Manuel Peter Neuer (German pronunciation: [ˈmaːnu̯ɛl ˈnɔʏ.ɐ]; born 27 March 1986) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for and captains both Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. Neuer has been described as a “sweeper-keeper” because of his unique playing style and speed when rushing off his line to anticipate opponents;[4][5][6] he is also known for his quick reflexes, excellent shot-stopping abilities, strength, long throwing range, command of his area and accurate control and distribution of the ball.[7][8][9][10]
Regarded by pundits as the best goalkeeper in the world (he won the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper award for four consecutive years between 2013 and 2016),[11][12][13][14][15] and as one of the best and most complete goalkeepers of all-time,[14][16][17] Neuer won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany as well as the Golden Glove award for being the best goalkeeper in the tournament,[18] and is considered by some in the sport to be the best goalkeeper in football since Lev Yashin.[4][19]
In 2014, Neuer finished third in the voting, behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award. The same year, he was ranked the third-best player in the world by The Guardian.
On 1 June 2011, Schalke and Bayern Munich confirmed that Neuer would move to Bayern in July 2011.[35] Neuer signed a five-year contract that lasted until June 2016. The move was worth a reported €22 million.[citation needed] After hostilities of Bayern fans against Neuer (some fans were unhappy about Bayern buying a Schalke keeper), a round-table discussion between Bayern and group of supporters’ representatives took place on 2 July 2011. Among other things, it was decided that Manuel Neuer will be “regarded as a full member of the FC Bayern Munich team, who should be treated with due respect. Furthermore, hostility towards him should cease”.[36] Right in the first weeks at Bayern, after a 0–0 draw with 1899 Hoffenheim, Neuer broke the Bayern Munich record for most competitive clean sheets in a row, having gone over 1,000 minutes without conceding. He improved the record formerly held by Oliver Kahn.[37]
On 25 April 2012, Neuer saved penalty kicks from both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká and helped Bayern through the 2011–12 Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid. Following the match, Neuer has revealed that he studied the way Ronaldo took his penalties. Neuer told Bild, “I always prepare myself for such situations. Our goalkeeping coach, Toni Tapalovic, showed me on his laptop before the match how Ronaldo usually takes his penalties. I learned that Ronaldo prefers to send the ball low to his left. In the penalty shoot-out, I was convinced that he would aim for his favourite spot.”[38]
Bayern went on to progress to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final against Chelsea, which also went to a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw. He took and scored the third penalty for Bayern and also saved the first penalty taken by Juan Mata, but could not save the rest of the penalties as Munich lost the trophy 4–3 on penalties in their home stadium, the Allianz Arena. Neuer finished the season with 53 appearances.[39]
2012–13 season
Neuer started the season by winning the German Super Cup.[40] In the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League knockout phase, Neuer posted four clean sheets in a row versus both Juventus and Barcelona. In the 2013 Champions League Final against Borussia Dortmund, Neuer posted eight saves en route to Bayern’s fifth Champions League title. The game featured great play from both keepers, and Neuer would end up winning the duel against Roman Weidenfeller having only conceded once to İlkay Gündoğan on a penalty shot. Neuer finished the season with 31 Bundesliga appearances,[41] five German Cup appearances,[41] 13 UEFA Champions League appearances,[41] and a German Super Cup appearance.[40]
2013–14 season
Neuer started the season by losing in the German Super Cup to Borussia Dortmund.[42] For the 2013 UEFA Super Cup, on 30 August 2013, he saved the last and decisive penalty which saw Bayern Munich win the match against Chelsea, taking some revenge for the lost 2012 UEFA Champions League Final.[43] In the FIFA Club World Cup, Neuer played against Guangzhou Evergrande in the semi-final[44] and Raja Casablanca in the final.[45] Neuer was announced as the 2013 World Goalkeeper of the year on 7 January 2014.[46] On 9 February, Bayern faced Arsenal in the Champions League knockout phase and Neuer saved the penalty from Mesut Özil in the first half. Bayern went on to win the game 2–0 away. On 2 May 2014, Neuer extended his current contract until the summer of 2019.[47] Neuer finished the season with 31 Bundesliga appearances,[48] five German Cup appearances,[48] 12 UEFA Champions League appearances,[48] one German Super Cup appearance,[42] one UEFA Super Cup appearance,[43] two FIFA Club World Cup appearances[44][45] for a total of 50 appearances.
