Mark Flekken

Mark Flekken (born 13 June 1993) is a Dutch professional

Mark Flekken
footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club
Brentford and the Netherlands national team.

Early years
Flekken grew up in Bocholtz, Limburg, Netherlands on the
German border.[2] His parents René and Annie used to play
football themselves, and his younger brother Roy also became a
goalkeeper.[3]

Club career

Flekken with Greuther Fürth in 2015

Alemannia Aachen and Greuther Fürth
Personal information
Flekken started his career in the youth department of RKVV
Full name Mark Flekken[1]
WDZ from Bocholtz before moving to the youth academy of
Date of birth 13 June 1993[1]
Roda JC Kerkrade. In 2009, he moved across the border to the
Place of birth Kerkrade, Netherlands
youth teams of the then 2. Bundesliga club Alemannia Aachen.
On 22 September 2011, he signed his first professional Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
contract.[4] Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
During the winter break of the 2012–13 3. Liga season, Flekken Current team Brentford
was appointed as the starting goalkeeper by coach René van Eck
Number 1
after the financially troubled club had parted ways with Michael
Youth career
Melka.[5][2] Flekken made his debut on 26 January 2013 in a 2–0
WDZ
home game against 1. FC Saarbrücken.[6]
–2009 Roda JC
Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Flekken moved to the 2. 2009–2012 Alemannia Aachen
Bundesliga club SpVgg Greuther Fürth.[7] There, he only made Senior career*
three league appearances in three years as a backup goalkeeper Years Team Apps (Gls)
behind Wolfgang Hesl and Sebastian Mielitz.[1] 2012–2013 Alemannia Aachen 15 (0)
2013–2016 Greuther Fürth 25 (0)
MSV Duisburg 2013–2016 Greuther Fürth II 3 (0)
2016–2018 MSV Duisburg 68 (1)
Flekken signed for MSV Duisburg on 12 June 2016.[8] On 7
2018–2023 SC Freiburg 80 (0)
August 2016, he scored a goal, after a corner, in a 1–1 draw
2021 SC Freiburg II 3 (0)
against VfL Osnabrück, when he went to the opposite box during
2023– Brentford 60 (0)
the last minute.[9] In February 2018, Flekken conceded a goal in a
International career‡
2. Bundesliga match against FC Ingolstadt, when he turned his
2022– Netherlands 8 (0)
back on the play to take a drink from his water bottle.[10][11]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals,
correct as of 23:13, 26 January 2025 (UTC)
 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19
SC Freiburg
November 2024
Flekken joined SC Freiburg for the 2018–19 season.[12] A backup
to Alexander Schwolow throughout the season, he made his debut in the final matchday of the 2018–19 season
against 1. FC Nürnberg.[13] After Schwolow's departure before the start of the 2020–21 season, he was appointed the
new starter, but shortly after he suffered a complicated elbow injury while warming up for the DFB-Pokal match
against SV Waldhof Mannheim which sidelined him for the entire season.[14] Meanwhile, he was replaced in goal by
Florian Müller, who was on loan from Mainz 05. He returned as the starter in goal on 9 May 2021; before that he
had regained match practice with the Freiburg reserves in the Regionalliga Südwest.[15]

Flekken started the 2021–22 season as the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and, after ten games in a row without
defeat, saw the team in third place of the league, to which he had contributed with the league's best rate of shots
saved.[16]

Brentford
On 31 May 2023, Flekken signed for Premier League club Brentford for a reported fee of £11 million.[17]

International career
Flekken was called up to the senior Netherlands national team squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
matches against Montenegro and Norway on 13 and 16 November 2021, respectively.[18]

Flekken made his international debut for the Netherlands on 26 March 2022 in a friendly match against
Denmark.[19]

On 29 May 2024, Flekken was named in the Netherlands' squad for UEFA Euro 2024.[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 January 2025[21]

 Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
National
League League cup[b] Europe Total
Club Season cup[a]
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals

Alemannia 2012–
3. Liga 15 0 — — — 15 0
Aachen 13

2013–
14 0 — — — 14 0
14
2014– Regionalliga
Greuther 3 0 — — — 3 0
15 Bayern
Fürth II
2015–
8 0 — — — 8 0
16

