His presence in the German goal makes assurance double sure.
Ten years ago no one could predict that Manuel Neuer would be the number one keeper of the German National team. The twenty eight-year-old has been one of the locomotives of Die Mannschaft at the on going 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The Bayern Munich keeper who is at his second World Cup participation is a huge asset to the team.
He made his debut with the national team in 2009 and became the number one in 2010. Since then, the second most expensive goalkeeper of all times (after Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon), has made fifty appearances for Die Mannschaft. In the field, his immense presence both physical and charismatic can be intimidating for many attackers. The super sweeper keeper possesses agility and sharp reading of the game.
In a style reminiscent of fabled predecessor in the German goal (Oliver Kahn), Neuer emits the attitude of a man over loaded with a lot of confidence. Far from true, he is just a pure bloody-minded self-belief professional keeper. After excelling with an unusual performance against Algeria in the previous round, there has been much discussion about his intriguing role as an auxiliary defender, dashing out to tackle and clear the danger in the nick of time.
His coach Joachim Low even wondered aloud and said, “This is the class of Manuel Neuer. He can basically play as a player behind the defenders or as an outfit player”. The President of the German Football Federation Wolfgang Niersbach commended the goalie by saying “Manu, what you achieved tonight was just absolutely World class. Your performance is one of the most spectacular by a goalkeeper in the long history of German football”
He was also very instrumental against France during which he portrayed a lot of maturity by staying close to the line and keeping at bay the different threats that Les Bleus concocted. At the dying minutes of the game he showed that he is one of the best keepers in the tournament when he prevented Karim Benzema from leveling scores after a face-to-face venomous shot. When Germany are in possession of the ball, he strolls like a panther and when there is danger in his vital zone he becomes a cat.
