Emanuel Pogatetz (born 16 January 1983) is an Austrian former professional footballer who is an assistant coach for SKN St. Pölten. At club level, has previously played for FC Kärnten, Bayer Leverkusen II, FC Aarau, Spartak Moscow, Middlesbrough, Hannover 96, Vfl Wolfsburg, West Ham United, 1. FC Nürnberg, Columbus Crew SC, Union Berlin, and LASK Linz. At international level, he represented Austria at under-16, under-18, under-19, under-21 and full international level. He is nicknamed "Mad Dog" for his aggressive style of play.
Club career
Born in Graz, Pogatetz's career started at Sturm Graz, before going to Kärnten, and later to Bayer Leverkusen. After a loan spells at Aarau, Grazer AK, and Spartak Moscow, he joined Middlesbrough.
He had also been tracked by Fulham, but during his final match on loan at Spartak Moscow, he tackled Yaroslav Kharitonskiy, leaving the Russian with a double leg fracture. Although initially banned for 24 weeks by the Russian Football Union, the suspension was later reduced to eight weeks after Pogatetz attended a personal hearing in Moscow. As the ban commenced in June and was specified as a length of time rather than a number of matches, he ended up missing only three games for his new club Middlesbrough.
Middlesbrough
Signed by manager Steve McClaren for £1.8 million, his Middlesbrough debut came on 25 August 2005 against Charlton Athletic. With Pogatetz coming on in the second half for Franck Queudrue, Middlesbrough lost 3–0. On 30 March 2006, during the first leg of Middlesbrough's 2–0 UEFA Cup quarter-final defeat against Basel, Pogatetz broke his nose, jaw and cheekbone in an accidental clash of heads with Mladen Petrić and was later warned against returning to full training for three months, for fear of losing his eyesight. He underwent successful surgery to have the fractures reset and Dr. Douglas Bryan declared himself "delighted" with Pogatetz's progress. "It is anticipated he will make a full recovery and be back with his team-mates for pre-season training," said Middlesbrough head physio Grant Downie. "The only disappointing thing for Manny [Pogatetz] is he won't be able to play football, and he was desperate to get back involved. But another blow to his face would risk severe trauma and a potentially eyesight-threatening injury."
Pogatetz suffered from a hernia, for which he received corrective surgery in Munich on 24 April 2006. On 4 July, he returned to training following successful surgery on his hernia and cheek.
In the 2006–07 season, Pogatetz was forced into the centre of defence due to an injury to Chris Riggott. He formed impressive partnerships at the back with both Robert Huth and Jonathan Woodgate, but was able to keep his place, even upon the returns of Woodgate and Riggott. Middlesbrough coach McClaren said "He never, ever, gives less than 300% in performance." After the 2007–08 season, Pogatetz was given the captain's armband on a full-time basis, following his taking up of the role towards the end of the season. Already known for his disciplinary problems having been booked 20 times in his first two seasons with Middlesbrough, in September 2008 he was involved in a challenge on Manchester United's Rodrigo Possebon in a League Cup game which resulted in Possebon being stretchered from the pitch and having to spend the night in hospital. United manager Alex Ferguson said of the incident "It was an absolutely terrible tackle. Pogatetz should have just walked off the field." Pogatetz was sent-off and served a three match ban.
Pogatetz returned in the 2009–10 season after a long injury layoff, on 31 October in a 1–0 loss to Plymouth Argyle, only to suffer a recurrence of his cheekbone fracture with the scores tied at 0–0. He made his return to the first team against Nottingham Forest on 21 November in a 1–1 draw. He had to wear a protective mask because of his cheekbone fracture which he picked up in the Plymouth game. He received a bang to the head in the Forest game and had to receive stitches at half time, he still completed the full 90 minutes.
Hannover 96
On 2 June 2010, he signed for Hannover 96 on a three-year contract making his debut on 21 August in a 2–1 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Wolfsburg
On 20 June 2012, Pogatetz signed for VfL Wolfsburg. He made his debut on 18 August 2012 in a 5–0 away win at FC Schönberg 95, assisting the fourth goal by Bas Dost.