Manuel Friedrich
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| Manuel Friedrich | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Friedrich | |
| Date of birth | September 13, 1979 | |
| Place of birth | Bad Kreuznach, West Germany | |
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 21⁄2 in) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Bayer Leverkusen | |
| Number | 5 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| until 1995 1995-1999 |
SG Guldental 07 1. FSV Mainz 05 |
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| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999-2002 2002-2004 2002-2004 2004-2007 2007- |
1. FSV Mainz 05 Werder Bremen Werder Bremen II 1. FSV Mainz 05 Bayer 04 Leverkusen |
63 (8) 1 (0) 13 (2) 116 (8) 32 (4) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2006-present | Germany | 9 (1) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Manuel Friedrich (born September 13, 1979 in Bad Kreuznach) is a German football defender.
He started to play football at the club SG Guldental 07 and transferred to 1. FSV Mainz 05 in 1995, signing his first professional contract with then Second Bundesliga side in the summer of 1999. However, he had to wait until February 26, 2000 to make his Second Bundesliga debut for the club in their home match against Energie Cottbus. He made only five appearances for Mainz 05 in the Second Bundesliga in his first professional season with the club, but was subsequently a regular throughout the following two seasons in which he made a total of 58 Second Bundesliga appearances, also scoring eight league goals for Mainz in the 2001-02 season.
He transferred from Mainz to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen in the summer of 2002. However, he only appeared in one Bundesliga match throughout the season and a half with the club, playing in the final seven minutes of their home match against FC Schalke 04 on August 23, 2003. In the first part of the 2003-04 season, he also made 13 appearances and scored two goals for Werder Bremen's reserve squad in the third-division Regionalliga Nord.
Friedrich eventually returned to Mainz 05 in January 2004 and made 17 Second Bundesliga appearances for the club until the end of the 2003-04 season. He also scored four goals for the club in the Second Bundesliga that season, including the second goal in their 3-0 victory over Eintracht Trier on the final day of the season after which they got promoted to the first-division Bundesliga for the 2004-05 season with a third-place finish in the second division, overtaking the fourth-placed Energie Cottbus on goal difference. He subsequently continued to play regularly for Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga and appeared in 67 out of possible 68 league matches in the following two seasons, scoring a total of four goals.
In March 2006, Friedrich was called up to be part of the German national team in their friendly match against the United States, becoming therewith the first Mainz 05 player in the German national A-team. However, he did not receive any playing time in the match and was not part of the 23-man squad at the 2006 World Cup finals either. Nevertheless, he made his international debut playing the entire second half in Germany's friendly match against Sweden on August 16, 2006 in Gelsenkirchen. He subsequently played all 90 minutes in the German team's opening two Euro 2008 qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and San Marino. In the latter match, he scored his first international goal as he netted the 12th goal in Germany's 13-0 victory over the group underdogs, being the first Mainz 05 player to score for the German national A-team.
He continued to play regularly for Mainz in the 2006-07 Bundesliga season, playing all but two games, scoring no goals. He only missed two Bundesliga matches in September 2006 due to an injury sustained in Germany's Euro 2008 qualifier against San Marino early in the month.
In July 2007 he moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
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