Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer

Personal information
Full name	Manuel Neuer
Date of birth	27 March 1986 (1986-03-27) (age 25)
Place of birth	Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Bayern Munich
Number	1
Youth career
1991–2005	Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2008	Schalke 04 II	26	(0)
2006–2011	Schalke 04	155	(0)
2011–	Bayern Munich	13	(0)
National team‡
2004	Germany U18	1	(0)
2004–2005	Germany U19	11	(0)
2005–2006	Germany U20	4	(0)
2006–2009	Germany U21	20	(0)
2009–	Germany	25	(0)
Honours Schalke 04 Winner DFL-Ligapokal 2005 Runner-up DFL-Ligapokal 2007 Runner-up DFL-Supercup 2010 Winner DFB-Pokal 2011  Germany Winner UEFA U-21 Championship 2009 Third FIFA World Cup 2010
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:28, 19 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:41, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Manuel Neuer (German pronunciation: [ˈmaːnu̯ɛl ˈnɔʏ.ɐ]; born 27 March 1986 in Gelsenkirchen) is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bayern Munich and the German national football team.

Club career

Schalke 04

Neuer signed professional terms in 2005 after progressing through every age group at his hometown club. He made his Bundesliga debut when he came on to substitute the injured Frank Rost on match day 2 of the 2006–07 season. The 20-year-old eventually won the starting position when Rost was surprisingly dropped for the crunch clash against Bayern Munich. He did not disappoint and managed to secure a 2–2 draw against the defending champions. Despite his young age, he was widely tipped to be a potential successor to his former idol Jens Lehmann in the future for the German national team.^[1]

On 5 March 2008, in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League, Neuer performed fantastically against FC Porto where he almost single-handedly kept Schalke in the game with some brilliant saves and forced the game into penalties. He then saved penalties from Bruno Alves and Lisandro Lopez to help Schalke advance to the quarter finals. For his heroics, he was shortlisted for the 2007–08 UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year award of which he was the youngest as well as the only Bundesliga goalkeeper on the list.^[2] He was one of only three Bundesliga players to play every minute in the 2007–08 season.

The 2008–09 season was somewhat disappointing as Schalke finished eighth in the league table and missed out on a Europa League spot. However, his good showing at the 2009 U-21 European Championships sparked interest from Bayern Munich, with Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge declaring interest in signing the young goalkeeper. Schalke's new manager Felix Magath, however, insisted that Neuer "will play for Schalke next season".^[3] In November, he was the only German goalkeeper in the list of five nominated goalkeepers for the UEFA Team of the Year.^[4] On 20 April 2011, he announced that he will not be extending his contract with Schalke which is set to expire at the end of the 2011–12 season.^[5] He earned criticism by Schalke-fans, who were disappointed with him leaving for a rival club.

Bayern Munich

On 1 June 2011 Schalke and Bayern Munich confirmed that Neuer will move to Bayern Munich in July 2011.^[6] Neuer signed a five-year contract that will last until June 2016. The move was worth 22 million euro, making Neuer the second most expensive goalkeeper of all time. After the accurance of Bayern-fan hostilities against Neuer (some fans were unhappy about Bayern buying a Schalke keeper), a round-table discussion between Bayern Munich 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".^[7] Right in the first weeks at Bayern, after a 0–0 draw with Hoffenheim, Neuer broke the Bayern Munich record for most competetive clean sheets in a row, having gone over 1000 minutes without conceding. He improved the record formerly held by Oliver Kahn.^[8]

International career

Youth Teams

After progressing through the youth teams, Neuer made his U-21 debut on 15 August 2006 against the Netherlands. He won the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with the Germany national under-21 football team in Sweden and kept a clean sheet in the 4-0 win in the final against England.^[9]

World Cup 2010

Neuer was called-up on 19 May 2009 to the senior Germany squad for a tour of Asia.^[10] He made his debut on this tour in a match against United Arab Emirates on 2 June.^[11] 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.^[12]

The death of keeper Robert Enke in November 2009 saw him elevated as the second choice goalkeeper under René Adler. However, Adler suffered a serious rib injury which ruled him out of the World Cup. Neuer then became Germany's first choice goalkeeper ahead of Tim Wiese and Hans-Jörg Butt for the upcoming tournament.^[13]

Neuer was selected as Germany's number one goalkeeper for the World Cup in South Africa.^[14] During the group stages, he only conceded a single goal, a close range shot by Jovanovic in the match against Serbia. He provided the assist for Klose's 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 selected.^[15]

Euro 2012

By now Neuer has established himself as the unconstested number one in Germanys goal. He played every single minute of every match in the qualification campaign for Euro 2012, helping Germany to secure 10 wins out of 10 games and top their group. After Germanys 3-1 away win against Turkey he was especially praised for his 'sensational' performance. He retained a close range volley shot by Hamit Altintop, and then he quickly threw the ball into the opponents half to Thomas Müller, who immediately provided the assist for Mario Gomez's opening goal. Neuer then set up the second goal, under pressure by Turkish attackers he fired a precise long range shot to Mario Götze deep in the opponents half, who found Thomas Müller on the edge of the opponents penalty box to score.^[16]

Honours

Club

Schalke 04

• German League Cup:
  • 2005
• German Cup:
  • 2010–11

International

Germany national under-21

• UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2009

Germany

• FIFA World Cup 2010: Third place - Bronze medal

Individual

• Best Bundesliga Goalkeeper: 2007
• Best UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Goalkeeper: 2009
• Fritz-Walter-Medal 2005 in Silver (Category U19)
• Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (1): 2010^[17]
• Best Bundesliga Player of the Year: 2011^[18]

Career statistics

Club performance

As of 19 November 2011 (2011 -11-19)^[update]

