Marek Mintál
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marek Mintál | ||
| Date of birth | 2 September 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Žilina, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Žilina | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–2003 | Žilina | 188 | (77) |
| 1996 | → Nové Mesto nad Váhom (loan) | ||
| 2003–2011 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 180 | (66) |
| 2011–2012 | Hansa Rostock | 24 | (6) |
| 2012–2013 | 1. FC Nürnberg II | 29 | (11) |
| Total | 421 | (160) | |
| National team | |||
| 2002–2009 | Slovakia | 45 | (14) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 May 2013. | |||
Marek Mintál (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmarɛk ˈmɪntaːl]; born 2 September 1977) is a retired Slovak footballer.[1]
Career
Mintál start to play football in Slovak club MŠK Žilina, with whom he won back-to-back Slovak championships in 2001–02 and 2002–03. This was also due to his scoring 20 (2001–02) and 21 (2002–03) goals respectively. With this number of goals he also became the Slovak top scorer in both seasons. Therefore, he was capped for the Slovak national team for the first time on 6 February 2002. He has won 33 caps and scored 11 goals for the Slovak national team.
After the 2002–03 season, he was transferred to 1. FC Nürnberg for an alleged transfer fee of €100,000 and an agreement that should Mintál be transferred again, MŠK Žilina would receive a portion of the transfer fee. His new club was playing in the 2. Bundesliga at this time. He continued his scoring run by scoring 18 goals and becoming the German second division's leading scorer and was a crucial part of Nürnberg's immediate promotion. During that season, Mintál, an offensive midfielder, became widely regarded for his inconspicuous style of play, which has led to him being called "stealth bomber", "Sniper" or "Phantom". In the following year, Mintál led the Bundesliga in scoring with 24 goals, and helped Nürnberg stave off relegation.
His continuous success in scoring goals sparked rumours that he might move to a bigger club during the 2005 summer break. He had been linked in transfer speculation with Liverpool, Beşiktaş, Villarreal and VfB Stuttgart. These rumours did not lead to a transfer and Mintal decided to stay at Nürnberg. However the following season turned out to be disastrous for the Slovak striker who broke his foot twice in the span of five months. Thus, the offensive midfielder only played in four games and scored just a single goal.
He celebrated his competitive comeback against Borussia Mönchengladbach when coming on as a substitute after 60 minutes. Two weeks later he also played for his country again, scoring two goals against Cyprus. Later the same year he was troubled again by his broken foot and had to undergo surgery for a second time.
Mintál won the DFB-Pokal with 1. FC Nürnberg in the year 2007. In this game, he also scored a goal, during this match, he was injured by Fernando Meira, a Portuguese defender from VfB Stuttgart. 1. FC Nürnberg won the game 3–2 after extra time. He scored a brace in a UEFA Cup Match against AZ Alkmaar to keep their European dreams alive.
His career ended in 2013.[2]
International goals
Honours
As of 15 January 2011[3]
Club
- MŠK Žilina
- Slovak League: 2001–02, 2002–03
- Slovak Super Cup: 2003
- 1. FC Nürnberg
Individual
- Slovak League Top Scorer: 2001–02, 2002–03
- 2. Bundesliga Top Scorer: 2003–04, 2008–09
- Slovak Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2005
- Slovak Footballer of the Decade (2000–2009)
- German Bundesliga Top Scorer: 2005
References
- ↑ "Mintal, Marek" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ↑ Matthias Arnhold (13 February 2014). "Marek Mintál - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ↑ "MINTÁL (Marek Mintál) – Nürnberg and Slovakia". Footballdatabase.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
External links
- Marek Mintál at fussballdaten.de (German)
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