomotive Moscow the Vienna club only managed a
1:1 draw at home, but a 1:0 win in Russia put them into the group stages of the Champions League. The draw put Rapid in a difficult group – Bayern Munich,
Juventus and Club Bruges. The six games didn't go according to plan for Rapid and they left the competition with winning a single point against
Europe's finest. Things weren't running smoothly in the league either. Josef Hickersberger was appointed
ÖFB coach on the 1st of January 2006 and the 'team spirit' from the previous campaign wasn't as apparent any more. Captain Steffen Hofmann was on the brink of a switch to Germany and it looked like Andreas Ivanschitz would be moving on too.
Red Bull Salzburg came in with a good offer in December, and after thinking it over, the 22 year old decided to move to the Mozart city. It was a difficult decision, as his heart still ached for Rapid, the club where he grew up and supported as a kid. Ivanschitz was convinced he'd made the right choice, both in sporting and financial aspects.
By this time, Ivanschitz had long established himself as captain and starting player for the national team. A highlight was the home game in the autumn of2004 against England. The Austrian team gained a lot of respect after it fought back from 0:2 down to draw 2:2; Ivanschitz got his name on the score sheet. Hans
Krankl's team missed out on qualification to the World Cup in
Germany, although a 2:0 home win against Northern Ireland in the last group game under interim coaches Herzog and Ruttensteiner gave some hope.
Quick stop in Salzburg
The heavily discussed transfer of Andreas Ivanschitz became official in the beginning of January 2006. He was a Red Bull
Salzburg player with immediate effect and the new no.10 had a starting position in Kurt Jara's team. Ivanschitz opened his account in his second game for the club, a 5:2 victory over
Wacker Innsbruck, though it would prove to be his only goal for the Red Bulls. His target, to win a second league title came to nothing when the team, built around former Bayern Munich striker Alexander Zickler, finished 2nd, six points adrift of Austria Vienna.
At the end of the season, Red Bull surprised everyone by changing managers. Kurt Jara was given leave as Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and Germany's most capped player, Lothar Matthäus - who knew Ivanschitz from his time at Rapid Vienna - took over. The experienced Italian coach told
Ivanschitz in no uncertain terms that he could expect to see more time on the bench than on the pitch under his management. It was a sign for the ambitious Burgerlander to move on.

Josef Hickersberger, recently Ivanschitz's coach in Vienna took over the ÖFB team on the 1st of
January 2006. The first two internationals were dismal, in March a lame loss 2:0 to Canada and at the end of May a heavy defeat to World Cup qualified Croatia, 4:1. The only small positive was
Andreas Ivanschitz's consolation goal against Zlatko Kranjcar's men directly from a corner.
A Mozart plays in Athens
Andreas Ivanschitz had a new club by the middle of August 2006. Red Bull Salzburg loaned the 23 year old to Greek club Panathinaikos Athens, a move that would prove to be very successful.
Before he could make his debut for the Athenians, he played his first international as a legionnaire.
They lost the game against Hungary 2:1.
In the Greek press he was hailed the "green Mozart" and he quickly made headlines with his performances in his new No. 27 kit. He played 40 competitive games for 'PAO' in his first season and carved out a good name for himself in the Greek Super-
League with spectacular goals and assists. His nicest complement came from main rivals Olympiakos, where then
ÖFB assistant coach Peter Persidis had played and achieved a lot in the 70's. The first time Persidis watched Ivanschitz play in
Athens, and in the process met many former players and current personnel of he asked them "Why didn't we sign
Ivanschitz?"
Ivanschitz was twice chosen as 'player of the round' that season and once for 'goal of the round'. He was selected for the 2007
All Star team.
For as nice a time as he was having in Athens - which ended in the spring with 3rd place in the league and runners up in the Cup (2:1 loss to Larissa) – he endured a difficult time in the national team until October 2006. In the fourth and fifth internationals of the year Ivanschitz remained winless, a 2:2 draw to Costa Rica and a slightly embarrassing 1:0 loss to Venezuela. In October
Ivanschitz and the team looked in real danger of an embarrassment in Lichtenstein. Though the hosts led 1:0 for most of the game, Josef Hickersberger's men managed to turn it around in the end to win 2-1.
