He was duly picked up by Vienna club Austria Wien but moved abroad to play in Italy for seven years, from 1981 to 1988, in A.C. Cesena (58 matches, 17 goals), Torino F.C.

In 1981 when Cesena was promoted to Serie A, the ultras changed their title to Weisschwarz Brigaden (meaning “Black-and-white Brigades” in German language) to honor the Austrian forward.

On 21 June 1978, at the World Cup held in Argentina he was among starting 11 of the Austrian team that beat the reigning champions, West Germany 3–2 and eliminated them from the competition,[3] a historic match named “The Miracle of Cordoba”.

Conversely, he was also a member of the Austrian team that lost 1–0 to West Germany in 1982 in the "Disgrace of Gijón" but distinguished himself by making an effort to actually play a normal game.

[12] In 2004–05 the team were runners-up in the Bundesliga[13] and in the 2005 UEFA Champions League faced Liverpool (coached by Rafael Benitez), the future winners of the title, in the third qualification round.

In August 2008, Schachner replaced Heinz Peischl, the coach of FC Admira Wacker Mödling (Austrian First League),[15] who had been sacked for gaining only one point in five games which left the team at the bottom of the rankings.

[17] Moreover, Admira Wacker Mödling reached the National Cup final for the first time in thirteen years, but were defeated by Austria Wien 3–1.