Mark Schwarzer, born 6 October 1972 is an Australian association footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough. He represents Australia at international level, and was selected for both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup. He is currently Australia's most capped player at international level, surpassing Alex Tobin's appearance record in January 2011.
Early career
Schwarzer has worn the same pair of shin pads since he started his professional career at the age of 19 with Marconi Stallions, in the National Soccer League.He left the Sydney-based club to play in Germany with Dynamo Dresden and FC Kaiserslautern. He then traveled to England to play for Bradford City, where he eventually joined Middlesbrough in February 1997
Honours
Club
Middlesbrough
* Football League Cup (1): 2003–04
* UEFA Cup Runner-up: 2005–06
* Football League Cup Runner-up: 1996–97, 1997–98
Fulham
* UEFA Europa League Runner-up: 2009–10
International
Australia
* OFC Nations Cup: 2004
Individual
* Fulham F.C. Player of The Year (1): 2008–09
* FFA Australian Football Awards: Footballer of the Year (2): 2009, 2010
* Football Media Association Australia International Player of the Year (1): 2009
* Australian Professional Football Association Player of the Year (1): 2010
* Premier League Player of the Month (1): February 2010
Personal life
Schwarzer was born in North Richmond, a semi-rural suburb in North-Western Sydney, and attended Richmond North Public School and Colo High School. He played for the local soccer (football) club the Colo Cougars. His parents Hans-Joachim and Doris emigrated to Australia from Germany in 1968.He speaks English, Spanish, and German. Schwarzer and his wife Paloma have two children; a son, Julian, and a daughter, Amaya. In 2009, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. He is also the co-author of the kid's soccer books series, Megs Morrison and had his 2006 World Cup Diary Published under the title "Mark Schwarzer's World Cup Destiny: From Sydney to Stuttgart".
Personal informationFull name: Mark Schwarzer
Date of birth: 6 October 1972 (1972-10-06)
Place of birth: Sydney, Australia
Height: 1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)
Playing position: Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club: Fulham
Number: 1
Youth career
Colo Cougars Penrith Blacktown Association Marconi Stallions
Senior career*
1990–1994 Marconi Stallions 58
1994–1995 Dynamo Dresden 2
1995–1996 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4
1996–1997 Bradford City 13
1997–2008 Middlesbrough 367
2008– Fulham 94
National team‡
1989 Australia U-17 6 (0)
1990–1991 Australia U-20 8 (0)
1993– Australia 88 (0)