Just days later, the mood picked up again.
Austria beat Switzerland in Innsbruck 2:1 after a great performance. It was the first time since 1996 that they had beaten a team ranked in FIFA's top 15. Shortly after, a convincing 4:1 win over World Cup participants Trinidad & Tobago followed and everything was looking on the up again with the national team.
That wasn't to be, in 2007 it took Ivanschitz and his team 10 international games to register a win. A poor 1:1 draw in Malta in
February, where Ivanschitz scored a free kick to secure a draw. A good game in March followed with another 1:1 draw against World Cup participants Ghana in Graz, and there was an acceptable performance in the 1:0 loss to France a few days later in front of 65,000 spectators in the Stade de France.

A highlight for Andi Ivanschitz from his personal life was the birth of his son, Ilia, on the 7th of
April 2007 in Amarousio. The name comes from the Greek word for sun – 'Illios'.
The end of May/beginning of June provided an international double header in Vienna's Hanappi stadium, though they led to many negative headlines in Austria's papers. First Austria lost 1:0 to
Scotland before a goalless draw a few days later against World Cup participants Paraguay.
On the 9th of June 2007 Andreas had good reason to be happy. In a ceremony with only their families, he married Anja in the registry office in Eisenstadt.
An injury in the summer of 2007 kept him out of commission for weeks and he missed games against the Czechs (1:1), Japan (won 4:3 on penalties) and Chile (lost 2:0). He came back for the last two games of the year. In Zurich the hosts got revenge for the loss 12 months prior with a 3:1 win. The last game of the year saw superstar Didier Drogba and the Ivory Coast visit Innsbruck to the sold out Tivoli stadium. Ivanschitz and his team delivered the best performance of the year and deservedly won 3:2 against the runners up of the 2006 African Cup of Nations. Ivanschitz scored the 2:1 via a penalty and set up the 3:1 for Joachim Standfest on a plate. November 2007 gave the fans less to cheer about as the Austrian team failed to score in two games: against
England (1:0 loss, 45,000 spectators) and Tunisia (0:0, 14,200 spectators), both in the Happel stadium.
Things were still going well at club level for Ivanschitz, despite his injury. He managed 11 league appearances in the build up to the New Year, scoring 2 goals in the process. He also made 4 appearances in the UEFA-Cup, in which he provided the assists for all three goals in the 3:0 home win over FC Aberdeen.
In the league Ivanschitz and his club came into 2008 in 3rd place, and were in the Champions
League place play-off against AEK Athens thanks to two goals by Ivanschitz.
Mission: EURO 2008
The national teams focus in the first half of 2008 was obviously on hosting UEFA
EURO 2008TM, along with Switzerland.
The build up games in February and
March both resulted in losses against
Germany and the Netherlands, but the national side suddenly began impressing with an attractive style of football.
Austria even pulled out a 3:0 lead in the game against the Dutch, Ivanschitz the scorer of one and the creator of the other two, both scored by Sebastian Prödl.
Ivanschitz lead the national team as captain in both remaining friendlies before the tournament on home soil kicked off. A 1:1 draw against Nigeria in Graz was followed by a 5:1 thumping of Malta.
"The Euro's are the highlight of my career so far, after winning the league title with
Rapid. The anticipation for the tournament was massive weeks beforehand and I couldn't wait for the 8th of June 2008. The hype surrounding the Euro's was unbelievable. I think that we played a great EURO, even though we went out in the group stages. How synched the team was, the atmosphere in and around the team, the fans in the stadium, the whole thing still gives me goose bumps today."

The big home soil EURO adventure started for the Austrian national team and their coach, Josef
Hickersberger on the 8th of June 2008. Croatia were the first opponents in the restless, sold out
Ernst-Happel stadium. As he did in all three games of the tournament, Andreas Ivanschitz had the honour of leading his country onto and on the field. The game began with some bad luck, the guests taking the lead after a few minutes through a penalty, a lead they didn't relinquish despite the many efforts and chances the tireless Austrian team created. They created even more chances in the second game against Poland, though a clearly offside goal by Roger was allowed to stand and the Polish fans had the first reason to celebrate. The hosts managed to salvage a point when veteran Ivica Vastic scored an injury time penalty after Sebastian Prödl was upended.
The 16th of June hosted the big showdown between Austria and neighbours Germany. An early free kick hammered in by Michael Ballack ended the Austrian fans hopes of a quarter final appearance. The Austrian team left the tournament to massive applause. The tournament was won by an exceptional team, that of Spain. Josef Hickersberger stated his intentions of staying on as
ÖFB coach at a press conference just 14 hours after elimination; though Austria were coachless before the end of the tournament as Hickersberger seemed to backtrack on his position.
Champions League comfort, after ÖFB crash out
Legendary Czech coach Karel Brückner, along with former Slovakian national coach Jan Kocian assumed management of the ÖFB, with Austria's most capped player, Andreas Herzog acting as a sceptre. Things looked to be back on the up after a friendly in Nice with reigning World Champions
Italy ended 2:2, before captain Ivanschitz and his team sprang one of the bigger surprises of recent times in the sold out Ernst-Happel stadium. Austria managed to beat World Cup runners up
France 3:1, perfect preparation for the FIFA 2010 World Cup qualification campaign. Andreas
Ivanschitz was creator of the first goal and scored a penalty to make it 3:1 and seal the victory. It was his seventh, and thus far, last international goal.
The team experienced a painful crash following those exceptional performances.
The Karel Brückner era didn't bear another victory and they suffered losses in
Lithuania, at home to Serbia and in a friendly against Turkey. The 1:1 draw against the Faroe Islands at home was another forgettable night for Austrian fotball. The 11th of February would prove to be the last game of the
Brückner/Kocian/Herzog era, a 2:0 loss to Sweden in Graz. This game would also be the last for
Ivanschitz for quite some time, as he was substituted in the 76th minute despite an impressive performance, and had listen to the anger of the 11,000 spectators for the rest of the game.
Exactly two years after the registry office nuptials, on the 9th of June 2009, Andreas and Anja had a church wedding on the beach in Anavyssos, Greece. The ceremony is attended by family and close friends.
At club level Andi once again enjoy the Champions League, playing in four of the group games in the 2008/09 season. They "only" manage third in the league behind Olympiakos and PAOK
Saloniki, with Ivanschitz making 17 league appearances. His last game for the Green-Whites of the
Greek capital was a 2:1 away win against PAOK in the Super League Play-offs, on the 10th of May
2009.

New fortune in Mainz
In July 2009, Andreas Ivanschitz made his next and, so far the last transfer of his career. German
Bundesliga outfit FSV Mainz secured the services of the 49 times capped international, and the 25 year old took off like a rocket for the newly promoted side. In the first 11 league appearances
Ivanschitz managed to score six goals (against Bayern Munich, Hertha Berlin, Bochum,
Hoffenheim, Freiburg and Wolfsburg) and provide just as many assists (against Leverkusen,
Hanover, Hertha Berlin, Bochum, Freiburg and Wolfsburg). The German and Austrian media praised the 25 year old. "This time was extremely important to me, personally. It gave me a lot of self confidence and gave my career another push. I felt comfortable at Mainz straight away."
Ivanschitz's second half of the season ran similar to that of Mainz's in general, not as impressive as the first half. Mainz ended the season with a solid 47 points in a very respectable 9th place. After exploding into the
German Bundesliga 6 goals and 6 assists in the autumn, he only registered one assist in the spring. Too few to satisfy the playmaker, whose adaption from Greece to the top German league was complemented upon. A surprise coaching change in the summer saw Thomas Tuchel come in and take over, resulting in Ivanschitz losing his place in the starting 11.
His brilliant performances in the autumn of 2009 weren't enough to warrant a re-call to the national team. Coach Didi Constantini's unusual explanation: The German Bundesliga perhaps isn't as great as it thinks, "Because an Austrian comes in, who's hardly been involved in any preparation, barely played last year and is now top scorer after ten games." The reactions in
Germany were mocking, smug and hard: "What do I make of the his sillyness?" responds Thomas
Tuchel shaking his head, the 'Bild' head line reads "Ösi coach blasphemous over Bundesliga" and
"Whole of Mainz is laughing over dozy coach". Ivanschitz, always the gentleman, stayed quiet and avoided commenting on his national coach's attack on German football, which is a worldwide example in attacking style football.
After the 3:0 victory against Bayern Munich in the autumn, an intoxicated game at the Bruchweg stadium, in which Ivanschitz scored. Mainz only managed to win one of their next eight games.
The reaction came against Mönchengladbach, as defender Bo Svensson scored the winning goal in a 1:0 game, which would see Mainz safe in the league for next season. Striker Aristide Bance was phenomenal in this phase of the season and shone with many important goals.
On the 12th of April 2010, Ivanschitz was honoured as
Burgenland's 'sports personality of the year' for the second time.
Around a month later, the Ivanschitz family were able to greet a new member: daughter Nahla (from the
Arabic) was born in Eisenstadt on the 17th of May 2010.

Mainz are rocking in the Bundesliga
The 2010/11 season was even sweeter than the previous for Mainz and their revolutionary coach
Thomas Tuchel. Alongside his meticulous match preparation, he demands a running intense offense-pressing game, with lightning fast counter attacks and permanent rotation. Underdog
Mainz started the season with a run of seven consecutive victories, although Ivanschitz didn't make an appearance until game five, a 2:0 win over FC Cologne. There wasn't space for the
Austrian at first, in a team that contained the "Brechweg boys" – youngsters Andre Schürrle, Lewis
Holtby and Hungarian Adam Szalai, who were turning the league inside out.
Bitter, but a milestone in his career: Ivanschitz gave it his all in training, made himself available and waited for his chance. "Back then I learnt that you have to leave your personal feelings out of it and prioritise those of the team. It improved me as a
professional and as a person", says Andi.
After using the Barcelona training facilities over the winter break,
Mainz went into the second half of the season 2nd in the league behind Dortmund.
Ivanschitz's professionalism was finally rewarded in the 20th game of the season, when the Austrian was promoted into the first team and started 10 of the remaining 14 games. Ivanschitz made his contribution to Mainz's incredible run, with important goals against
Hoffenheim and the derby game against Frankfurt, which led to the team finished with a club record 58 points and qualification into the
Europa league.
The only fly in the ointment: Constantini continued to ignore
Ivanschitz for the national team despite a winless streak. His reasoning became ever more obscure.
Andi's golden autumn
The summer of 2011 was a time of change for Mainz, in every aspect: Despite the lucrative participation of European football the club lost the likes of Schürrle, Fuchs and Holtby. Mainz brought in young players: Anthony Ujah, Nico Müller, Julian Baumgartlinger, Eric Maxim Choupo-
Moting, Zoltan Stieber and Yunus Malli, with lots of potential but they need time to adapt and reach the required standard of the Bundesliga.
Mainz also came onto a new level in terms of budget (around €60 million) – a small club no more.
Last but not least, the club moved to a nice, new stadium. The selling of the naming rights puts them on a higher level in terms of marketing. The Coface-Arena was opened in the summer of
2011.
Although Thomas Tuchel's team experienced a bit of a results crisis in the autumn, the
Burgenlander was able to consistently show his class, after a perfect preparation in Flachau.
Ivanschitz was Mainz's top scorer through the first 14 Bundesliga games, scoring six goals and registering three assists.
"Ivanschitz is our biggest goal threat. If we create a goal scoring opportunity, I hope that
Ivanschitz gets the ball" Tuchel boasts of his attacking ace. His highlight of the autumn was the
3:2 victory against Bayern Munich, as the international scored and provided an assist against wonder goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. "It was a perfect game by the whole team. I knew that
on a good day we had what it takes to beat Bayern", Andi beamed after the game.

Ivanschitz scored the golden goal in extra-time against Hanover in the cup and hit his best from in
November: 3 goals and three assists; he massively contributed to Mainz's points total.
The only fly in the ointment: Mainz are only two places above relegation in the league, went out of the Europa League early against Gaz Metan Medias and suffered a shock defeat in the cup quarterfinal against underdogs Holstien Kiel. "We've dominated many games, but through
carelessness and bad luck in attack and defence we haven't been rewarded for it", according to Ivanschitz.
Interesting fact: In the previous season Mainz conceded only 34 goals, the second best defensive showing in the league behind champions Dortmund. Tuchel's men have already conceded 29 goals before the winter break.
