Arminia Bielefeld needed some special to help them survive their first season back in the Bundesliga, and in Austria’s Patrick Wimmer, they appear to have found it.
bundesliga.com takes a closer look at Bielefeld’s Austrian wing commander.
Patrick Wimmer
Age: 20
Club: Arminia Bielefeld
Position: Winger/attacking midfielder
Country: Austria (7 U21 caps, two goals)
Key stats
Wimmer’s rise from amateur to professional football was about as quick as it gets. Starting out at SC Sitzenberg/Reidling, he moved to SG Waldhofen/Ybbs for the 2015/16 season and he climbed to the fourth division of Austrian football in 2017/18 with SV Gaflenz, still as an amateur.
From there, it took just two years before he was noticed by Austria Wien, whose vice-president Raimund Harreither had first spotted his talent at a club he had formed. AFW Waidhofen is an academy and college, where youngsters get to play football and study at the same time.
Watch: Patrick Wimmer, candidate for December 2021 Rookie of the Month
Harreither felt Wimmer was good enough for a professional football career and he found a place for him in Austria Wien’s reserve team – the Young Violets – but the top-flight club’s coach Peter Stöger, formerly of Cologne and Borussia Dortmund, soon realised he was good enough for their first team.
Six months after debuting in Austria’s second division, Wimmer was making his first appearance in the Austrian Bundesliga, entering late on in a derby against Rapid Wien. After 47 games and four goals for Austria Wien, Wimmer took the next step in his career by joining promoted Bielefeld in the summer of 2021.
He marked his debut with a goal, but made even more headlines with a ‘Rabona’ assist in the 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt later in the 2021/22 season, after having given Bielefeld the lead in the same game.
Wimmer made his first appearance for Austria’s U19s in September 2019 and he went on to score three goals in nine outings before taking the step up to the U21 level in November 2020.
Plays a bit like: Karim Bellarabi
Wimmer is at his best when he gets the ball at the feet and is able to run at opposition defenders, using his pace and ball control to get into dangerous positions either for a cross or to take a shot himself. Like Bayer Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi, he is direct, packs a punch with his shot and can drive defenders dizzy – and Wimmer can do that on both sides of the field, even if he has more confidence in his right foot.
Patrick Wimmer likes nothing more than to turn his marker and race down the wing before delivering a cross or a shot. – Boris Streubel/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images
Did you know?
Wimmer’s goal in the 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on 28 August 2021 made him the first ever Austria U21 player to score on his Bundesliga debut, and the fifth-youngest Austrian ever to score in Germany’s top flight after David Alaba, Harald Cerny, Kevin Danso and, by just four days, Martin Harnik.
What they’re saying
“He sometimes does some incredible things. He’s a creative player and you shouldn’t take that away from him.” – Bielefeld coach Frank Kramer.
“There’s something crazy and care-free about him; he’s got a youthful folly, which does us the world of good. If he sticks at it and works on getting some of the basics right, which help the team, then he will be even more valuable.” – Bielefeld goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
“When you do something good, all at once you’re the hero, but I know how quickly things can change in this business and that’s why I’m going to enjoy this, but certainly not get carried away.” – Wimmer after his ‘Rabona’ assist went viral.
