Quick Facts
Biography
Mitchell "Mitch" James Langerak /ˈmɪtʃəl ˈlæŋəræk/ (born 22 August 1988) is an Australian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the German 2. Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart.
Club career
Melbourne Victory
Langerak signed his first professional contract in February 2007, with A-League club Melbourne Victory. 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.
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.
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. 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.
Borussia Dortmund
On 12 May 2010, Melbourne Victory accepted a third offer for Langerak from Borussia Dortmund sealing a four-year-deal with BVB. 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.
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 Dortmunds 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 32nd-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.
Langerak played the BVB opener of the 2013–2014 Bundesliga against Augsburg where he kept a clean sheet in a 4–0 win. This means that in the 7 league and Bundesliga games in which Langerak has played, Borussia Dortmund have 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.
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 0–2 loss for Dortmund.
VfB Stuttgart
For the 2015–16 season, Langerak moved to VfB Stuttgart.
Mitchell Langerak made his Bundesliga debut for VfB Stuttgart on 7 May 2016 at home to FSV Mainz 05. The season ended with Stuttgart's relegation to the 2. Bundesliga.
International career
Langerak was selected in the Young Socceroos squad to play in the AFC Youth Championship 2006. 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.
Langerak made his debut for Australia in an international friendly against France on 12 October 2013, a match in which the Socceroos were thrashed 6–0, courtesy of goals from Franck Ribéry, Olivier Giroud, Yohan Cabaye, Mathieu Debuchy and Karim Benzema. 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. Langerak made his second appearance for Australia against Canada, a match which Australia won 3–0, courtesy of goals from Joshua Kennedy, Dario Vidošić and Mathew Leckie. Langerak was included in the 23 man squad going to Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was also included in Australia's final list for 2015 AFC Asian Cup, being held in Australia, but he didn't play any match even Australia's triumph at the 2015 Asian Cup.
Honours
Club
- Melbourne Victory
- A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup: 2008
- A-League Championship: 2008–09
- A-League Premiership: 2008–09
- Borussia Dortmund
- Bundesliga: 2010–11, 2011–12
- DFB-Pokal: 2011–12
- DFL-Supercup: 2013, 2014
International
- Australia
- AFC Asian Cup: 2015
Individual
- Young Player of the Year: 2008-09
- PFA Harry Kewell Medal: 2009–10
- AFC Champions League: Team of the Week: 2010 - Matchday 4, Matchday 5
Career statistics
Club
- As of 27 September 2016
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| South Melbourne (loan) | 2007 | Victorian Premier League | 14 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 14 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||||
| Melbourne Victory | 2007–08 | A-League | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 16 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 4 | 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 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| VfB Stuttgart | 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | 2. Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 63 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 91 | 0 | ||
International
- As of 15 October 2014.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |