The 2011 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal between Internazionale and Schalke at the San Siro will always be remembered for the scarcely believable volley from the halfway line scored by Serbian midfielder Dejan Stankovic.
Moments earlier, came an equally striking memory from the contest. The host played a long ball forward into space aimed at veteran striker Diego Milito who got goalside of the central defender and would have been 1v1 against the keeper. But, even before the ball dropped five yards out of the penalty box towards Milito, he felt an unexpected swoosh over his right shoulder.
Schalke’s 25-year-old German goalkeeper had run out of his box to head the ball away and clear the danger before Stankovic’s moment of magic caught him out.
Over the years, he has opted for this course of action many times – on his toes throughout the game and quick to spring into a sprint to thwart the attacker at the earliest possible moment.
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The young outlandish German keeper, now, is a serial winner with two UEFA Champions Leagues, eleven Bundesliga titles and a FIFA World Cup to boast about apart from numerous domestic cups.
Overthrowing an era where keepers were just custodians of the goalpost, it won’t be wrong to say Manuel Neuer has stepped up the sphere of influence of a goalkeeper, spearheading a new era of ‘sweeper keepers’.
The former member of Germany’s coaching staff, Andreas Koepke had once said, “I’ve never seen a better sweeper, apart from maybe Franz Beckenbauer.”
Neuer’s brilliance for Schalke earned him a move to the country’s biggest club, Bayern Munich. Schalke fans let their displeasure known quite vehemently after Gelsenkirchen’s prodigal son left for greener pastures.
Bayern fans, too, had their reservations, booing the player the club signed from a rival, even displaying banners against him, forcing club executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to apologise publicly.
“I am a professional footballer and I have a job to do and so it’s not good to focus on trivial matters,” the keeper told Bild, at the time. “There have been some extreme moments over the past few months, but this is just all an experience for me.”
But, Neuer’s jaw-dropping performances on the pitch and envious clean sheet record for Bayern turned around even the harshest critics. Before the FIFA World Cup kicked off in Brazil in 2014, Neuer had cemented his name among the likes of Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon.
The quadrennial football carnival in Brazil threw up a host of goalkeeping cult heroes – USA’s Tim Howard, Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas and Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa making jaw-dropping saves that defied space and gravity.
But, it was Neuer who took home the Golden Glove at the end of the tournament as the Germans celebrated their first World Cup win since 1990. Such was his influence on the team as an auxiliary outfield player, despite having very few saves to make through the tournament.
“Even though he’s revolutionised the position, you would never teach a kid to play that way because it’s literally impossible. Which makes it so special to watch him perform,” Howard said of his confrere.
The German keeper created further history that year, becoming just the second goalkeeper to be shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or, after Lev Yashin. He eventually finished third behind regulars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but the unprecedented nomination spoke volumes of his stature in the game then.
Germany’s Manuel Neuer poses with the World Cup trophy during the DFB-WM gala party at the Sheraton hotel in Rio de Janeiro July 13, 2014. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
A decade of trophies and awards followed at club level but Germany was made to wait for another international honour, having to bear the abomination of group stage exits on the way.
A successful Euro campaign on home soil would have been the perfect send-off for the now 38-year-old veteran. However, it was not to be.
Luis De La Fuente’s Spain side proved just about too much for Germany at the quarterfinal stage. Neuer remained an oblivious figure during the game, untested in goal for most parts and unable to affect the game with his passing.
He might still be the first name on the team sheet if and when Die Mannschaft step onto North American soil for the 2026 World Cup. But another Euro might be a step too far.
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