Total 25 0 — — — 25 0
2014–
2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
15 2.
Greuther Bundesliga
2015–
Fürth 1 0 1 0 — — 2 0
16

Total 3 0 1 0 — — 4 0
2016–
3. Liga 37 1 1 0 — — 38 1
17
MSV
2017– 2.
Duisburg 31 0 1 0 — — 32 0
18 Bundesliga

Total 68 1 2 0 — — 70 1
2018–
1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
19

2019–
10 0 1 0 — — 11 0
20

2020–
SC Bundesliga 3 0 1 0 — — 4 0
21
Freiburg
2021–
32 0 5 0 — — 37 0
22

2022–
23
34 0 3 0 — 7[c] 0 44 0

Total 80 0 10 0 — 7 0 97 0
SC 2020– Regionalliga
3 0 — — — 3 0
Freiburg II 21 Südwest

2023–
37 0 0 0 1 0 — 38 0
24 Premier
Brentford 2024– League
23 0 0 0 2 0 — 25 0
25
Total 60 0 0 0 3 0 — 63 0

Career total 254 1 13 0 3 0 7 0 277 1

a. Includes DFB-Pokal
b. Includes EFL Cup
c. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 19 November 2024[22]

 Appearances and goals by national team
and year
National team Year Apps Goals

2022 4 0

Netherlands 2023 2 0
2024 2 0

Total 8 0

Honours
MSV Duisburg

3. Liga: 2016–17
Lower Rhine Cup: 2016–17
SC Freiburg II

Regionalliga Südwest: 2020–21

SC Freiburg

DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2021–22[23]

Individual

Premier League Save of the Month: February 2024[24]

