Martin Männel

Martin Männel (born 16 March 1988) is a German professional footballer, who plays for and captains 3. Liga club Erzgebirge Aue as a goalkeeper.^[1] Since his arrival in 2008, Männel has been spending his career with the Veilchen side.

Martin Männel

Männel in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth	(1988-03-16) 16 March 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Hennigsdorf, East Germany
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Erzgebirge Aue
Number	1
Youth career
1996–1998	FSV Velten
1998–2001	SC Oberhavel Velten
2001–2005	Energie Cottbus
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2008	Energie Cottbus II	34	(0)
2008–	Erzgebirge Aue	508	(1)
International career
2003–2004	Germany U16	4	(0)
2004–2005	Germany U17	4	(0)
2005–2006	Germany U18	5	(0)
2006–2007	Germany U19	11	(0)
2007–2008	Germany U20	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 October 2024

On 24 May 2015, he gained notoriety after scoring a goal against 1. FC Heidenheim that tied the match on the final score of 2–2.^[2]

Club career

Männel began his football career at the age of eight at FSV Velten and, later on, SC Oberhavel Velten. At the age of 14, he moved to Energie Cottbus, where he attended the so-called "Elite School of Football", the Lausitzer Sports Academy. Männel progressed through all the youth departments and, in 2005, became the starting goalkeeper of Cottbus' reserve team when he was just 17 years old.

For the 2008–09 season, he signed a two-year contract with Erzgebirge Aue, being involved in the same operation that also brought his teammates Arne Feick, Jan Hochscheidt and Marc Hensel to Saxony. Thanks to some impressive performances, he quickly replaced Stephan Flauder as the club's main goalkeeper, and he achieved his biggest sporting success early on by winning the promotion to the 2. Bundesliga with Erzgebirge at the end of the 2009–10 season. During the same year, Männel signed a contract extension with the club until 2012. The first appearance in the second tier for both the goalkeeper and Erzgebirge turned out to beat pretty successful: in fact, while at the winter break the newly promoted team surprisingly topped the league table, at the end of the season they finished in fifth place.

At the beginning of the 2013–14 season, Männel initially lost his starting place in goal to newly arrived Sascha Kirschstein, but managed to regain it during the second half of the league. In February 2014, he extended his contract with Aue until June 2016.

On 24 May 2015, while his side was involved in a relegation battle, Männel scored a header from a corner kick in the 88th minute of a match against 1. FC Heidenheim, thus establishing the final score of 2–2.^[2][3] Despite their efforts, the club still suffered relegation to the 3. Liga: however, after only one year down, the club returned to the 2. Bundesliga in 2016.^[4]

During the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons, Männel gained some fame as a frequent "penalty blocker": in fact, he saved 7 out of the 12 penalties he has faced combinely. These statistics include a last-minute save of Michael Frey's attempt to secure Erzgebirge a 4–3 win against Nürnberg, on 18 October 2019,^[5] and the two saves he performed (Denis Thomalla and Christian Kühlwetter being the respective penalty takers) in a 2–0 loss against Heidenheim, on 13 February 2021.^[6]

International career

Männel was a youth international for Germany.^[7] During his time at Energie Cottbus, he was called-up to the under-19 national team for the first time. On 21 July 2007, he suffered a hearing trauma while he was playing in a game against Serbia U19, as an explosive device blasted right next to his goal.^[8]

Personal life

Martin Männel is married to the television reporter Doreen Männel, who has worked as an editor at MDR Fernsehen. They have two sons, born in 2012 and 2018.^[9]

Career statistics

As of match played 8 November 2022

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			DFB-Pokal		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Energie Cottbus II	2007–08[10]	Regionalliga Nord	34	0	–		0	0	34	0
Erzgebirge Aue	2008–09[10]	3. Liga	29	0	–		0	0	29	0
	2009–10[10]	3. Liga	37	0	–		0	0	37	0
	2010–11[10]	2. Bundesliga	33	0	1	0	0	0	34	0
	2011–12[10]	2. Bundesliga	34	0	2	0	0	0	36	0
	2012–13[10]	2. Bundesliga	32	0	2	0	0	0	34	0
	2013–14[10]	2. Bundesliga	22	0	0	0	0	0	22	0
	2014–15[10]	2. Bundesliga	33	1	2	0	0	0	35	1
	2015–16[10]	3. Liga	37	0	3	0	0	0	40	0
	2016–17[10]	2. Bundesliga	24	0	1	0	0	0	25	0
	2017–18[10]	2. Bundesliga	34	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	37	0
	2018–19[10]	2. Bundesliga	30	0	1	0	0	0	31	0
	2019–20[10]	2. Bundesliga	30	0	2	0	0	0	32	0
	2020–21[10]	2. Bundesliga	33	0	1	0	0	0	34	0
	2021–22[10]	2. Bundesliga	27	0	1	0	0	0	28	0
	2022–23[10]	3. Liga	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	Total		442	1	17	0	2	0	461	1
Career total			476	1	17	0	2	0	495	1

1. Appearances in 2. Bundesliga relegation play-offs

References

1. "Männel, Martin" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
2. "Aue relegated despite fightback in Heidenheim". Bundesliga.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
3. "Abstieg! Männels Tor reicht Aue nicht". kicker (in German). 24 May 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
4. "FC Erzgebirge Aue steigt in 2. Bundesliga auf". Freie Presse (in German). 7 May 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
5. "90.+10! Männel verhindert 4:4 nach 0:0 zur Pause". kicker (in German). Retrieved 16 February 2021.
6. "Männel-Mania in Heidenheim: Aue verliert trotz zwei gehaltenen Elfmetern". kicker (in German). Retrieved 16 February 2021.
7. "Martin Männel - Spielerprofil". DFB Datencenter (in German). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
8. "Fünf angeschlagene Akteure nach dem Serbien-Spiel". German Football Association (DFB) (in German). 22 July 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2020. Aller Voraussicht nach mit von der Partie sein wird Torwart Martin Männel, der bereits nach drei Minuten im Spiel gegen die Serben fast von einem Feuerwerkskörper getroffen worden wäre. Das Geschoss detonierte nur wenige Zentimeter neben dem Keeper, der dabei ein Gehörtrauma davontrug und unmittelbar nach dem Spiel in ein Hospital eingeliefert werden musste. Mittlerweile befindet sich der Cottbuser aber wieder auf dem Weg der Besserung.
9. Thiele, Michael (29 December 2019). "Endlich mal Zeit! Aue-Kapitän Männel relaxt mit der Familie". TAG24 (in German). Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
10. "Martin Männel | Laufbahn | Spielerprofil". kicker (in German). Retrieved 18 October 2019.

External links

• Martin Männel at fussballdaten.de (in German)