Martin Forkel (born 22 July 1979) is a German football manager and former defender.

Career

Youth career

Forkel was born in

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

. He played as a youth for two clubs in his hometown,

Viktoria DJK Coburg The DVV Coburg (full name: ''Deutsche Jugend Kraft Viktoria Verein für Bewegungsspiele Coburg e.V.'') was a German association football club from the town of Coburg, Bavaria. Coburg became part of Bavaria in 1920, after the First World War. ...

and VfB Coburg, before joining

TSV Vestenbergsgreuth The TSV Vestenbergsgreuth is a German association football club from the village of Vestenbergsgreuth, Franconia. From 1996 to 2007, the club did not field a team due to a merger with SpVgg Fürth, but has since returned to competitive footba ...

. TSV merged with SpVgg Fürth in 1996, forming

SpVgg Greuther Fürth Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth (), commonly known as Greuther Fürth (), is a German football club based in Fürth, Bavaria. They play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following relegation from the Bu ...

, with whom Forkel would make his breakthrough in the professional game.

Southern Germany

Forkel made one appearance for

, as a substitute for Arie van Lent in a 3–1 win over FSV Mainz in the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

in December 1998. He was released by the club at the end of the 1998–99 season, signing for

Borussia Fulda Borussia Fulda is a German association football club from Fulda, Hesse. The club was founded 4 July 1904 as ''FC Borussia 1904 Fulda'' and underwent a number of changes in 1923 when they were first joined by ''Radsportclub 1907 Fulda'' in July, ...

of the Regionalliga Süd. Fulda were relegated in Forkel's only season with the club, finishing 17th, but he was to stay at the third tier, signing for

Wacker Burghausen SV Wacker Burghausen is a German football club based in Burghausen, Bavaria and is part of one of the nation's largest sports clubs with some 6,000 members participating in two dozen different sports. History The club was founded on 13 Novem ...

in July 2000. In Forkel's first season with Burghausen, the club battled against relegation, but were promoted as champions in 2001–02, with Forkel and ever-present. He would go on to play for the club for four seasons in the 2. Bundesliga, achieving a mid-table finish each time, before leaving to join

TuS Koblenz TuS Koblenz is a German association football club, located in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Fussball Club Deutschland Neuendorf, which was formed in 1911, is viewed as the foundation of the modern club. History Nazi era (1933–1945) The or ...

in July 2006.

Western Germany

Forkel made his debut for

on the opening day of the 2006–07 season, as a substitute for Rüdiger Ziehl in a 2–1 defeat against

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was on ...

. As at Burghausen, he would play for four seasons in the

, although his appearances were more restricted, and his time at Koblenz ended with the club being relegated to the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

in 2010. Forkel then joined another 3. Liga club,

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. FC Saarbrücken (german: 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken e. V.) is a football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. The club began its existence as the football de ...

, where he would spend the next two seasons as a regular in the first team. He was released by the club in 2012, and spent a year with

Borussia Neunkirchen Borussia VfB Neunkirchen is a German association football club based in Neunkirchen, Saarland. The club ''SC Borussia Neunkirchen'' was founded out of the 1907 merger of ''FC 1905 Borussia'' and ''SC Neunkirchen''. History From 1912 through ...

of the

Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar The Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar, formerly the ''Oberliga Südwest'', is the highest regional football league for the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland states of Germany, organized by the Southwestern Regional Football Association. It is the fif ...

. In July 2013 he returned to Saarbrücken, originally to play for their reserve team, but after coach

Jürgen Luginger Jürgen Luginger (born 8 December 1967) is a German former professional football player and manager. Coaching career Luginger became head coach of Schalke 04 II prior to the 2014–15 season. In April 2017 he became new manager of FC 08 Hombu ...

was replaced with

Milan Šašić Milan Šašić (born 18 October 1958) is a Croatian football manager. Šašić has managed three clubs in the 2. Bundesliga for six seasons. Coaching career Šašić managed NK Karlovac from July 1988 to June 1991, DJK Gebhardshain-Steinebach fr ...

he was brought back into the first-team fold. He made his second debut for the club in September 2013 as a substitute for Philipp Hoffmann in a 1–0 defeat to

SV Darmstadt 98 Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Spo ...

, and remained a first-team regular until the end of the season, which saw Saarbrücken relegated. Forkel then left the club for a second time.

International career

Forkel was in the

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

squad for the

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between 3 and 24 April 1999. This was the 12th edition of the tournament. Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. :1.Teams tha ...

, and made six appearances for the under-21 team that same year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forkel, Martin 1979 births Living people Men's association football fullbacks German men's footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers Germany men's youth international footballers SpVgg Greuther Fürth players SV Wacker Burghausen players TuS Koblenz players 1. FC Saarbrücken players Borussia Neunkirchen players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players Sportspeople from Coburg Footballers from Upper Franconia