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Europe		Total
2006–07	Schalke 04	Bundesliga	27	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
2007–08			34	0	3	0	10	0	47	0
2008–09			27	0	2	0	5	0	34	0
2009–10			34	0	5	0	-	-	39	0
2010–11			34	0	6	0	12	0	52	0
2011–12	Bayern Munich		13	0	1	0	6	0	20	0
Career total			167	0	17	0	33	0	219	0

Personal life

Neuer attended Gesamtschule Berger Feld, like many other notable footballers, such as Mesut Özil. His brother Marcel is currently a football referee in the Verbandsliga.^[19] He got his first football when he was two. He had his first game on 3 March 1991, 24 days before his fifth birthday.^[20] Neuer's hero and idol as a child was fellow German and former Schalke goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.^[21]

References

1. ^ "Neuer good news for Germany". fifa.com. 14 February 2007. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=111725.html. 
2. ^ "UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year". uefa.com. 22 August 2008. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/supercup/finals/newsid=740223.html. 
3. ^ "Rummenigge talks Neuer interest". fifa.com. 4 June 2009. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1066191.html. 
4. ^ "Neuer nominated for UEFA Team of the Year". Schalke04.com. 7 December 2009. http://www.schalke04.com/news/single-view/artikel/neuer-nominated-for-uefa-team-of-the-year.html. 
5. ^ "Neuer turns down Schalke deal". ESPN Soccernet. 20 April 2011. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/909419/manuel-neuer-turns-down-new-contract-with-schalke?cc=3888. Retrieved 31 May 2011. 
6. ^ "Schalke give green light to Neuer's Bayern move". FC Schalke 04. 2 June 2011. http://www.schalke04.com/news/single-view/artikel/schalke-give-green-light-to-neuers-bayern-move.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
7. ^ "FCB and fans condemn anti-Neuer protest". FC Bayern Munich. 7 July 2011. http://www.fcbayern.telekom.de/en/news/news/2011/30110.php. Retrieved 7 July 2011. 
8. ^ Schäling, Ben (4 October 2011). "Kahn: Gegentor wie Erlösung" (in German). Augsburger Allgemeine. http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/sport/fc-bayern/Kahn-Gegentor-wie-Erloesung-id16983871.html. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 
9. ^ "Rückkehrer Neuer bekennt sich zu Schalke" (in German). transfermarkt.de. 14 July 2009. http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/news/29645/rueckkehrer-neuer-bekennt-sich-zu-schalke-.html. Retrieved 14 July 2009e. 
10. ^ "Löw nominiert Neuer, Träsch, Gentner und Cacau". DFB.de. 19 May 2009. http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500014&tx_dfbnews_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=18297&tx_dfbnews_pi4%5Bcat%5D=56. Retrieved 19 May 2009. 
11. ^ "Gomez ist wieder da – Neuer überzeugt voll und ganz". Kicker.de. 2 June 2009. http://www.kicker.de/live-news/livescores/livematch/object/888219. Retrieved 2 June 2009. 
12. ^ "Neuers schwerer Patzer bleibt ohne Folgen" (in German). Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. 30 November 2009. http://www.derwesten.de/wp/sport/Neuers-schwerer-Patzer-bleibt-ohne-Folgen-id2136101.html. 
13. ^ "Lahm to Skipper Germany at World Cup; Neuer is Keeper". Sify News. 28 May 2010. http://sify.com/news/lahm-to-skipper-germany-at-world-cup-neuer-is-keeper-news-international-kf2sOcifbbg.html. 
14. ^ "Manuel Neuer". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/groups_and_teams/team/germany/manuel_neuer. Retrieved 24 June 2010. 
15. ^ "Germany beat Uruguay to win bronze". Ghana Sports - Soccer News. GhanaWeb. 10 July 2010. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/SportsArchive/artikel.php?ID=185855. Retrieved 11 July 2010. 
16. ^ "Manuel Neuer begeistert sogar seine Gegner". welt.de. 8 October 2011. http://www.welt.de/sport/fussball/em-2012/article13649140/Manuel-Neuer-begeistert-sogar-seine-Gegner.html. Retrieved 8 November 2011. 
17. ^ "DFB-Elf erhält Silbernes Lorbeerblatt" (in German). Rheinische Post. http://www.rp-online.de/sport/fussball/nationalelf/wm/dfb/DFB-Elf-erhaelt-Silbernes-Lorbeerblatt_bid_59101.html. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 
18. ^ "Manuel Neuer Fußballer des Jahres 2011" (in German). transfermarkt.de. 31 July 2011. http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/manuel-neuer-fussballer-des-jahres-2011/news/anzeigen_68934.html. Retrieved 2 August 2011. 
19. ^ "Der eine ist Schiedsrichter, der andere kickt bei Heßler 06" (in German). reviersport.de. 18 June 2007. http://www.reviersport.de/29083---schalker-brueder-marcel-neuer-mesut-oezil.html. Retrieved 8 November 2009. 
20. ^ "Steckbrief" (in German). manuel-neuer.com. http://manuel-neuer.com/#/stolz/steckbrief. Retrieved 28 September 2010. 
21. ^ "Neuer – so gut wie sein Idol Lehmann" (in German). RP-Online.de. 7 March 2008. http://www.rp-online.de/public/article/sport/fussball/bundesliga/fc_schalke_04/541538/Neuer-so-gut-wie-sein-Idol-Lehmann.html. Retrieved 28 October 2008. 

External links

• Official website (German)
• Manuel Neuer at Schalke04.com (German)
• Manuel Neuer at fussballdaten.de (German)

Persondata
Name	Neuer, Manuel
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	27 March 1986
Place of birth	Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
Date of death
Place of death