Mitchell Langerak

For the Dutch footballer, see Michel Langerak.

Mitchell Langerak
Langerak with VfB Stuttgart in 2015
Personal information
Full name Mitchell James Langerak[1]
Date of birth (1988-08-22) 22 August 1988 (age 36)[1]
Place of birth Emerald, Queensland, Australia
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Nagoya Grampus
Number 1
Youth career
1996–2002 Tieri Tigers
2003–2005 Bundaberg Waves
2006–2007 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Melbourne Victory 21 (0)
2007 → South Melbourne (loan) 14 (0)
2010–2012 Borussia Dortmund II 10 (0)
2010–2015 Borussia Dortmund 19 (0)
2015–2017 VfB Stuttgart 36 (0)
2016–2017 VfB Stuttgart II 1 (0)
2017–2018 Levante 0 (0)
2018– Nagoya Grampus 209 (0)
International career‡
2006 Australia U-20 5 (0)
2013–2017 Australia 8 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Men's Association football
AFC Asian Cup
Winner 2015 Australia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 September 2023

Mitchell James Langerak (/ˈlæŋəræk/ LANG-ə-rak;[3] born 22 August 1988) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for J1 League club Nagoya Grampus.

Club career

[edit]

Melbourne Victory

[edit]

Langerak signed his first professional contract in February 2007, with A-League club Melbourne Victory.[4] Soon after he was sent on loan to South Melbourne for the remainder of the 2007 Victorian Premier League season, to gain game time and experience.[5]

Once the loan finished Langerak continued his duties as the Victory's third choice goalkeeper before Eugene Galekovic moved to Adelaide United. He made his debut for Melbourne in the Round 21 clash of the 2007–08 season against rivals Sydney FC and despite letting in two goals, his performance in the 2–2 draw was a confident debut.[6]

With Galekovic making a move to Adelaide United, Langerak became the second choice keeper. With first choice Michael Theoklitos making his move overseas, Victory signed New Zealand international Glen Moss from Wellington Phoenix. Moss started the 2009–10 as Melbourne's first choice keeper before Langerak grasped his opportunity in the first team to become the side's first choice keeper for the remainder of the season.

On 13 April 2010, Melbourne announced that they had rejected a bid for Langerak from German giants Borussia Dortmund, however talks continued.[7] On 4 May 2010, Langerak revealed to FourFourTwo Magazine, that Borussia Dortmund had made a second, substantially increased, bid for his services on the same day as the interview, but was again rejected by Melbourne Victory.

South Melbourne

[edit]

In 2007, Langerak joined South Melbourne on loan for the 2007 VPL Season. Langerak arrived to the club in turmoil with their first-choice keeper injured and languishing near the bottom of the table at risk of relegation.

Langerak's solid performances helped South achieve a mid-table finish and allow him to gain valuable experience.

Borussia Dortmund

[edit]

On 12 May 2010, Melbourne Victory accepted a third offer for Langerak from Borussia Dortmund, a four-year deal.[8] After joining Dortmund, Langerak became the club's second choice goalkeeper during the 2010–11 Bundesliga season and was a regular in matchday squads. Langerak said his goal for the season was to learn as much as possible.

Langerak playing for the Melbourne Victory youth team in 2009.

With Roman Weidenfeller injured, Langerak started his first game for Dortmund in their 3–1 win against reigning German champions Bayern Munich, where he showed a solid performance. Langerak made a return to the first team squad for the first time picked before an available Weidenfeller in Dortmund's second round DFB-Pokal game with Dynamo Dresden. During the game many flares were lit in Signal Iduna Park bringing some concern; no action was taken and Langerak showed signs of jubilation with manager Jürgen Klopp after the game as he recorded his first clean sheet in front of over 80,000 in attendance.

On 12 May 2012, two years to the day after sealing his move to Borussia Dortmund, Langerak came on as a 34th-minute substitute in the DFB-Pokal final against Bayern Munich. He came on for the injured Roman Weidenfeller who had suspected rib damage after a challenge with Mario Gómez earlier in the game. Dortmund went on to win the game 5–2 to claim the cup and Langerak's third title in two seasons at the club.

On 27 July 2013, Langerak won the 2013 DFL-Supercup with Dortmund 4–2 against rivals Bayern Munich.[9]

Langerak played the BVB opener of the 2013–2014 Bundesliga against Augsburg where he kept a clean sheet in a 4–0 win.[10] This meant that in the seven league and Bundesliga games in which Langerak played Borussia Dortmund had won.

