German midfielder, Manuel Konrad today was officially announced as the last import player of the Red Giants as the team prepares for the Malaysian League competition which is scheduled to kick off in early March.
 
His teenage career began in 2005-2006, where he won the German Under-19 Bundesliga South / South-west trophy by scoring 12 goals in 36 appearances and winning the German U-19 Football Championship with the SC Freiburg U-19 team.
 
Hailing from the province of Illertissen, Germany, the central defensive midfielder's career continued to grow when he was called up to represent his country's youth squad for the U-19 and U-20 teams from 2006 to 2008.
 
During that time, Manuel was also promoted into the SC Freiburg II feeder team after showing an excellent performance with SC Freiburg U-19. According to transfermarket.com, he has made 56 appearances from 2006 to 2009 for the team.
 
The 187cm tall player also played in the 2. Bundesliga (German Division 2 League) with SC Freiburg's main team and won the German second tier trophy for the 2008-2009 season.
 
He was then loaned to SpVgg Unterhaching who played in the 3. Liga (German Division 3) for the middle of the season and then signed an official contract on 1 July 2009 for one season. For the Hachings, Manuel has played 52 games for the club.
 
The following season, Manuel made a long stint with FSV Frankfurt for six seasons from 2010 to 2016 with 164 appearances, making the most appearances for a club in his career.
 
He then moved to Dynamo Dresden for two seasons, making 44 appearances and scored 4 goals from 2016 to 2018.
 
Before expanding his career to Asia, he played for 65 games for his last club in Germany, KFC Uerdingen 05 and scored a goal and provided two assists throughout the spell.
 
Selangor FC's new goals and philosophy have been a major factor in Manuel Konrad's migration to other countries after playing in Germany throughout his career.
 
"When my contract with KFC Uerdingen 05 ended, I was contacted by Selangor FC Technical Director Michael Feichtenbeiner and Red Giants head coach Karsten Neitzel. They explained the goals and philosophy of this club and it has inspired me to be an important player in their plan," explained Manu, his nickname.
 
"I am confident that Selangor FC can play in an interesting and high-spirited way with the planned philosophy. It will definitely take some time to succeed, but if we work hard we can do anything," he added.
 
According to Karsten Neitzel, Manu is his former player at SC Freiburg and his presence is seen to be able to help strengthen the team's midfield core.
 
"I have observed Manu at SC Freiburg for two years and almost 12 years have passed. I am confident that his ability and capability can strengthen the Selangor FC team along with other players," Karsten was confident.
 
"He is a versatile player especially in a defensive midfielder role. He is also undeniably possessed of a good physique and has a good team spirit. I am confident that when he reaches 100 percent fitness level, he will show his maximum performance on the field," Karsten explained of the presence of Manuel Konrad as one of the latest Red Giants.
 
Manuel is happy to work with Karsten Neitzel again and he wants to give his best according to Selangor FC's plans. He is also looking forward to getting to know all his teammates and coaching staff this week at the FAS Training Center.
 
Selangor FC welcomes Manuel Konrad and hopes he can strengthen the center line and defense of the Red Giants for the Malaysia League this season.
 
Manuel Konrad is the last person to fill the import player slot for the 2021 season which was introduced to line up the main team after Selangor FC introduced Shahrel Fikri, Tim Heubach, R. Dinesh, Nik Sharif and Oliver Buff recently. Good luck, Manu!
 
Demi kebanggaan!