Marcel Sabitzer

Marcel Sabitzer has been at Borussia Dortmund since 2023. The Austrian can best be described as a midfield all-rounder. He has a keen sense of when to calm things down or speed things up. His talent reveals itself best in a central position, from where he can create goal-scoring opportunities. "In general, I'm very open when it comes to my position. I play on the left wing for the national team, in Dortmund I play in the six, eight or ten positions, and in Munich I even played right or left back – that's all fine for me. It shows strength when you can play in many different positions and be flexible. That suits my personality and my style of play. I need to be equally involved in good attacking and defensive moves,” Sabitzer told BORUSSIA (April 2024 edition): “I want to run a lot, including a lot of intense running. I’m pretty good with the ball and I’m not afraid to do the dirty work.”

In the 2024/25 season, Sabitzer started in five different positions: right and left attacking midfielder, defensive midfielder, number ten and second striker. He is most at home in central midfield. In 2023/24, he repeatedly made dangerous runs from deep as a defensive midfielder or number eight and was directly involved in 15 goals (six goals, nine assists). Sabitzer contributed one goal and two assists to the 4-2 victory over Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. He was Dortmund’s most prolific runner among the regular starters (averaging 11.9 kilometres per 90 minutes).

The son of former Austrian international Herfried Sabitzer was practically born with a football at his feet. Marcel Sabitzer came into the world on 17 March 1994 in Wels in the Upper Austrian Alpine foothills and was already considered one of the country’s greatest offensive talents as a teenager. He is attacking-minded and forward-thinking, both with and without the ball. He started out at ESV Admira Villach, then moved to Grazer AK, where he played until 2008 and the age of 14. Via Austria Vienna, he joined the academy of Wacker Mödling in 2009. “I left school at 15, moved into my own flat at 16 and was a professional player in the Austrian second tier.”

In 2012/13, the then 18-year-old was already on the radar of several leading German clubs, but Sabitzer built his career cautiously, playing for Austrian record champions Rapid Vienna from January 2013, for whom he scored seven goals in 29 league games in the 2013/14 season. A German club then secured the services of the midfielder at Rasenballsport Leipzig, but loaned him to FC Salzburg for the 2014/15 season. He scored 19 goals and provided 16 assists in 33 league games, playing a major role in the club’s renewed championship title. He also played a key role in winning the ÖFB Cup, scoring seven goals and providing six assists in just five games.

Sabitzer then moved to Leipzig, where he played for six years from summer 2015, initially in the Bundesliga 2 and then in the top flight from 2016. He impressed with his technique, dynamism, speed and, at the age of just 23, his maturity. In the summer of 2021, the Austrian, now captain of the Leipzig team, moved to Bayern Munich. At the end of January 2023, he was loaned to Manchester United until the end of the season (making 18 appearances, 11 of which he started).

Starting with the U16s, Marcel Sabitzer played for all of the Austria youth national teams. In May 2012, he was called up to the Austrian senior national team for the first time. He made his international debut on 5 June 2012 and represented his country at the European Championship finals in 2016, 2021 and 2024.