Nico Mantl: From replacement goalkeeper near Salzburg to a regular in Portugal!

Nico Mantl: From replacement goalkeeper near Salzburg to a regular in Portugal!

Salzburg, Österreich - Nico Mantl, born on February 6, 2000, has had an eventful time in Austrian football. The goalkeeper switched from SpVgg Unterhaching to FC Red Bull Salzburg in the winter of 2021, where he has not yet been able to take the desired development. According to Laola1 , Mantl was number two in Salzburg behind Cican Stankovic.

The situation changed rapidly when he lost his regular place to the current goalkeeper Philipp Köhn under coach Matthias Jaissle after just one game. Mantl expressed that much was not as planned, especially through the constant coaching carousel near Salzburg. Despite his efforts, he could never regain his place in the goal.

loan in Denmark and the move to Aroca

in spring 2023 and again in spring 2024, Mantl was awarded to Danish clubs for half a year. First he went to Aalborg BK and then to Viborg ff. After only eleven missions in Salzburg, Mantl was finally hired by the first division club FC Arouca from Portugal in the summer of 2024. According to wikipedia he looked for the change to finally be able to play regularly.

At Arouca, Mantl has now consolidated his place as an undisputed goalkeeper and feels comfortable in the team. In retrospect for his time in Salzburg, he believes that he has lost a few years, but sees the prime time of a goalkeeper between 28 and 29 years. His goal is to play in a top 5 league in the future.

away from the talent smith to the new challenge

In his time at Unterhaching, Mantl was able to play as a stammering goalkeeper for almost two seasons before daring to move to Austria in 2021. The contract in Salzburg comprised four and a half years, but the hoped -for development failed to materialize. The way abroad and the search for playing time could now be the decisive step in his career. Mantl himself shows himself optimistic and plans to use the coming time to continue driving his career.

The challenges he had to experience in Salzburg are not unusual for young players who want to prevail in a highly competitive environment. The loan to Danish clubs was a way to collect and demonstrate his skills before the move to Arouca was in a report on loan players in the sports management industry Center sports management .