The Austrian international "powerhouse" defender and midfielder signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Latics in January 2006 from Norwegian club SK Brann for a fee of around £2.5million. The fee is the biggest SK Brann have received for a player in their history.

Scharner started his career at Austria Vienna making 84 appearances before spending a year with Salzburg where he made 22 league appearances. 

The Austrian then moved to Norway in the summer of 2004. He is primarily a central defender but he can also play in midfield, and was highly rated in Norway. Scharner has won 12 caps for his country so far.

The 27-year made an immediate impact at the JJB Stadium when he went on to score on his debut in the Carling Cup semi-final 1st leg against Arsenal.

During the 2006/07 season, he moved into a midfield role and proved to be a success partnering either Josip Skoko or Denny Landzaat in the centre. He scored two memorable goals at Everton to draw 2-2, but then suffered an injury at Middlesbrough in December which saw him sidelined for over three months.

Scharner played a pivotal role on the last day of the campaign when he rifled in a Kevin Kilbane cross to give Latics a lead over the crunch relegation clash with Sheffield United. Latics won 2-1 on the day to send the Brammall Lane club down to the Championship whilst Latics survived.