Nübel says the change was “the right decision and it was worth it. I play at a very high level twice a week, that was my goal”
Those: pa / Mandoga Media / MANDOGA MEDIA
Alexander Nübel’s move from Schalke to FC Bayern in summer 2020 was a surprise. How did he want to get past Manuel Neuer? Nübel failed and could be borrowed. Now he makes it clear how he can imagine a future in Munich.
EIt may be necessary to take a quick look at the location. For a better classification and in case Alexander Nübel’s story should have been forgotten. Nübel, 25 years old, market value according to transfermarkt.de six million euros, let FC Bayern move to FC Monaco in the summer. The goalkeeper was loaned out, he had forced it himself because he was not given good prospects.
In his first season after his surprising move from Schalke to the record champions in summer 2020, he was allowed to represent Manuel Neuer four times: on the penultimate league matchday against SC Freiburg (2-2), twice in the Champions League and against in the first round of the DFB Cup the FC Düren.
Of course, 360 minutes of playing time is not enough for an ambitious goalkeeper and with Neuer as a colleague it does not make it more promising for the future. Forcing the best in the world out of the gate is an impossibility, which is one of the reasons why Nübel’s move from Gelsenkirchen to Munich was greeted with great astonishment in the industry. What, this question was in the room, does an aspiring goalkeeper think he can find in the shadow of Manuel Neuer? And above all: how does he want to get out of there?
“Some things develop differently than discussed”
Nübel was a really good goalkeeper at Schalke, but as a Bayern player, in the end he apparently didn’t have an answer himself. In any case, he accepted to be tied to Monaco for two years.
He has now reviewed everything in the “kicker”. The frustration, for example, when the former Bayern coach Hansi Flick deleted him from the squad against Hoffenheim at the end of September 2020. Or when he wasn’t even allowed to play in the insignificant Champions League match against Lok Moscow. Also about the promise of the Bayern management, which is probably not insignificant for his change, to get ten competitive games guaranteed, of which there were only four in the end with all the trouble. “Some things develop differently than discussed, and I have to accept that,” said Nübel.
Of course, the conversation also raised the question of what a return to FC Bayern could look like. He himself still has a contract with the Munich team that will run until the summer of 2025 and, as things stand, would have to return in 2023. Neuer’s contract then ends. However, there is a tendency for it to be extended again. So what can be done to avoid falling into this predicament again?
The Ter Stegen model as a model for returning to FC Bayern
Nübel now said that he could no longer imagine “coming back and not getting any more games. I rule that out. Whatever Manu does beyond 2023, I will react to it when the time comes ”.
Will he only return to Bayern if he becomes number one? Nübel sketched a parallel in the answer. He was reminiscent of national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen when he came to FC Barcelona in 2014 and had Claudio Bravo as a major competitor. The club came up with a construct in which Bravo played in the league, Ter Stegen in the Champions League and in the cup.
Nübel indicated that he could live with such a solution: “I would definitely have more than four games. There are several models. Anything other than getting more games is definitely out of the question for me. “
In any case, his plan is to return to FC Bayern. He is in contact with coach Julian Nagelsmann. “He’s a very good coach and a pleasant person who is very communicative,” said Nübel, “I’m looking forward to returning to FC Bayern, of course.”
Nübels coach in Monaco is the former Bayern coach Niko Kovac. The team is eleventh in the league and plays internationally in the Europa League
Quelle: dad/PRO SHOTS/Marcel van Dorst
Despite everything, he has not questioned his career plan (“not yet”). The time in Munich was “a double-edged sword”. As a goalkeeper, however, he “came to a different level” and learned a lot from Neuer: “His movements; his enormous understanding of the game; his recognition of the situation; his interaction with the defenders. I compared how he reacts to actions during training, how I behave there – and what I was able to take with me. “
In Bavaria there is “no 95 or 98, but only 100 or more percent. In every training session. Otherwise there will be announcements from Joshua Kimmich or Leon Goretzka, and then you will feel in the next training session ”.
Nübel comes to the conclusion: “I still have enough time to play games for Bayern.” At Monaco, also briefly for better classification, he is now the undisputed number one after some teething problems.
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