On 18 September 2013, Langerak made his Champions League debut against Napoli after Weidenfeller was sent off. He broke two front teeth in collision with a goalpost in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Lorenzo Insigne scoring.[11]

Langerak with Borussia Dortmund in 2013

On 23 August 2014, Langerak conceded the fastest goal (9 seconds), in the history of Bundesliga, on the opening game of the season 2014–15, a home match against Bayer Leverkusen, which ended in a 2–0 loss for Dortmund.[12]

VfB Stuttgart

[edit]

For the 2015–16 season, Langerak moved to VfB Stuttgart.[13] He made his Bundesliga debut for VfB Stuttgart on 7 May 2016 at home to Mainz 05. The season ended with Stuttgart's relegation to the 2. Bundesliga. After the departure of Przemysław Tytoń, Langerak was handed the starting position and instantly became a fan favourite.

Levante

[edit]

On 30 August 2017, Langerak joined Levante on a two-year deal.[14]

Nagoya Grampus

[edit]

On 14 January 2018, Langerak signed for Nagoya Grampus.[15] On 12 December 2020, he made his 100th appearance in the J.League in a 0–0 away draw against Yokohama FC.[16] On 19 December 2020, he set new J.League record, keeping 17 clean sheets in the 2020 J.League campaign in 1–0 win against Sanfrecce Hiroshima.[17][18] On 12 September 2021, Langerak broke his own clean sheets record in J.League, keeping 18 clean sheets in a 3–0 victory over Tokushima Vortis.[19] He also set the new all-time record at 823 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal in the 2021 J.League campaign.[20][21]

On 23 September 2023, Langerak made his 200th appearance in the J.League in a 1–1 draw against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.[22] On 2 November 2024, he scored Grampus's second penalty of the shoot-out in the 2024 J.League Cup final victory over Albirex Niigata.[23]

Melbourne Victory

[edit]

On 3 August 2024, Melbourne Victory announced the signing of Langerak, with the transfer to take place during the January 2025 transfer window.[24]

International career

[edit]

Langerak was selected in the Young Socceroos squad to play in the 2006 AFC Youth Championship.[25][26] Langerak received his first senior national team call-up in March 2011, named by coach Holger Osieck as a member of the 17-man squad to play Germany in a friendly match.[27]

Langerak made his debut for Australia's senior team in an international friendly against France on 12 October 2013, a match in which the Socceroos were thrashed 6–0.[28] This match turned out to be manager Holger Osieck's final match in charge of Australia, with his sacking coming shortly after the conclusion of the match.[29] Langerak made his second appearance for Australia against Canada, a match which Australia won 3–0.[30] Langerak was included in the 23-man squad going to Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[31] He was also included in Australia's final list for 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which was held in Australia, but he didn't play a single match.[32]

In May 2021, having represented Australia eight times, Langerak announced his retirement from international football due to wanting to remain with his family during the COVID-19 pandemic.[33] In September 2022, Langerak came out of international retirement ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, following relaxation of restrictions on international travel,[34] but was not selected for the World Cup squad.

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of 5 December 2023[35]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
South Melbourne (loan) 2007 Victorian Premier League 14 0 — — — 14 0
Melbourne Victory 2007–08 A-League 1 0 3 0 — 1 0 5 0
2008–09 4 0 1 0 — — 5 0
2009–10 16 0 — — 5 0 21 0
Total 21 0 4 0 0 0 6 0 31 0
Borussia Dortmund 2010–11 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
2011–12 2 0 3 0 — 0 0 5 0
2012–13 3 0 0 0 — 0 0 3 0
2013–14 4 0 3 0 — 2 0 9 0
2014–15 9 0 7 0 — 1 0 17 0
Total 19 0 13 0 0 0 3 0 35 0
VfB Stuttgart 2015–16 Bundesliga 2 0 1 0 — — 3 0
2016–17 2. Bundesliga 34 0 2 0 — — 36 0
Total 36 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 39 0
Levante 2017–18 La Liga 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Nagoya Grampus 2018 J1 League 34 0 1 0 0 0 — 35 0
2019 33 0 0 0 2 0 — 35 0
2020 34 0 — 4 0 — 38 0
2021 38 0 4 0 5 0 7 0 54 0
2022 33 0 1 0 7 0 — 41 0
2023 34 0 3 0 6 0 — 43 0
Total 206 0 9 0 24 0 7 0 246 0
Career total 296 0 29 0 24 0 16 0 365 0

International

[edit]
As of 15 November 2017[36]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Australia 2013 2 0
2014 3 0
2015 1 0
2017 2 0
Total 8 0

