Youth at Austria Wien and DSV Leoben Michael Gspurning was born in
Graz and began his career at age 19 after being part of the youth squads of
Austria Wien by being promoted to the senior team in 2000, but did not make an official appearance for the senior team. He joined third-tier
Regionalliga Mitte club
DSV Leoben in 2001 and became a regular starter for Leoben and appeared in 62 league matches over 3 seasons. During the
2005–06 UEFA Cup, Pasching lost on away goals to Zenit after a 3–3 aggregate score for the second consecutive year in the second qualifying round. Gspurning was on the bench as the club qualified for the first round, but lost 3–0 to
Livorno.
Skoda Xanthi Gspurning left Austria and signed with
Skoda Xanthi in 2007, competing with Croatian goalkeeper
Ivan Turina. He made his debut in a 3–0 loss to
Iraklis on 25 November 2007. Gspurning played four seasons with Skoda Xanthi and appeared in 89 league matches before leaving the club in 2011. having been targeted since October by General Manager
Adrian Hanauer. He joined the training camp for his new club in Arizona on 30 January. Gspurning made his Seattle debut during 2–1 win over
Santos Laguna in a
CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal fixture on 8 March 2012, having been delayed by an accident causing traffic. During the return leg on 15 March the Sounders lost 6–1 and were eliminated from the Champions League on a 3–7 aggregate score. Gspurning made his MLS league debut on 17 March in a 3–1 win over
Toronto, conceding a strike from
Ryan Johnson that would later win MLS Goal of the Week. The Sounders won 2–0 over
Houston Dynamo the following week and gave Gspurning his first MLS career shutout. Gspurning was substituted at halftime of a May 2 game against the
Los Angeles Galaxy because of an injury to his right hip. He was replaced by
Bryan Meredith as the Sounders went on to win 2–0. Gspurning returned on 6 June, after missing 6 MLS games and being replaced by Meredith and
Andrew Weber. He trained through mid-July to return and started in goal during a 2–1 win over the
Colorado Rapids on 28 July. Gspurning earned his first shutout since his injury against the Los Angeles Galaxy in a 4–0 win in August, lost in the
U.S. Open Cup Final against
Sporting Kansas City in a penalty shootout, having his save on
Paulo Nagamura re-taken after a 1–1 draw. Gspurning played 2 matches in the
2012–13 Champions League, winning 3–1 over
Caledonia AIA in
Trinidad and Tobago in late August, and winning 3–2 over Honduran club
Marathón after earning a yellow card and conceding 4 penalties over the 2 games. He earned an assist on
Fredy Montero's goal against the
Portland Timbers on September 15 off of a punt, and later started all four
MLS Cup Playoffs games for the Sounders before they were eliminated in the Conference Finals by the LA Galaxy. Gspurning finished 2012 with 21 regular season games, conceding 15 goals for a 0.73
GAA, the third lowest in MLS history. In 2013 season, Gspurning continued to be the club's first-choice goalkeeper at the start of the season, making three consecutive clean sheets against Chivas USA, the New England Revolution and the Colorado Rapids. However, on 14 July Gspurning injured his arm in a match against the
San Jose Earthquakes after
Steven Lenhart caught him with a late challenge, and was substituted as Seattle lost 1-0. After missing three weeks, he made his return to training and stated the collision could have been "avoidable", although he refused to blame Lenhart. After being on the bench against Toronto two days earlier, Gspurning made his return in goal on 17 August, as Seattle lost 3-1 to the Houston Dynamo. After conceding nine goals in two matches in early October, Gspurning was dropped for two matches in favour of
Marcus Hahnemann. In the last game of the season, Gspurning made his return in a 1-1 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy. In the
MLS Cup Playoffs, Gspurning featured in the first four matches, until he was sent off late in the
West Conference Knockout round, in a 2-0 win over Colorado Rapids. The club were eliminated from the MLS playoffs in the next round after failing to win either leg, losing 2-1 and 3-2 respectively, against the Portland Timbers. Gspurning was suspended for the first leg of the series, but returned for the second. At the conclusion of 2013 season, the club declined options to re-sign Gspurning, marking the end of his time with the club.
PAOK After leaving Seattle Sounders, Gspurning moved back to Greece by joining
PAOK on a six-month deal with an option for a two-year extension. However, Gspurning's career in Greece wasn't off with a good start when he was a second choice goalkeeper behind
Panagiotis Glykos and made one appearance in the last game of the season against
Levadiakos, which they lost 3-2. After just one appearance, Gspurning left PAOK when the club decided not extend his contract.
Platanias On 12 September 2014, Gspurning was the last transfer for the Greek side
Platanias, playing in the Super League. After the first half of the season, Gspurning left Platanias when the club decided not extend his contract.
FC Schalke & Reserves On 1 February 2015, goalie Michael Gspurning has another new home. The 33-year-old has signed as an overage player with Schalke 04's U23 team where he's expected to be a mentor. On 1 July 2015, Michael Gspurning signed a one-year professional contract, as a result of his exceptional year with the reserves.
""Michael Gspurning has given a good account of himself over the past six months, both on the occasions he trained with the first team and with the U23s, where his performances contributed significantly to the team staying in the Regionalliga," says Manager
Horst Heldt. ==International career==