The German goalkeeper revolutionized football with the new sweeper-keeper position. His attacks at the end of matches and playing as the “last defender” will be remembered by all neutral spectators.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has officially announced his retirement from the German national team. He has 15 years and 124 games under his belt.
Neuer’s last tournament in the national team was the home Euro 2024. In front of his home crowd, Manuel led the team out with the captain’s armband.
Recall that the Germans lost in the quarterfinals to the future winners of the tournament, the Spaniards. The match ended in extra time with a score of 2:1.
At the same time, Neuer continues his club career at Bayern Munich. For now, the goalkeeper’s agreement with the team is calculated until the summer of 2025.
The goalkeeper, at 38, is the 2014 World Champion. He also took third place at the 2010 World Cup. Manuel also won bronze at the European Championship twice (in 2012 and 2016).
Debut “thanks” to suicide
Manuel Neuer made his debut for the German national team on June 2, 2009, in a match against the UAE (7:2 victory). At that time, he was 23 years old.
At that time, the German national team was looking for a replacement for Jens Lehmann, who had ended his international career. Among the candidates were Robert Enke and Rene Adler.
Robert Enke committed suicide in November 2009 due to a mental disorder amid pressure in his football career.
Rene Adler broke a rib before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which is why he missed the tournament. The main goalkeeper at that time was Schalke goalkeeper Neuer.
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At the age of 24, Manuel became the youngest goalkeeper in the history of the German national team. At the same time, thanks to his reliable play, the German national team reached the semi-finals of the World Cup and won bronze.
That World Cup was remembered by fans because of Frank Lampard’s “phantom goal”. In the 1/8 finals between Germany and England, the then Chelsea midfielder scored a ball that hit the crossbar on the grass and then flew into Neuer’s hands.
The referee did not count the goal. Although the ball crossed the goal line, which was visible on TV cameras.
It was after this incident that FIFA and UEFA ordered the introduction of an automatic goal scoring system. Now there is a chip in the balls, and sensors on the gates that can detect the crossing of the line with millimeter accuracy.
In the semi-final match, the Germans lost to the future champions, the Spanish (0:1). The only goal was scored by the then captain of Barcelona, Carles Puyol. In the match for bronze, Germany won against Uruguay (3:2).
Triumph in Brazil
At Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland, Manuel Neuer was also the main goalkeeper. Together with the team, the German took the bronze medals of the tournament, losing in the semi-finals to Italy (1:2).
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the German team reached its peak. In the semi-finals, Germany created the most memorable rout in the history of the World Cup, defeating the hosts of the tournament, the Brazilians, with a score of 7:1.
In the game for gold against Argentina, Neuer made several excellent saves that helped bring the match to extra time. In the 113th minute, Mario Gotze scored the only goal in the final.
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Lionel Messi could hardly hold back his tears when he received the award for the best player of the tournament with a silver medal on his chest. Neuer won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper of the World Cup.
At the same time, Manuel was highly praised, especially for his new style of goalkeeping. Coaches used him as a “last defender”, trusting the goalkeeper to come out of the penalty area.
Thus, Neuer met the ball faster than his opponents. Moreover, he also started his team’s attacks, giving the first pass to the attack. This model of play was called the sweeper-keeper.
Revolution in goalkeeping art
The revolution in goalkeeping was appreciated. In 2014, Neuer came in third in the voting for the Golden Ball, losing only to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The only winner of the award among goalkeepers in its entire history is Lev Yashin.
Moreover, Manuel’s case changed the approach of the organizers of France Football to voting. Therefore, the “Yashin Trophy” was later established among the best goalkeepers in the world, who are now chosen separately.
The fight with ter Stegen
At the bronze Euro 2016, Manuel Neuer became the captain of the German national team. Somewhere nearby, the star of Marc-André ter Stegen, who played for Barcelona, was shining.
The goalkeepers competed very aggressively in the national team, where the then head coach Joachim Löw trusted only the Bayern goalkeeper. A Barcelona player complained about this.
This situation was reminiscent of the competition between Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann. They also fought for the first number in the team in the 2000s.
Kahn defended his right right up until his well-deserved “retirement” at the home World Cup in 2006. It turns out that history is cyclical and a new tournament at home changes the goalkeeper dynasty.
