As a player he was a goalkeeper who played from 1975 until 1997 for Borussia Dortmund, Vfb Stuttgart and Manchester City. He was capped at International level for West Germany and was part of his nations squads for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, 1986 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1980 and UEFA Euro 1988. Since retiring from football he spent three years as manager of VfR Heilbronn before working as a goalkeeping coach for Besiktas, FK Austria Wien and Fenerbahçe. Immel currently holds the dubious record for 'most goals conceded by a Bundesliga goalkeeper' with 829 goals conceded in 534 games.