By joining the Red & Black in Australia, Ziegler escapes having to play with Kaiserslautern in Germany's third highest division, following the club's shock relegation back in April, in a dramatic 2-3 loss to Arminia Bielefeld.
But the prime motivation must be that the towering centreback (187 cms) who has featured in over 130 matches across the first two divisions of the Bundesliga, will join WSW's new head coach Markus Babbel (45), a fellow countryman.
“I’m very excited to be part of this great club and to start a new chapter of my career in Australia.”
Patrick Ziegler, Western Sydney Wanderers
Interestingly, it is Ziegler's first move abroad as a professional player, in a career that has also seen him play for SpvVgg Unterhaching and Paderborn 07, after starting as a youngster at TSV Moosach-Hartmannshofen.
Source: 1.FCK
The tough defender who once said his idol is World Cup winner Mats Hummels, is the second player from Germany who joins the A-League this coming season, after Georg Niedermeier at Melbourne Victory, also a defender.
And then there's Marco Kurz (49), the A-League's second German coach, at Adelaide United.
Ziegler says he's looking forward to meeting the team and getting underway with preparations for the 2018/19 A-League season, scheduled to start in spring when WSW take on Perth in W.A. on 21 October.
“The main reason why I decided to join the club was Markus Babbel. We had several nice phone conversations where he told me a lot about the club, my new teammates but also about the country, the culture and the lifestyle."
Patrick Ziegler, Western Sydney Wanderers
