Former Austria national team goalkeeper Alex Manninger (Alexander Manninger) died at 48 after his car collided with a train.
BBC and other international outlets reported on April 16 (local time) that Manninger was driving that morning when his car collided with a train at a railroad crossing in Neusdorf am Haunsberg, near Salzburg, Austria.
Emergency responders pulled Manninger from the vehicle and performed life-saving measures, but he was later pronounced dead, authorities confirmed. Salzburg police said he was alone in the car; the train crew and passengers were not injured.
Manninger played for Arsenal in England from 1997 to 2002. The club signed him for £5 million (about $6.25 million), and he served as backup to David Seaman, making 64 appearances.
He was part of Arsenal’s 1997–98 double-winning squad that captured both the Premier League and the FA Cup. Manninger is also credited as the first Austrian to play in the Premier League.
He began his career with hometown club Red Bull Salzburg and went on to represent 10 clubs: Grazer AK, Arsenal, Fiorentina, Espanyol, Torino, Bologna, Siena, Juventus, Udinese (Italy) and FC Augsburg (Germany). In 2016 he signed a short-term deal with Liverpool but did not appear in an official match and retired in 2017.
At Juventus, he stepped in for an injured Gianluigi Buffon and made 42 appearances, covering the position while Buffon was sidelined.
At FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga, Manninger forged ties with South Korean internationals Koo Ja-cheol, Ji Dong-won and Hong Jeong-ho as teammates.
Manninger earned 33 caps for Austria and was part of the squad at UEFA Euro 2008, which Austria co-hosted.
News of his sudden death prompted condolences from his former clubs. On social media, Arsenal said, “Everyone at Arsenal is shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic news of Alex Manninger’s passing. We send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones at this sad time.”
Although he did not meet the automatic appearance threshold for a Premier League medal in 1997–98, Arsenal later awarded him one.
Juventus wrote on social media, “Today is a truly sad day,” adding that Manninger was not only a great player but also a person of humility, dedication and rare professional seriousness.
Red Bull Salzburg, his first professional club, released a statement saying Manninger was part of the Salzburg family from 1984 to 1996 and left a lasting mark both on and off the pitch, expressing deep sorrow.
FC 아우크스부르크 시절 코리안리거들
FC Augsburg of the German Bundesliga became a symbolic team in South Korean football history when the trio of Ji Dong-won, Koo Ja-cheol and Hong Jeong-ho played together and helped lead the club through its peak years.
In the early-to-mid 2010s, Koo Ja-cheol provided leadership and scoring from midfield, Ji Dong-won delivered crucial goals up front that helped the team in relegation battles, and defender Hong Jeong-ho added stability and defensive strength.
Together, the three formed a Korean connection across attack and defense that helped lift Augsburg from a lower-table side into contention for and qualification to the Europa League.
