Manuel Cardoni

Manuel Cardoni (born 22 September 1972) is a Luxembourgish former professional football player. He is the technical director at Luxembourg national team.

Cardoni is the son of Furio Cardoni, one of Luxembourg's finest players in the 1970s.

Club career A tireless midfield playmaker, Cardoni started his career at US Rumelange before joining Luxembourg club Jeunesse Esch in 1992. He was then snapped up by Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, for whom he made only one substitute appearance (against Bayern Munich) in two seasons. He became the third Luxembourgish player in the Bundesliga ever, after Nico Braun and Robby Langers.

He rejoined Jeunesse Esch in 1998 and became player-manager at US Rumelange in 2006.

Cardoni won the Luxembourgish Footballer of the Year award four times (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000). He now serves as an ambassador for the Special Olympics.

International career Cardoni made his debut for Luxembourg national team in a May 1993 World Cup qualification match against Iceland and went on to earn 68 caps, scoring 5 goals. He played in 22 World Cup qualification matches.

His final international game was an October 2004 World Cup qualification match against Liechtenstein.

Career statistics Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 22 February 1995 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying 2. 13 March 1996 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 1–0 1–1 Friendly match 3. 23 February 2000 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 1–1 1–3 Friendly match 4. 17 April 2002 Stade Alphonse Theis, Hesperange, Luxembourg 3–3 3–3 Friendly match 5. 8 September 2004 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 3–2 3–4 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours Luxembourg National Division: 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004 Luxembourg Cup: 1999, 2000 Luxembourgish Footballer of the Year: 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000