He started playing football with SK Sturm Graz where he also played his first match as football professional. He went on to FC Kärnten in the second division where he became champion and won the Austrian Cup. Then he went to Bayer Leverkusen. On loan he played for FC Aarau, Grazer AK and Spartak Moskau. 2005 he went to FC Middlesbrough in the English Premier League. 2006 he scored versus FC Sunderland and was the first Austrian player who scored in the Premier League. 2010 he went on to Hannover 96 in the German Bundesliga where he soon became a regular player for team.