Johannes Bruno Ertl (born 13 November 1982) is a former Austrian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He played for several notable football clubs during his career, including Sturm Graz, FK Austria Wien, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United, and Portsmouth FC. After retiring from professional football, Ertl became the spokesperson for the Portsmouth F.C. supporters' trust[2] and also served as the assistant coach of the Portsmouth under-16s team.[3]

Johnny Ertl
Personal information
Full name Johannes Bruno Ertl[1]
Date of birth (1982-11-13) 13 November 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Graz, Austria
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defensive Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Portsmouth (under-16s coach)
Youth career
SV Feldkirchen
1996–2003 Sturm Graz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2006 Sturm Graz 61 (0)
2003–2004 → SC Kalsdorf (loan) 11 (3)
2006–2008 Austria Wien 50 (3)
2008–2010 Crystal Palace 45 (0)
2010–2012 Sheffield United 35 (0)
2012–2015 Portsmouth 80 (2)
Total 282 (8)
International career
2006–2007 Austria 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

In 2015, Ertl transitioned to a career as a television pundit. He works for ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 and CANAL+[4] where he covers various football competitions, including UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA conference league, UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier, UEFA Nations League and the German Bundesliga.[5][6]

Career

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Early career

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Ertl began his football career in the youth team of SV Feldkirchen before moving to Sturm Graz in 1996. After playing for the club's youth categories, he earned a professional contract at his hometown club in 2003. Ertl then went on loan to SC Kalsdorf in the same year and had a successful spell there.

Upon returning to Sturm Graz, Ertl earned a place in the center of defense, thanks to his impressive displays. He was eventually called up to the Austria national football team and made his debut in a match against Hungary.

FK Austria Wien

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On 31 August 2006 Johannes Ertl left his hometown club SK Sturm Graz and joined FK Austria Wien, where he signed a contract that would keep him at the club until the summer of 2008. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 October 2006 during a match against GAK at the UPC-Arena in Graz.

In 2007, he became an Austrian Cup champion with Austria Wien.[7]

Crystal Palace

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In 2008, he then moved to England to join Crystal Palace FC. While playing for Palace, he scored his first goal for the team in a match against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on 14 February 2010.[8]

Sheffield United

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Ertl's contract expired at the end of the 2009–10 season, and with Palace in financial trouble, he signed for Sheffield United.[9] Unfortunately he had swapped one relegation battle for another as The Blades struggled at the wrong end of the table. Ertl was a regular in the first team until an injury to his cruciate ligament ended his season in March 2011 and kept him out of the side for almost eight months as the team slipped into League One.[10]

After a lengthy recovery he returned to the first team squad making four substitute appearances in December before returning to the starting eleven in an FA Cup game against Salisbury City in January 2012.[11] After a handful more appearances Ertl was released at the end of the season when his contract expired.[12]

Portsmouth FC

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On 31 August 2012, Ertl joined Portsmouth on a short-term contract.[13] He made his debut a day later, scoring an own goal in a 0–1 home defeat against Oldham.[14] After playing in centre back and right back roles Ertl finally found his feet in midfield.[15] On New Year's Day, he was handed the captain armband, with Brian Howard being sidelined by injury; after Howard's departure, he was named permanent captain.[16] Ertl finished the 2012–13 season by receiving the fans' Player of the Season award.[17]

On 10 June 2013, Ertl signed a three-year contract extension with Portsmouth.[18] He scored his first goal for Portsmouth on 7 September 2013 against Cheltenham in a 2–2 away draw.[19]

On 22 July 2015, Portsmouth terminated Ertl's contract after a three-year spell at the League Two club.[20]

After retiring from professional football, Ertl became the spokesperson for the Portsmouth F.C. supporters' trust and also served as the assistant coach of the Portsmouth under-16s team.

Club career statistics

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As of 2 May 2015.
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Club League Season Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Austria League Austrian Cup Europe Other Total
Sturm Graz Bundesliga 2004–05 27 0 1 0 28 0
2005–06 27 0 1 0 3 0 31 0
2006–07 7 0 0 0 7 0
Austria Wien 25 1 4 0 6 0 35 1
2007–08 26 2 0 0 5 1 31 3
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other1 Total
Crystal Palace Championship 2008–09 12 0 0 0 1 0 13 0
2009–10 33 0 3 1 1 0 37 1
Sheffield United 2010–11 28 0 1 0 1 0 30 0
League One 2011–12 7 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
Portsmouth 2012–13 37 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 39 0
League Two 2013–14 29 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 32 1
2014–15 14 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 17 1
Career totals Portsmouth 80 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 88 2
Austria 112 3 6 0 14 1 132 4
England 160 2 7 1 4 0 0 0 6 0 177 3
Career statistics 272 5 13 1 4 0 14 1 6 0 309 7

Honours

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Individual

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Portsmouth

References

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  1. ^ "Professional retain lists & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. May 2013. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Portsmouth FC und die Basisdemokratie: Der Klub, der den Fans gehört, soll verkauft werden » abseits.at" (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Football (Sky Sports)". SkySports. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. ^ CANAL+. "CANAL+ verstärkt sein Experten-Team mit Niko Kovac und Johnny Ertl". CANAL+ Mediencenter (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  5. ^ marco.weise (8 September 2017). "Johannes Ertl: Von der Insel an die Donau". kurier.at (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  6. ^ "PULS 4 SPORT: Drei Donnerstage in Folge LIVE Fußball - exklusiv im österreichischen Free-TV auf PULS 4". www.prosiebensat1puls4.com (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  7. ^ "SV Mattersburg - Austria Wien 1:2 (ÖFB-Cup 2006/2007, Finale)". weltfussball.at (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. ^ VAVEL.com (8 June 2022). "Johnny Ertl – "I felt like I had just conquered the world"". VAVEL. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Johannes Ertl wechselt zu Sheffield United". kleinezeitung.at. 9 June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Wilson hails United defender's speedy recovery". The Sheffield Star. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  11. ^ "New celebration for Johnny". The Sheffield Star. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Trio offered new deals – 11 released". Sheffield United F.C. 30 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  13. ^ "Portsmouth sign ex-Blade Johnny Ertl on one month deal". BBC Sport. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  14. ^ "Portsmouth 0-1 Oldham". BBC Sport. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  15. ^ "Whittingham: Ertl will remain my captain fantastic". Portsmouth News. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  16. ^ "Seven Changes For Pompey". Portsmouth F.C. 26 January 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Ertl: It's a lifetime best". Portsmouth News. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  18. ^ "Ertl Pens New Pompey Deal". Portsmouth FC. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  19. ^ "Ertl scores first goal for Portsmouth". Portsmouth News. 7 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  20. ^ "ERTL DEPARTS POMPEY". Portsmouth F.C. 22 July 2015.
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