A sentimental milestone
The emotional highlight of 2011 for Andi was the comeback to the national team. After being frozen out by ex-coach Didi Constantini for two and a half years for obscure reasons, interim ÖFB coach Willi Ruttensteiner re-called him back for the Euro's qualifying double header against
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. In a 5:0 victory against Berti Vogts team he scored and created two goals on his 50th cap. He also shone in the following two games, proving that his qualities can definitely be of use to the national team.
"I'm very happy that Willi Ruttensteiner believed in me and gave me another chance to play for the national team. My 50th cap will always stay in my memory through this lovely evening in which
I scored and created two goals. It was very disappointing for me that it's been 23 internationals since I last played, against
Sweden on the 11th of February 2009 and that's why this moment is all the more important, as
I'm again given the chance to wear the eagle on my chest again. I'm already looking forward to the next challenge, the 2014 World Cup qualification and am convinced that this team can achieve a lot under new coach Marcel Koller.
We need to continue on this path, and improve as a team even more, so that we can begin the
qualifiers optimistically", says Ivanschitz.
The Austrian suffered a medial ligament strain in his left knee, in the game against Hamburg on the 10th of December, is out for 6-8 weeks.
He could already increase his workload at the winter training camp in Majorca (6.01.2012-
12.01.2012), so the Austrian's comeback in the second half of the season will be very soon.
Mainz had finished only 14th in winter 2012 and started - without Ivanschitz - with a 2: 3 in
Leverkusen into the season. On February 11Andy then celebrated his comeback against Hannover.
Some weeks before, Mainz had engaged the former crowd favourite Mohammed Zidan. The
Egyptian scored 6 goals in his first 6 games and helped the team to avoid the relegation zone.
Ivanschitz´ rehabilitation still required some time and it took him until the end of March, when he was in his best shape again and led Mainz to a glorious 3:0 at Werder Bremen.
Four weeks earlier, Andreas scored a goal from a penalty kick for his national team in a friendly against Finland in Klagenfurt.
Ivanschitz showed his coolness from the penalty spot also in the Bundesliga: he achieved the lead

in Stuttgart, before Mainz lost the game even 1:4. After a brilliant 4: 0 against Cologne, the danger of being relegated was finally over for good. And Mainz immediately achieved their full potential with a goalless draw against Champion Bayern Munich. The overall standing after the
34th matchday: P 13 with 39 points - at least eight points clear of relegation zone.
To round off his season, Ivanschitz played in two friendlies against Ukraine (3: 2) and Romania (0:
0), before he could enjoy his holidays.
4th year in German Bundesliga
The start in his 4th year at Mainz 05 began perfectly for
Ivanschitz: He saved a point with a penalty in Freiburg.
After defeats against Greuter Fürth and Bayern Munich, he secured three points against Augsburg. Nevertheless, the results remained poor after 5 rounds. There were only 4 points on the board.
The clearance came off just when Mainz met with
Wolfsburg, a club who was listed among the title favourites. A dazzling brilliant Ivanschitz got 2 assists in a 2:0 win and was also voted "Man of the Match". A week later Noveski gave the final touch after an accurate corner from the Austrian midfielder to a
1: 0 against Dusseldorf. After a draw in Leverkusen and a 3: 0 against Hoffenheim , Mainz climbed up to sixth place. Especially in the Coface Arena, the team of coach Thomas Tuchel proved to be a secure stronghold. Nurnberg was also defeated 2:1, when Ivanschitz scored a goal with a left-foot shot.
The series didn´t stop: In the derby against Eintracht Frankfurt the Austrian scored the 1: 0 and
Mainz won against the local rivals in a safe way 3: 1. No wonder that the press and fans required the contract extension of Ivanschitz, who would be free in June 2013. Mainz- manager Christian
Heidel assured that they wanted to renew the contract of Ivanschitz talks about the future would take place immediately. After a 3: 1 win against Stuttgart, Mainz welcomed the winter break with a proud result of 26 points at 6th place – the qualification for the prestigious Europa League seemed to be quite possibly.
Also in the national team it went going nicely for Ivanschitz: 2: 0 against Turkey in the Viennese
Happel stadium, although the opponent played with top stars like Turan, Sahin or Toprak. Andy confirmed again his reputation as a master of free kicks, scoring the second goal from a penalty kick. On September
11, a brave fighting and awesome Austrian team nearly caused a sensation against Germany at the start of the World
Cup qualifiers. Already 0: 2 back, the ÖFB team dominated the big brother after getting one back through Junuzovic, but they couldn´t manage to score again and it remained at 1: 2.
The last two qualifyings of the year ended 0: 0 and 4: 0 against Kazakhstan - the chance to be at the World Cup for the first time since 1998 was still alive. At the end of the year Austria lost 0:3 in an uninspired match against Ivory
Coast in Linz.
Ahead the home game against Bayern Munich in February, Mainz was astonishing fifth in the
Bundesliga. The hosts put the champions under pressure, before Müller and Mandzukic turned the game around and stopped the dream of defeating the big guns from Munich. A highlight for
Ivanschitz followed then against Schalke 04: Andy scored the first goal with his weaker right foot, and made a perfect assist at the 2: 1 by Pospech. Once again the Austrian was named "Man of the
Match".
After four draws in a row, Andreas Ivanschitz helped the team to another victory against one of

the big players in the Bundesliga: a penalty from the left footer against Leverkusen and Mainz was knocking on Europa League´s door again. On April 3the series of 8 unbeaten games in a row ended in Nuremberg, where Ivanschitz simmered on the bench for 80 minutes.
Good bye, Mainz
The day before the Nuremberg game, Tuchel had announced at a press conference that Andy´s contract would not be renewed. "This decision was really hard", Tuchel said, "but Ivanschitz is an absolute key player in Mainz and I'm not quite sure if he will be able to fulfill this role in the next few years too." Manager Christian Heidel had two conversations with the Austrian, but it never submitted to a concrete offer.
The trouble with the fans exploded, they demanded vehemently a renewal of the contract. The popular Austrian was celebrated, coach Tuchel and manager Heidel were heavily criticized.
The sensitive player had already guessed, that the end of his time in Mainz isn´nt far off. "I had four awesome years in
Mainz and a really successful time. I think that I could do my part that Mainz is an established club of the
Bundesliga today and has developed enormously. I felt very comfortable in Mainz and would like to thank the fans for their great support in all those years. I know that
I'll always be welcome here and I wish the club a very successful future. "
Gentleman Ivanschitz decided to abandon revenge, although coach Tuchel made his life not all guns and roses. A fact that went down well with the fans.
After three defeats in a row, it dawned upon everybody clear that they have missed the boat to
Europe. At Andy´s last home game in the Coface Arena, the fans celebrated an emotional and touching farewell for Ivanschitz with a melodramatic end: Andy converted a penalty in the 92nd minute against Borussia Mönchengladbach - his last goal in his final second for Mainz. In a total of
113 games for the carnival club Ivanschitz had scored 24 goals and 20 assists.
Austria´s national team had a patchy spring. A 1: 2 in Wales was followed by a 6: 0 against the Faroe Islands, in which
Andreas scored a goal with a great shot from outside the box. Surprisingely for all, Ianschitz simmered on the bench at the next draw in Ireland and the 2: 1 against Sweden..
The chapter Mainz had ended rather abruptly, now
Ivanschitz had to think about his future. Interesting and concrete offers from the German Bundesliga, he declined because "I was looking for a new challenge after four years in the Bundesliga."
Dream Primera Division
The decision, where the 29-year-old would play in the future, was made rapidly. Levante UD, an ambitious club in Spanish Primera Division and also participant of the
Europa League 2012/13, tried hard to sign the stylish player. Following a meeting at Vienna airport, the arrangements had been clarified and a few days later
Andy travelled to Valencia and signed a contract over 3 years with the club from the league of the world champion. "I've always been a fan of Spanish

football and very happy to be able to play here. The experience I gathered in Greece and
Germany will help me to establish in probably the strongest league in the world ", the
Austrians said.
After preparing for LaLiga in Southern Spain, the club from Valencia was in for a shock in the 1 st game at Barcelona´s Camp Nou. Levante, who had to integrate too many new players, was hammered by Messi & Friends 7: 0. Messi struck in a double and Ivanschitz could take a little comfort in the fact, that he was side by side with Brazilian hero Neymar, when he came on the field as a substitute after 64 minutes.
