Goalkeeper revealed at Arsenal, then Gigi Buffon’s understudy at Juventus, Alexander Manninger, Austrian international from 1999 to 2009, died Thursday in a car accident.
This is the terrible news from Austria. Former Austrian international goalkeeper Alex Manninger, 33 caps from 1999 to 2009, died Thursday at the age of 48. This player revealed at Arsenal, from 1997 to 2002, was driving his car when he was hit by a train on a level crossing near Salzburg. He was still alive when help arrived but died a few moments later…
Trained at SV Salzburg (now RB Salzburg), Manninger was chosen by Arsène Wenger to underpin David Seaman in the summer of 1997, during the Alsatian coach’s first summer transfer window. He took advantage of the English veteran’s injuries to play a total of 64 matches with the Gunners in four seasons, even being voted best player in the Premier League in March 1998. He was English champion and winner of the FA Cup that year with Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka. Before seeing the emergence of Thierry Henry, with whom he played 34 matches.
Buffon’s understudy at Juventus
Alexander Manninger was then loaned to Fiorentina, before continuing his career in Italy at Torino, Bologna and Siena, each time in Serie A. In the summer of 2008, after Euro 2008 in Austria (where he was number 2 in their selection), he was hired by Juventus to assist
Gianluigi Buffon and brilliantly acted as interim during a five-month absence of the Italian star.
“Today is a day of immense sadness. He left us, he was not only a great player, but also a man with rare values: humility, devotion and extraordinary professionalism”writes the Turin club. The former goalkeeper has 40 meetings with the Old Lady, with whom he celebrated the championship title in 2012 under the orders of Antonio Conte, before four years at Augsburg, a trial at Liverpool and a retirement announced in 2017. He then invested in a chain of hotels based in Berlin but active throughout Europe.
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