On Monday the Columbus Crew confirmed that veteran defender Emanuel Pogatetz was a target of theirs. On Tuesday, they confirmed that they got their man.
Pogatetz landed in Columbus as a Discovery Signing. Per club and MLS policy, additional details of the deal were not disclosed. He’s agreed to terms with the Crew and will be added to the club’s roster immediately pending receipt of his P-1 Visa.
“We think Emanuel is a great addition to the roster,” said Crew sporting director and head coach Gregg Berhalter. “He’s a highly experienced defender and a captain of his National Team with over 60 appearances for Austria. Emanuel comes to us with Bundesliga and Premiership experience, and he’s accomplished at the highest levels of the game.
Since making his professional debut in 2000, Pogatetz has recorded more than 300 league appearances in topflight competitions across the world, as well as 61 caps for the Austrian National Team.
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He’s perhaps best remembered for his five-year run with Middlesborough in the EPL, where he was a regular from 2005-through-2010. He also spent time in the early ‘00s with perennial German power Bayer Leverkusen, sharing the pitch with former Crew great Frankie Hejduk.
More recently he’s bounced around the Bundesliga, with Hannover 96, Wolfsburg and Nurnberg. And at 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds, the central defender nicknamed “Mad Dog” has been impossible to miss at every stop.
“He's very good in the air and a strong tackler that can possess and pass the ball well,” Berhalter said. “He fits right into what we're doing and he’s a person who can affect the culture of our club with his experience, attitude and mentality.”
While representing his native Austria, Pogatetz’s first of 61 caps in a national team shirt came on May 18, 2002 against Germany. He featured on the Austrian side that served as co-host for the 2008 UEFA European Championships, playing all three group stage matches.
Pogatetz has also played in 22 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, including nine of Austria's 10 qualifiers leading-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He has scored two international goals all-time, with the first coming in qualifying for the 2004 UEFA European Championships against the Netherlands, and the second coming in a 2008 international friendly against Italy.
