Ousman Manneh (born 10 March 1997) is a Gambian professional footballer who last played as a striker for SV Werder Bremen II.[1]

Ousman Manneh
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-03-10) 10 March 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Ginak Kajata, Gambia
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
2004–2014 Rush Soccer Academy
2014–2015 Blumenthaler SV
2015– Werder Bremen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2020 Werder Bremen II 69 (12)
2016–2020 Werder Bremen 6 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:25, 15 September 2020 (UTC)

Club career edit

Early career edit

In 2004 Manneh started training at the Rush Soccer Academy, a United States soccer franchise for children and youth in Bakau.[2][3]

At the age of 17 he fled the dictatorship in his home country Gambia reaching Bremen and living in the refugee camp of Lesum.[3][4] Following a trial he joined the Blumenthaler SV U-18 team before playing for the U-19 side in the youth regional league, the second-tier youth league in Germany, where he scored 15 goals in 11 matches. These performances earned him trials with FC St. Pauli, Hamburg, Schalke 04 and Wolfsburg.[3][4]

Werder Bremen edit

Having chosen to stay in Bremen and play for Werder Bremen, Manneh initially played for the club's youth team.[2] On 10 March 2015, he signed a three-year contract with the club running until summer 2018.[3][4]

On 25 July 2015, he made his 3. Liga debut for the reserves against Hansa Rostock scoring the winning goal in a 1–2 away win.[5] Four days later, he made his first appearance for the first team; having entered the pitch after 60 minutes he scored four goals in 15 minutes in a 7–0 friendly match win against SV Wilhelmshaven.[3][6]

After scoring and assisting two goals each in his first seven appearances for the reserves in the 2016–17 season, Manneh made his full Bundesliga debut on 21 September 2016 in a 1–2 home defeat to Mainz 05 before being replaced by Lennart Thy in the 55th minute.[3][7][8] He also started in the following match three days later, a 2–1 win against VfL Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen's first victory of the season, being substituted off after 73 minutes.[3]

Manneh scored his first Bundesliga goal on 15 October, in Werder Bremen's 2–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen.[9]

He made his return from a 21-month injury layoff 8 December 2019, coming on as a substitute for Werder Bremen II.[10]

Manneh was released by Werder Bremen when his contract expired in summer 2020.[11]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of 15 September 2020[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[nb 1] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Werder Bremen II 2014–15 Regionalliga Nord 3 0 3 0
2015–16 3. Liga 28 3 28 3
2016–17 20 4 20 4
2017–18 17 5 17 5
2019–20 Regionalliga Nord 1 0 1 0
Total 69 12 0 0 0 0 69 12
Werder Bremen 2016–17 Bundesliga 6 1 6 1
Career total 75 13 0 0 0 0 75 13
  1. ^ Includes Czech Cup, DFB-Pokal

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Gambia - O. Manneh - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b Ceesay, Alieu (23 January 2015). "Gambia: Ousman Manneh Signs With Werder Bremen". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Lauf Ousman, lauf!". Spox (in German). 26 September 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Camara, Baboucarr (1 July 2015). "Ousman Manneh's rise to stardom with Werder Bremen". The Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 3 August 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Hansa Rostock vs. Werder Bremen II - 25 July 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  6. ^ Sander, Carsten (29 July 2015). "Die Manneh-Show". Kreiszeitung (in German). Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Malli und De Blasis vermiesen Nouri das Debüt". kicker Online (in German). 21 September 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  8. ^ Meile, Ralf (22 September 2016). "Werders Ousman Manneh – in zwei Jahren vom Flüchtling zum Bundesliga-Profi". Watson.ch (in German). Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  9. ^ Fahey, Ciaran (15 October 2016). "Bayern held again in Bundesliga, now 3 games without a win". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  10. ^ Niemeyer (8 December 2019). "Tabellenführer Wolfsburg zu stark". Weser Kurier (in German). Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  11. ^ Knips, Björn (16 July 2020). "Märchen ohne Happy End: Ousman Manneh ohne Zukunft bei Werder Bremen". Kreiszeitung (in German). Retrieved 15 September 2020.