Klaus Merk

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GermanyGermany  Klaus Merk Ice hockey player
Date of birth April 26, 1967
place of birth Augsburg , Germany
size 180 cm
Weight 84 kg
position goalkeeper
Catch hand Left
Career stations
until 1986 Augsburg EV
1986-1987 DJK SB Rosenheim
1987-1998 BSC Prussia
1998 Adler Mannheim
1998-2000 Augsburg panther
2000-2002 Polar bears Berlin

Klaus Merk (born April 26, 1967 in Augsburg ) is a former German ice hockey goalkeeper . From July 1, 2005 to March 26, 2010 he was a full-time goalkeeper and assistant coach for the German senior national team and the youth teams, where he was replaced by Rupert Meister . Since then he has concentrated on the position of team manager , which he has held since November 2008. He was nicknamed "Klausi" by his own, but also by the opposing fans.

Player career

Merk began his career in his hometown with the then second division club Augsburger EV . He received his first professional contract there for the 1985/86 season , but moved to SB Rosenheim a year later . From 1987 to 1998 he stayed at BSC Preussen (or the Preussen Devils, Berlin Capitals) in Berlin. In the 1997/98 play-offs he supported the Adler Mannheim and although he only played one game, he became German champions with them .

For the next two seasons 1998/99 and 1999/2000 he moved back to the Augsburg Panthers. In strife, he left his home club and signed a contract with his last DEL station, the Eisbären Berlin , in 2001 . There he had to end his active career in 2003 due to an injury at the age of 35, without having played a game in his officially last season.

Klaus Merk scored a goal in the Berlin local derby for BSC Preussen against Eisbären Berlin in two consecutive seasons . Although the goals took place in the final stages of the game and the polar bears had taken the goalkeeper out of the goal in favor of a sixth outfield player, Merk is one of the few goalkeepers who were able to score goals themselves. In November 1992 he was also given the honor of being the first Bundesliga goalkeeper to score a goal from the active game.

Not only for this reason, Klaus Merk was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame Germany on July 9, 2004 . He is married, has a daughter and lives near Augsburg.

International

Merk was in Germany's goal at the Olympic ice hockey tournaments in 1994 and 1998 . He also played in six A-World Championships ( 1990 - 1996 ), the B-1999 World Cup and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey with the German eagle on the chest. As a result, he came to 128 international matches as a player.

Achievements and Awards

Web links