Honours

[edit]
Langerak with Borussia Dortmund in 2014

Melbourne Victory

Borussia Dortmund

VfB Stuttgart

Nagoya Grampus

Australia U20

Australia

Individual

Records

  • J.League 1 most clean sheets in a season: 21 (2021)[42]
  • Longest consecutive run without conceding a goal in J.League 1: 823 minutes[21]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 2 July 2017. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Mitchell Langerak". socceroos.com.au. Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. ^ Borussia Dortmund (21 February 2015), Interview: Mitch Langerak talks Asian Cup, Socceroos and Borussia Dortmund, archived from the original on 13 December 2021, retrieved 16 November 2017
  4. ^ "Kevin Muscat top shelf". Herald Sun. 24 February 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  5. ^ "Victory scores match as South nets keeper". Melbourne Victory FC. 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  6. ^ "Mitch Langerak is keeping up". The Age. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Langerak move denied". Sportal.co.nz. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Langerak Gets Dortmund Move". Au.fourfourtwo.com. 13 May 2010. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Dortmund prevail over Bayern in Supercup thriller". Archived from the original on 6 November 2013.
  10. ^ "FC Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund Report". Goal.com. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Australian Mitch Langerak thrilled with ECL clean sheet". Sydney Morning Herald. Agence France-Presse. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  12. ^ "Borussia Dortmund 0–2 Bayer 04 Leverkusen". BBC Sport. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  13. ^ "VfB sign Mitchell Langerak". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Langerak se compromete con el Levante UD por las dos próximas temporadas" [Langerak commits to Levante UD for the next two seasons] (in Spanish). Levante. 30 August 2017.
  15. ^ ランゲラック選手、移籍加入のお知らせ. Nagoya Grampus (in Japanese). 14 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  16. ^ "ランゲラック選手、Ｊ１通算100試合出場達成のお知らせ ～Ｊリーグデビュー戦から101試合目での達成はＪ１史上最速～". nagoya grampus. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  17. ^ "'IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT ME...' – SOCCEROOS KEEPER SETS NEW J.LEAGUE RECORD". FTBL. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  18. ^ "名古屋の絶対的守護神が語る日本サッカー 来日4年目で見えた真実". footballzone. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Langerak breaks own clean sheet record in dominant win". J.League. 12 September 2021.
  20. ^ "息子は"スパイダーマン"に変身、名古屋GKランゲラックは家族で充実のオフを過ごす" (in Japanese). Gooニュース. 19 December 2021.
  21. ^ a b "名古屋の守護神・ランゲラックが家族と帰国、長男はグランパスくんのリュックで新幹線に" (in Japanese). Web Ultra Soccer News. 8 December 2021.
  22. ^ "名古屋GKランゲラックがJ1通算200試合出場　6年目到達は最速タイ＆外国籍選手初" (in Japanese). Sponichi. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  23. ^ a b c "自身2度目のルヴァン杯制覇で"有終の美"！　MVPのGKランゲラック「自分が何かをもたらしたのではなく". SOCCERKING (in Japanese). 2 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  24. ^ {{cite web|url=https://melbournevictory.com.au/news/melbourne-victory-signs-mitch-langerak/%7Ctitle=Melbourne Victory signs Mitch Langerak|publisher=Melbourne Victory|date=3 August 2024}}
  25. ^ Kouroumalis, George (7 June 2007). "South sign Young Socceroo". South Melbourne. ...the young Goalkeeper was included in the squad for the 2006 AFC Youth Championships in India...
  26. ^ Bonello, Huw (30 June 2015). "Young Socceroos: how our Under 20s teams have fared in major tournaments in recent years". Fox Sports.
  27. ^ "Holger Osieck names Socceroos squad for Germany match". FFA. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  28. ^ "Socceroos humiliated again – this time by France". The Guardian. 11 October 2013.
  29. ^ McGarry, Andrew (12 October 2013). "Socceroos coach Holger Osieck sacked after 6–0 hammering by France in Paris". ABC News.
  30. ^ "Socceroos lift the gloom with emphatic victory over Canada". The Guardian. 15 October 2013.
  31. ^ "Australia's final World Cup squad". EuroSport. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  32. ^ "Socceroos announce Asian Cup squad". AFC Asian Cup. 23 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015.
  33. ^ "Mitch Langerak to step away from international football". Football Australia. 13 May 2021.
  34. ^ Larkin, Steve (14 September 2022). "Langerak out of retirement, into Socceroos". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  35. ^ "M. Langerak". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  36. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Mitchell Langerak". National Football Teams. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  37. ^ Huguenin, Michael (21 May 2017). "Langerak returns to Bundesliga with Stuttgart". Goal.com. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  38. ^ "Grampus down Cerezo for 1st Levain Cup title". Japan Today. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  39. ^ "Vidosic seals a win for Qantas Young Socceroos". Socceroos. 18 September 2006.
  40. ^ "12月度「２０２０明治安田生命Ｊリーグ KONAMI月間MVP」を発表！「月間ベストゴール」、「月間優秀監督賞」も決定！". J.League. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  41. ^ "第28回愛知トヨタ「グランパスランクル賞」受賞選手のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Nagoya Grampus. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  42. ^ "ランゲラック選手ベストイレブン選出＆クリーンシートＪリーグ新記録達成記念". Nagoya Grampus. 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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