[5] As a player, he appeared for FC Kärnten, Bayer Leverkusen II, Aarau, Spartak Moscow, Middlesbrough, Hannover 96, Vfl Wolfsburg, West Ham United, 1.He had also been tracked by Fulham, but during his final match on loan at Spartak Moscow, he tackled Yaroslav Kharitonskiy, leaving the Russian with a double leg fracture.[8] As the ban commenced in June and was specified as a length of time rather than a number of matches, he ended up missing only three games for his new club Middlesbrough.[9] On 30 March 2006, during the first leg of Middlesbrough's 2–0 UEFA Cup quarter-final defeat against Basel,[10] Pogatetz broke his nose, jaw and cheekbone in an accidental clash of heads with Mladen Petrić[11] and was later warned against returning to full training for three months, for fear of losing his eyesight.[12] He underwent successful surgery to have the fractures reset and Dr. Douglas Bryan declared himself "delighted" with Pogatetz's progress.[13] "It is anticipated he will make a full recovery and be back with his team-mates for pre-season training," said Middlesbrough head physio Grant Downie.[16] Pogatetz returned in the 2009–10 season after a long injury layoff, on 31 October in a 1–0 loss to Plymouth Argyle, only to suffer a recurrence of his cheekbone fracture with the scores tied at 0–0.[18] On 2 June 2010, he signed for Hannover 96 on a three-year contract making his debut on 21 August in a 2–1 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt.[citation needed] Pogatetz joined Premier League club Crystal Palace in February 2024 as part of the coaching team for manager Oliver Glasner.