Stefan Aigner

Hometown: Munich, Germany
Citizenship: German
Birth date: August 20, 1987
Acquired: Signed on July 26, 2017, having previously been at 1860 Munich

MLS CAREER

2018

• Aigner was an unused substitute for the home leg of the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League match with Toronto FC (2/20), but missed the second leg (2/27) as he pursued his Green Card. (He no longer occupies an international spot on the roster).
• Missed the trip to New England Revolution (3/10) due to a minor hamstring injury. His fitness was again a factor in him sitting out the home opener with Sporting Kansas City (3/24).
• The German made his first appearance of 2018 in the latter stages of the 3-0 win over Philadelphia Union at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park (3/31), replacing Joe Mason with 11 minutes remaining.
• He was not in the 18 for the trips to FC Dallas (4/7) and Real Salt Lake (4/21), or the home game with Toronto FC (4/14).

2017

• Aigner arrived on a free transfer from 1860 Munich. He signed a three-and-a-half year deal.
• His MLS debut came as a 72nd minute substitute in the 3-0 loss at LA Galaxy on September 2.
• Aigner came off the bench in his first four appearances.
• His first assist came in the 1-0 victory at Houston Dynamo (9/9), setting up Dominique Badji for the winner.
• The German midfielder started the last five games of the season, the first of which was when playing 55 minutes in the 2-0 defeat at FC Dallas (9/27).
• Aigner scored in successive home games. His first MLS goal came in the 2-1 win over Montreal Impact (9/30). He followed that with an early strike in the 1-1 tie against FC Dallas (10/7).

OTHER PROFESSIONAL

• Aigner came through the youth ranks at 1860 Munich, before joining SV Wacker Burghausen at the start of the 2006-07 season.
• His professional debut came on August 11, 2006 with a 4-0 home loss to Karlsruher SC in Bundesliga 2. Aigner came on for Ronald Schmidt for the final 23 minutes of the game.
• He would go on to make 28 appearances for the team, scoring five goals. Burghausen were relegated at the end of the season, whereupon Aigner moved to Arminia Bielefeld.
• Aigner’s first team time at Bundesliga side Bielefeld was limited to just five substitute appearances in the early stages of the 2008-09 campaign, including games at Bayern Munich and Stuttgart.
• He emerged after the winter break at 1860 Munich, making his debut in a 3-1 German Cup loss at SV Hamburg on January 27, 2009. Among his teammates that day were Gregg Berhalter - now head coach at Columbus Crew SC - and US international defender Fabian Johnson.
• After three years at 1860, Aigner was on the move again, taking a step up to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt. His first start in the top flight came on September 1, 2012 in a 4-0 win at nine-man Hoffenheim.
• The German midfielder spent four years at Eintracht Frankfurt, during which time he played - and scored - in the UEFA Europa League. He counted Kevin Trapp, US international Timothy Chandler, Paraguay’s former Seattle Sounders striker Nelson Valdez, Tranquillo Barnetta, and Marco Fabian as teammates.
• His last hurrah in the Bundesliga came toward the end of the 2015-16 season, when he scored winning goals in successive games. This included the only goal in a 1-0 win over a Borussia Dortmund side which contained Henrik Mkhitaryan and Christian Pulisic.