However, the team of coach Caparros could deal with the Barca desaster unexpectedly well and remained unbeaten in the next 6 games. And Ivanschitz improved very fast, although it was not easy for him to switch from the pressing style of Mainz to the counterattack specialised game of
Levante. When Levante met Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, Andy scored his 1st goal for Levante in the
4th minute of injury time. Levante won
2:1.
Unforgotten remains the highlight against
Real Madrid at the Estadio Ciutat de
Valencia. Levante showed an impressive performance and led up to 87 minutes 2:1, before Real turned around the match and
Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the final seconds. " Of course I'm talking about our great achievement, but I am also annoyed that we didn´t protect the lead to the end. But we have seen that we can also challenge perhaps the
best team in the world with our courage and passion”, Andy said with mixed emotions.
In La Liga it went well for Levante: After 10 rounds Levante was ranked 7 th . At Stadium Vicente
Calderon, Ivanschitz rocked the boat shortly before Christmas, when he scored after a few seconds. Unfortunately Atletico Madrid could turn the game around and won 3:2.
Draw against Barca
During this time, Ivanschitz confirmed his great reputation as a master of the standards - in 4 games en suite a Levante player scored after a corner by Ivanschitz. Just the same in the game against FC Barcelona on January 19, when Loukas Vyntra, like
Ivanschitz a former player of Panathinaikos Athens, headed a perfect corner from Andy into the net. Finally Levante could take revenge for the debacle at the start of the season 1.
Wins against FC Sevilla and Atletico Madrid topped a really strong season, before the emotional highlight should follow:
Levante defeated FC Valencia in the prestigious city derby 2: 0,
Andreas Ivanschitz scored the second goal in minute 81. Still taking on an important role, the standing of the Austrian boosted immediately. The season was finished at P10, just one point behind big brother Valencia. Levante earned much respect for this performance despite lower financial possibilities. And Ivanschitz had proved that he was more than competitive with 5 goals and 7 assists in LaLiga and Copa del Rey.
A perfect gift
Ivanschitz had to accept two bitter defeats with Austria in the autumn of 2013. 0: 2 in a friendly against Greece and then a 0: 3 in the World Cup Qualifiers against Germany in Munich – difficult to digest. With a 1: 0 against Ireland, Austria even saved the chance to reach the play-offs, when

they beat Sweden in Stockholm. Despite one of the best away performances in the era of Coach Marcel Koller, Austria lost 1:2 and the dream of the World Cup was over and out. Ivanschitz was in the starting 11 against the Faroe Islands, scored the first goal and assisted to Prödls 2: 0. A perfect gift at his 30th birthday on the
Faroe Islands. Moments for eternity!
Ivanschitz also played in the friendlies against USA (1: 0), Uruguay
(1: 1), Iceland (1: 1) and Czech Republic (2: 1), before he was sorted out unexpectedly by Marcel Koller.
Emotional autumn
One reason was probably the tough start of Levante into the new season: With new coach
Mendilibar and without goalie hero Keylor Navas, who went to Real Madrid. The new system of the coach with aggressive pressing led Levante to nothing, the club lived on the razor edge.
And Andy had to suffer a much harder blow of fate, when his beloved father Ewald died with only
60 years of age after a short but serious illness in August. "If you lose someone you love, it´s hard to put your feelings into words. An incredible pain, surreal, you refuse to believe.
After my return from Austria I had to go back to the ground. I needed distraction, but actually I was only physically present in the training sessions. My head was somewhere else. "
In the middle of his mental depth there were good news in October, just 2 months after the heavy loss: His wife Anja delivered a healthy daughter (name: Luna) into the world. "When I held our healthy child in my arms, I knew that I had to look forward again. And in addition to my sorrow, I had to take care of my family.”
After the modest results and the dangerous situation under Mendilibar, president Catalan applied the emergency brake in late Octobre. Mendilbar was fired, Levante took Lucas Alacarez as their new coach on board. The logical decision improved Ivanschitz´ situation too and he got back his role as one of the key players, after he had played rarely under Mendilibar. Shortly before
Christmas, Ivanschitz scored his first goal of the season: Andy converted a penalty in injury time against Real Sociedad.