2014–15 season
Neuer won the German footballer of the year,[49] was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year,[50] and finished third in the FIFA Ballon d’Or.[51] Neuer started the season by losing the German Super Cup to Borussia Dortmund.[52] On 30 January 2015, Neuer started[53] on matchday 18, where Bayern lost to VfL Wolfsburg 4–1.[54] This is the first league match since joining Bayern in 2011 where he has given up four goals in a match. The last time Bayern had given four goals in a match was against Wolfsburg on 4 April 2009.[54] On 28 April 2015, Neuer was one of four Bayern players to miss in a 2–0 penalty shootout defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.[55] Neuer finished the season with 32 Bundesliga appearances,[56] five German Cup appearances,[56] 12 UEFA Champions League appearances,[56] and one German Super Cup appearance[52] for a total of 50 appearances.
2015–16 season
The season started[57] when Neuer started in the 1–1 draw against VfL Wolfsburg in the German Super Cup.[58] Wolfsburg won the subsequent shootout.[58] On 20 April 2016, Neuer extended his contract with Bayern until 2021. Neuer finished the season with 34 Bundesliga appearances,[59] five German Cup appearances,[59] 11 UEFA Champions League appearances,[59] and one German Cup appearances[58] for a total of 51 appearances.
2016–17 season
Neuer’s season began with a 2–0 win over Borussia Dortmund at the German Super Cup as FC Bayern won the title for the first time in three years and kept a clean sheet in the Bundesliga opener as FC Bayern grabbed a 6–0 win over Werder Bremen. In January 2017, he was voted into FIFA Team of the Year alongside fellow German and former Bayern teammate Toni Kroos. Neuer conceded twice in FC Bayern’s matches against Arsenal F.C. as the bavarians beat the English team with an impressive 10–2 aggregate in the round of 16 of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League. Neuer then was praised for his performance in their first game of the quarterfinals against Real Madrid C.F. although Bayern lost 1–2 to the Spanish club. During the second leg, he suffered a left foot fracture that ended his season abruptly as Bayern lost 4–2 in a controversial match.[60] FC Bayern ended the season as Bundesliga champions.
On 19 July 2017, it was announced that Neuer would become the captain of Bayern following Philipp Lahm’s retirement, making him a double captain of both Bayern and Germany national football team.[61]
2017–18 season
Neuer played his first game of the season on Bundesliga matchday 2 after recovering from a foot injury that occurred in April during a Champions League game versus Real Madrid.[62] It was announced in September that Neuer would be ruled out until January 2018 after another fracture to the same foot.[63]
International career
Youth
After progressing through the youth teams, Neuer made his Germany under-21 debut on 15 August 2006 against the Netherlands. He won the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with Germany in Sweden, and kept a clean sheet in the 4–0 win in the final against England.
2010 World Cup
Neuer playing for Germany in 2011
Neuer was called up on 19 May 2009 to the senior German squad for a tour of Asia.[64] He made his debut on this tour in a match against the United Arab Emirates on 2 June.[65] He played in the November friendly against the Ivory Coast that ended 2–2. Although he took responsibility for the first goal conceded, manager Joachim Löw refused to blame him and instead commended him for doing his best.[66]
The death of keeper Robert Enke in November 2009 saw him elevated as the second choice goalkeeper behind René Adler. Adler, however, suffered a serious rib injury which ruled him out of the upcoming 2010 World Cup — Neuer became Germany’s first choice goalkeeper ahead of Tim Wiese and Hans-Jörg Butt for the tournament.[67]
Neuer was selected as Germany’s number one goalkeeper for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.[68] During the group stages, he only conceded a single goal, a close range shot by Milan Jovanović in the match against Serbia. He provided the assist for Miroslav Klose’s opening goal against England, winning 4–1. He played in all of Germany’s World Cup matches apart from the third-place game against Uruguay, when Hans-Jörg Butt was rewarded with a spot in the starting lineup.
After progressing through the youth teams, Neuer made his Germany under-21 debut on 15 August 2006 against the Netherlands. He won the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with Germany in Sweden, and kept a clean sheet in the 4–0 win in the final against England.
Prior to the start of qualification, on 1 September 2016, Neuer was named new captain of the national team, following Bastian Schweinsteiger’s retirement from international football.
