Alex Manninger

Salzburg, Steyr and Grazer AK

Manninger started his career as a youth player for SV Salzburg in 1993. He was promoted to the first-team squad at the start of the 1995–96 season. After his debut, and lone appearance of the season, he was sent on loan at Vorwärts Steyr, and played his first top-level game away against Grazer AK. At the start of 1996–97 season, he signed for Grazer AK, making his debut in the UEFA Cup second-round game against Inter Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan. He made twenty-four appearances in his lone season with Grazer AK, before a high-profile transfer to Arsenal in the Premier League, where he was understudy to the experienced David Seaman.

Arsenal, Fiorentina and Espanyol

During the 1997–98 season, Seaman was injured and Manninger covered for him, enjoying a spell of six clean sheets in a row in the league, a joint club record. The last of these was against Manchester United at Old Trafford, where Arsenal won 1–0. In March 1998, he was named Premier League Player of the Month. However, Manninger had to make way for Seaman once the Englishman returned from injury. Despite only having played seven games in the 1997–98 FA Premier League season (ten was then required to automatically qualify for a winners' medal), Manninger was granted special dispensation for a medal, as his contribution to Arsenal's title win was considered to be significant enough. He also made five appearances in Arsenal's FA Cup run. The highlight for…

Manninger made his debut for the Austria national team in an August 1999 friendly match against Sweden and was member of the Austrian UEFA Euro 2008 squad. He earned 33 caps and retired after ten years from international football for Austria on 5 August 2009.

Manninger was known in particular for his shot-stopping, consistency, handling, and positional sense as a goalkeeper, although he was less effective at coming out to collect crosses. In his early career, he was considered to be a good back-up keeper, but was occasionally accused by pundits of lacking the ability to cope with pressure which was necessary for him to succeed in a starting role. He also stood out for his professionalism.

Before playing football, Manninger was a carpenter. After retiring from professional football, he focused on his work in furniture and real estate. One such real estate venture for Manninger included significant holdings in Meininger Hotels, a subsidiary of Holidaybreak. Manninger was married and had two sons. On the morning of 16 April 2026, Manninger was alone driving a car that was struck by a passenger train at a level crossing without barriers in Nußdorf am Haunsberg, near Salzburg. He survived the impact but died from his injuries soon after the paramedics arrived.