During that season, Mintál, an offensive midfielder, became widely regarded for his inconspicuous style of play, which has led to him being called "stealth bomber", "Sniper" or "Phantom".

In the following year, Mintál led the Bundesliga in scoring with 24 goals, and helped Nürnberg stave off relegation.

His continuous success in scoring goals sparked rumours that he might move to a bigger club during the 2005 summer break.

He had been linked in transfer speculation with Liverpool, Beşiktaş, Villarreal and VfB Stuttgart.

However the following season turned out to be disastrous for the Slovak striker who broke his foot twice in the span of five months.

In this game, he also scored a goal, during this match, he was injured by Fernando Meira, a Portuguese defender from VfB Stuttgart.

He scored a brace in a UEFA Cup match against AZ to keep their European dreams alive.