Although he has only been with the Seattle Sounders for a few months, Andreas Ivanschitz has an impressive soccer career spanning back to 2000. He was signed on to play with the Sounders on August 4, 2015 as a Discovery Signing. Since he joined the team, he has started in five of the six games he has played. He has played a total of 439 minutes and scored one goal. He has had a single yellow card and no red cards as of yet.

Ivanschitz was born on October 15, 1983. His birthplace is the same place as his hometown, Eisenstadt, Austria. He weighs 180 pounds and stands at six feet tall. A middle fielder, he wears the #23 jersey.

Ivanschitz brings a wide range of experience with him to Seattle. He has an impressive total of 69 career caps for the Austrian National Team. In his youth, he played for his local team, ASK Baumgarten, for nine years. The Austrian team took him on as a player when he was just 16 years old. From then on, he played for Rapid Wren from 1998 to 2000, then again from 2000 to 2005 in his senior career. In 2006 he played for Red Bull Salzburg, and for Panathinaikos fro 2006 to 2011. From 2009 to 2011, he was on loan to FSV Mainz 05; then he played for the same team from 2011 to 2013. From 2013 to 2015, he played for Levante. In 2003, he was the Austrian Footballer of the Year. In 2005, he won the honor of Austrian Football Bundesliga.

Sounders FC General Manager and President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey says that Ivanschitz is both a dynamic player and a skilled one, shining in both European leagues as well as international teams. He also expressed excitement about having the player join the team, which he is doing with his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate.

His father is a music teacher, giving Ivanschitz experience in the musical world as well. Some instruments he plays include the oboe and piano. His ethnicity is Burgenland Croatian and he has two brothers.

Fans of Ivanschitz can follow his career and personal updates on Twitter. Find photos, videos and other information about the player at his social networking page, where he describes himself as “professional soccer player, member of the Austrian national team, father, friend…” Ivanschitz posts regular updates, especially about team victories and celebrations.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia