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Stefan Maierhofer
Personal information
Full name	Stefan Maierhofer
Date of birth	16 August 1982 (1982-08-16) (age 27)
Place of birth	Gablitz, Austria
Height	2.02 m (6 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number	33
Youth career
	SV Gablitz FC Tulln
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002–2003 2003–2005 2005–2006 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008–2009 2009–	First Vienna SV Langenrohr Bayern Munich II Bayern Munich TuS Koblenz Greuther Fürth → Rapid Vienna (loan) Rapid Vienna Wolverhampton Wanderers	0? 0(?) 53 (26) 42 (21) 02 0(0) 14 0(3) 10 0(2) 11 0(7) 38 (24) 05 0(1)
National team2
2008–	Austria	07 0(1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 October 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Stefan Maierhofer (born 16 August 1982 in Gablitz, Lower Austria) is an Austrian footballer, who plays for English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. At 6 feet 7½ inches (2.019 m) he is currently the tallest player in the Premier League.

[edit] Club career

Maierhofer was initially trained as a restaurant specialist/cook. The tall striker joined Bayern Munich's reserve team from Austrian side SV Langenrohr in July 2005, and signed a professional contract with the club one year later, eventually making two Bundesliga appearances as a late substitute, during 2006–07. In two seasons with Bayern Munich's reserve team, he scored 21 goals in 42 Regionalliga appearances and was the team's top goalscorer in both seasons.

In January 2007, Maierhofer moved to 2nd Bundesliga side TuS Koblenz until the end of the season, scoring three goals in 14 league appearances. In July 2007, he signed a two-year contract with another team in the division, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, but the club sent him on a six-month loan to Austrian Bundesliga's Rapid Vienna in January 2008.

He helped Rapid win the 2008 Bundesliga title, after scoring seven goals in 11 league matches for the club, including braces in a 2-0 derby win over Austria Vienna and a 7-0 away win against the club's main title rivals Red Bull Salzburg. Consequently, Rapid decided to make the deal permanent and signed Maierhofer on a three-year contract.^[1]

The 2008-09 season saw his best goalscoring return as he struck 27 goals, including two in Champions League qualifiers, helping the club end the league campaign as runners-up.

He signed for newly-promoted English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers in a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee - reportedly an initial £1.8m - on 31 August 2009.^[2] He scored on his debut in a 3–1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers.^[3]

[edit] International career

Maierhofer's good performances during his initial loan spell at Rapid Vienna secured him his first call-up to the Austrian national team in April 2008, when he was named to the country's preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 finals.^[4]However, he would not make the final cut.

On 20 August 2008, he eventually made his international debut, in a 2-2 friendly against Italy, in Nice. He scored his first international goal when he scored inside the first minute against the Faroe Islands on 5 September 2009.

[edit] Honours

• Austrian League: 2007-08

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Official club profile
• Weltfussball profile (German)