He started playing at the age of six with Dynamo Dresden. He played in all youth ranks. His debut in the first team was on 23 October 1992 against 1. FC Nuremberg. In July 1993 Zickler went to FC Bayern Munich where he stayed as a player for 11 seasons. During this time he was often injured. He scored 18 goals as substitute which is record in the German Bundesliga.