Football Manuel Neuer
The tricky goalkeeping question for Nagelsmann and Bayern
Status: 17.10.2023 | Reading time: 5 minutes
Will Manuel Neuer return to goal against Mainz?
Will Manuel Neuer be in goal again in the Bundesliga this weekend? The 37-year-old could make his comeback after almost ten months out of injury on Saturday when Bayern visit Mainz 05.
World champion Manuel Neuer is planning his return to the FC Bayern goal. For the new national coach Julian Nagelsmann, the personnel will be a test. He relies on Ilkay Gündogan as captain. And now has to make a special decision.
Before his hoped-for return, he treated himself to a special break. Last weekend Manuel Neuer was in Mallorca. He relaxed with friends at a beach club and smiled while fulfilling the staff’s photo requests.
While his national team colleagues won 3-1 against the host USA on the German team’s trip to North America, Neuer recharged his batteries. For very special days. On Saturday (6.30 p.m., Sky), FC Bayern will play in the Bundesliga against 1. FSV Mainz 05 – and the goalkeeper could play again for the first time in nine months. It would be his first appearance for Bayern in 343 days. Ten months ago, the five-time world goalkeeper broke his tibia and fibula on a private ski tour and had to undergo surgery.
On Tuesday he trained with the Munich team on Säbener Straße. He had practiced with the second team last week; there had been no professional training because of the international matches. Neuer has been training with the team for around three weeks. He could also wear the captain’s armband again against Mainz. Most recently, offensive star Thomas Müller and midfielder Joshua Kimmich represented him as team captain. The Bayern goal was guarded by Sven Ulreich, who saved his team’s 2-1 lead with a last-minute save in the Champions League group game at FC Copenhagen.
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The game in Mainz is followed three days later by the Champions League game at Galatasaray Istanbul. It would be a huge burden for Neuer. The opportunity to return to goal in a home game would be on October 28th in the league against SV Darmstadt. According to reports, Neuer should be able to decide for himself when he will play again. His contract with Bayern is valid until June 30, 2024.
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According to “Kicker”, the club officials are planning to extend Neuer’s contract. There should be initial discussions about a new contract by the end of the year. This is a vote of confidence from the club in Neuer. Gianluigi Buffon, world champion in 2006, recently ended his career at the age of 45 – after 28 years as a professional. The Italian goalkeeper told “SportBild”: “Neuer can play in goal for just as long as me. Because he has this God-given joy in this sport.”
“He is someone who never shouts”
Ilkay Gündogan should also lead the national team as captain at the home European Championship in summer 2024 – regardless of a possible comeback by Neuer. “Ilkay will remain captain,” emphasized new national coach Julian Nagelsmann at the beginning of the week in the USA. “I said a lot to him. He’s someone who never shouts, so I’m very happy with that.”
Gündogan, FC Barcelona’s midfield star, was appointed captain by Nagelsmann’s unsuccessful predecessor Hans-Dieter “Hansi” Flick last September. The new national coach confirmed this personnel decision. After Neuer’s injury, Kimmich initially took over the position. Nagelsmann did not mention Neuer at his press conference Monday in the United States. Neuer will be 38 years old at the European Championships. It is his dream to play another big tournament. It would be his seventh as number one; in 2014 he won the World Cup in Brazil.
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The Neuer case will be a test for Nagelsmann, and the answer to the delicate goalkeeper question and moderation of the situation will be a major challenge. Marc-André ter Stegen, Gündogan’s teammate at FC Barcelona, has represented Neuer in the national team since his skiing accident – and recently underlined his demands with confident announcements. “I’m number one at the moment. I will do everything to keep the status. “For the fact that I’m in the best shape for the tournament at the end,” he said on Sky.
“I never make my own achievements dependent on others. I think that over the past few years I have always played at a very high level. That is also what I demand of myself.” He believes that he “absolutely repays” the trust of the coach and the team. The 31-year-old has just extended his contract in Barcelona until 2028. The fixed transfer fee of 500 million euros shows how much he is valued in Spain.
47.8 percent of games without conceding a goal
Neuer had already been out for a long time before the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The national coach at the time, Joachim “Jogi” Löw, still relied on him instead of ter Stegen, even though Neuer had only gotten fit again shortly before the tournament.
Ter Stegen’s chance of guarding the German goal at a major tournament has never been greater than now. Number one at the European Championships in your own country – it’s a lot at stake for Neuer and ter Stegen. Nagelsmann has to make a far-reaching decision. Ter Stegen’s numbers are impressive: last season with Barcelona he only conceded 20 goals in 38 games and kept a clean sheet 26 times. Neuer’s record is also impressive: in 488 games for Bayern, he kept a clean sheet in 47.8 percent of the games.
On a trip to the USA: The new national coach Julian Nagelsmann (l.) with his assistant Sandro Wagner
Those: dpa/Federico Gambarini
But the focus is not just on sport. Last January, Nagelsmann was a driving force in Bayern’s separation from Toni Tapalovic, the club’s goalkeeping coach at the time. Tapalovic is a confidante of Neuer. Neuer said afterwards that the decision felt like his heart had been ripped out. “That was the craziest thing I’ve experienced in my career,” said Neuer. The fact that Nagelsmann continues to rely on Gündogan as captain is sometimes seen as a sign that Neuer is at least not number one.
For the first time, he could be part of the German team’s squad for two test matches in around a month: On November 18th, Germany will host Turkey in Berlin, and three days later the selection will play against Austria in Vienna. Neuer has worn the captain’s armband in 60 of his 117 international matches. Only record national player Lothar Matthäus was captain more often – in 75 international matches. It is also in Nagelsmann’s hands whether Neuer will play further international matches without the captain’s armband.
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