Eike Heinrich Immel (born 27 November 1960) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper from 1975 until 1997 for Borussia Dortmund, Vfb Stuttgart and Manchester City. He was capped at International level for West Germany and was part of his nations squads for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1986 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1980 and UEFA Euro 1988. Since retiring from football he spent three years as manager of VfR Heilbronn before working as a goalkeeping coach for Beşiktaş, Austria Wien and Fenerbahçe. Immel holds the record for 'most goals conceded by a Bundesliga goalkeeper' with 829 goals conceded in 534 games.
 Immel in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Eike Heinrich Immel[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 November 1960 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Stadtallendorf, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1986 | Borussia Dortmund | 247 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1995 | VfB Stuttgart | 287 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Manchester City | 43 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 577 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1976 | West Germany U-15 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1976 | West Germany U-16 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | West Germany U-18 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1986 | West Germany U-21 | 14 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1988 | West Germany | 19 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | VfR Heilbronn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
editA leading youth international goalkeeper for West Germany in 1978, Eike Immel was still seventeen years of age when he succeeded Horst Bertram as Borussia Dortmund's first-choice. He remained Dortmund's top choice until his two million Deutsche Mark transfer to VfB Stuttgart in 1986, the biggest fee ever paid for a goalkeeper in the history of German football at that time. He served nine years as Stuttgart's regular goalkeeper, winning the Bundesliga title in 1992 and the UEFA Cup runner-up medal in 1989 with them. Afterwards he left for Manchester City, where he retired at the end of the 1996–97 season.[2] He played 534 matches in the German top flight.[3]
International career
editHis West Germany career lasted for just eight years due to his decision to retire from the West German team following EURO'88. Immel had been the starting goalkeeper since Harald Schumacher's ban from the team in 1987, and his 19th appearance in the semi-final of the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship at Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, remained his final cap for his country[4] and made him miss out on the title winning 1990 FIFA World Cup squad for which Bodo Illgner then served as starting goalkeeper. The mentioned 1988 UEFA European Football Championship was Immel's fifth participation in a big international tournament. He later admitted his decision to retire from the international game at barely 28 just because of the competition from Bodo Illgner for the goalkeeper's jersey, was extremely hasty. He was included in the squad that won the 1980 UEFA European Championship.
Coaching career
editImmel joined VfR Heilbronn in 1998 and managed the side until 2001.[5] He has since worked as a goalkeeping coach most notably under Christoph Daum at Fenerbahçe in 2005, having also worked at Beşiktaş and Austria Wien.
Personal life
editIn January 2008, he was a contestant at Ich bin ein Star – Holt mich hier raus!, the German edition of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[6]
Honours
editVfB Stuttgart
- Bundesliga: 1991–92
- DFL-Supercup: 1992[7]
- UEFA Cup runner-up: 1988–89
West Germany
- UEFA European Championship: 1980
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1982, 1986
External links
edit- Eike Immel at fussballdaten.de (in German)
- Eike Immel at WorldFootball.net
- Eike Immel at National-Football-Teams.com
- Eike Immel at Soccerbase
- Eike Immel – FIFA competition record (archived)
References
edit- ^ "Eike Heinrich Immel". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Eike Immel" (in German). Fussballdaten.de. 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
- ^ Arnhold, Matthias (23 September 2015). "Eike Immel – Matches in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ Arnhold, Matthias (23 September 2015). "Eike Immel – International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ Huber, Florian (3 May 2020). "Eike Immel erinnert sich an seine Zeit als Trainer des VfR Heilbronn" (in German). Stimme. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ Brennan, Stuart (6 May 2015). "Ex Manchester City star is 'broke, homeless... and missing'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ "Deutscher Supercup, 1992, Finale". dfb.de. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2020.