VfL mourn Mandreko

As we have recently learned from Austrian media, former VfL player Sergej Mandreko has passed away at the age of 50. VfL Bochum 1848 mourn the loss of its former player and wish Sergej Mandreko’s relatives much strength in these difficult hours.

Mandreko, born on 1 August 1971 in Qurghonteppa in the Soviet Union (today: Tajikistan), played for various clubs including Rapid Vienna and Hertha BSC before his time at Bochum. With Rapid, he won the Austrian Championship and the Cup as well as reaching the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final in 1996 before moving to Bundesliga club Hertha BSC. From 1997 to 2000, the left-back played 37 Bundesliga games for the capital club. He added another 30 top tier matches for VfL, plus 26 games in the second division. Mandreko spent a total of three years at anne Castroper, was relegated with VfL and bounced back again before leaving Bochum in 2003. His last game for the Blue-and-Whites was in the 3-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart, an Easter Sunday.

After his stint in Germany, Mandreko, who had started playing competitive football with Pamir Dushanbe, the only Tajik club in the top Soviet league, moved back to Austria. He finished his career with SV Mattersburg and SC-ESV Parndorf 1919. Curious fact: Due to the political upheavals, Mandreko played at full international level for the Soviet successor association CIS as well as for Tajikistan and Russia. After his playing career, he worked as a coach in Austria and Russia.

On Tuesday, 8 March, we received the news that Sergej Mandreko had passed away after a long and serious illness. VfL Bochum 1848 mourn the loss of its former player, and our thoughts are with his relatives in these testing times.