References
1. "Mark Flekken" (https://www.bundesliga.com/en/2bundesliga/player/mark-flekken). DFL Deutsche
Fußball Liga. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
2. "Aachen: Mark Flekken: Jüngste Nummer 1 in Alemannias Historie" (https://www.aachener-zeitung.d
e/sport/mark-flekken-juengste-nummer-1-in-alemannias-historie_aid-26166797). Aachener Zeitung (in
German). 11 January 2013.
3. Weigend, David (24 August 2020). "SC-Freiburg-Torhüter Mark Flekken: Ich gehe auch mal gern ins
Risiko" (https://www.badische-zeitung.de/sport/scfreiburg/sc-freiburg-torhueter-mark-flekken-ich-gehe-
auch-mal-gern-ins-risiko). Badische Zeitung (in German).
4. "Nachwuchs: Alemannia Aachen bindet Mark Flekken" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110924131002/
http://www.alemannia-aachen.de/nachwuchs/nachrichten/details/Nachwuchs-Alemannia-bindet-Mark-
Flekken-21000a/). Alemannia Aachen (in German). 22 September 2011. Archived from the original (ht
tp://www.alemannia-aachen.de/nachwuchs/nachrichten/details/Nachwuchs-Alemannia-bindet-Mark-Fl
ekken-21000a/) on 24 September 2011.
5. "Aachen: Van Ecks nächste Stellschraube heißt Michael Melka" (https://www.aachener-nachrichten.d
e/sport/fussball/bundesliga/van-ecks-naechste-stellschraube-heisst-michael-melka_aid-26680333).
Aachener Nachrichten (in German). 28 September 2012.
6. "Alemannia Aachen vs. Saarbrücken – 26 January 2013 – Soccerway" (https://int.soccerway.com/mat
ches/2013/01/26/germany/3-liga/alemannia-aachen/1-fc-saarbrucken-ev/1306858/). Soccerway.
Perform Group. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
7. "Grün geht - Flekken kommt" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130607202950/http://www.greuther-fuert
h.de/aktuell/aktuelle-news/news-detail/article/gruen-geht-flekken-kommt.html). SpVgg Greuther Fürth
(in German). 31 May 2013. Archived from the original (http://www.greuther-fuerth.de/aktuell/aktuelle-n
ews/news-detail/article/gruen-geht-flekken-kommt.html) on 7 June 2013.
8. "MSV holt Keeper Mark Flekken: Ehrgeizig, jung und hungrig!" (http://msv-duisburg.de/main.asp?reite
r=aktuelles_p&bgi=yes&mode=aktuell&aid=7311). msv-duisburg.de. 12 June 2016.
 9. "Torwart Flekken trifft für "Zebras" zum 1:1" (http://www.rp-online.de/sport/fussball/dritteliga/msv-duisb
urg-torwart-mark-flekken-trifft-fuer-zebras-zum-11-aid-1.6168291). rp-online.de. 7 August 2016.
10. "Keeper turns back on play to concede bizarre goal" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43187129).
BBC Sport. BBC. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
11. Drinking Goalie - Funniest Goalkeeper Fail Ever? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GMig6o3bM
s), retrieved 26 May 2021
12. "Mark Flekken kommt zum Sport-Club" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180515015349/https://www.scf
reiburg.com/news/mark-flekken-kommt-zum-sport-club) (Press release). SC Freiburg. 14 May 2018.
Archived from the original (https://www.scfreiburg.com/news/mark-flekken-kommt-zum-sport-club) on
15 May 2018.
13. "5:1 - Freiburg feiert furiosen Saisonabschluss" (https://www.kicker.de/freiburg-gegen-nuernberg-2019
-bundesliga-4243567/analyse). kicker (in German). 18 May 2019.
14. "Torwart Flekken fehlt Freiburg ein halbes Jahr" (https://www.weltfussball.de/news/_n4172394_/torwar
t-flekken-fehlt-freiburg-ein-halbes-jahr/). Weltfussball (in German). 17 September 2020.
15. "Freiburg im Saisonendspurt mit Flekken im Tor" (https://www.weltfussball.de/news/_n4454443_/freib
urg-im-saisonendspurt-mit-flekken-im-tor/). Weltfussball (in German). 7 May 2021.
16. "Die Zahlen hinter dem Erfolg: Was Freiburg so stark macht" (https://www.kicker.de/die-zahlen-hinter-
dem-erfolg-was-freiburg-so-stark-macht-877541/artikel). kicker (in German). 5 November 2021.
17. "Brentford sign keeper Mark Flekken from Freiburg" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65763042).
BBC Sport. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
18. "Van Gaal roept 24 spelers op voor laatste groepsduels WK-kwalificatie" (https://www.onsoranje.nl/nie
uws/nederlands-elftal/79760/van-gaal-roept-24-spelers-op-voor-laatste-groepsduels-wk-kwalificatie).
OnsOranje.nl (in Dutch). Royal Dutch Football Association. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November
2021.
19. "Netherlands vs Denmark, 26 March 2022" (https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=18084). eu-
football.info. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
20. "Example Title" (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5526712/2024/05/29/netherlands-euro-2024-squad-
confirmed/). The New York Times. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
21. "Mark Flekken » Club matches" (http://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/mark-flekken/2/).
WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
22. "Mark Flekken" (https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=31875). EU-Football.info. Retrieved 13 August
2023.
23. "DFB-Pokal 2021/22, Finale in Berlin: SC Freiburg 2:4 RB Leipzig: Aufstellung" (https://www.kicker.de/
freiburg-gegen-leipzig-2022-dfb-pokal-4770850/aufstellung) [DFB-Pokal 2021/22, Final in Berlin: SC
Freiburg 2:4 RB Leipzig: Lineup]. Kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
24. "Flekken wins Castrol Save of the Month award" (https://www.premierleague.com/news/3922122).
Premier League. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.

External links
Mark Flekken (https://www.onsoranje.nl/teams/185184/speler/26776) at the Royal Dutch Football
Association (in Dutch)
Mark Flekken (https://www.brentfordfc.com/en/teams/profile/mark-flekken) at Brentford F.C.
Mark Flekken (https://www.premierleague.com/players/33280/) at Premier League
Mark Flekken (https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/clubs/players/250167143/) – UEFA
competition record (archive (https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayer
s/players/player=250167143/profile/index.html))

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