Fiorentina and Crystal Palace paid tribute to Alex Manninger on Thursday night ahead of their Europa Conference League clash at the Artemio Franchi Stadium.
Fiorentina and Crystal Palace observe a moment of silence in memory of Alex Manninger (Image: HBO MAX)
Fiorentina and Crystal Palace held a minute’s silence in memory of the late Alex Manninger ahead of Thursday night’s Europa Conference League match. The teams met at the Artemio Franchi Stadium with an 8pm kickoff, with the Eagles tied 3-0 on aggregate.
But before the match began, Fiorentina paid tribute to former goalkeeper Manninger, who died in a car accident near Salzburg on Thursday morning. Both teams entered the pitch wearing black armbands in honor of the 48-year-old and lined up around the center circle for a moment of silence.
The atmosphere fell silent as a photo of the former goalkeeper, who played for Florence on loan from Arsenal in 2001-2002, was shown on a large screen.
read more: David Seaman pays heartbreaking tribute to Alex Manninger following former Arsenal goalkeeper’s deathread more: Arsenal and Liverpool pay tribute to goalkeeper Alex Manninger following death of 48-year-old goalkeeper
The match took place just over 12 hours after Manninger was killed when a train collided with his car at a railroad crossing near Salzburg, Austria.
In response to the news of his death, the Italian club said: “Fiorentina mourns the sudden death of Alex Manninger, Viola’s goalkeeper in the 2001-2002 season.He had a long career in Italy and was also a goalkeeper for the Austrian national team.The entire club joins his family in this moment of deep sadness.”
Manninger made 30 appearances for Fiorentina during his loan spell from Arsenal. In Italy, he also represented Bologna, Juventus, Siena, Turin and Udinese.
The goalkeeper made 33 appearances for his country and was the winner of the 2008 European Championship, which Austria hosted together with Switzerland.
Alex Manninger died on Thursday (Image: PA)
Liverpool was Manninger’s last club. After leaving Augsburg, he trained with them in the summer of 2016 to maintain his fitness, before signing a short-term contract until the end of the season, before retiring.
Although Manninger did not make any competitive appearances for the Reds, he did make over 60 appearances for Arsenal between 1997 and 2001, mainly in David Seaman’s absence.
In March 1998, he substituted for an injured England player, kept a club record six consecutive clean sheets, and won the Premier League Player of the Month award.
Despite playing only seven games, he benefited from a special allowance, receiving a league winners medal for his significant contribution in those games.
Manninger played five games during their run to the FA Cup final, but was on the bench as the Gunners defeated Newcastle United to win the double.
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