BR24 Sport: New mistake in the DFB Cup: “Manu, the libero” was once

Manuel Neuer’s dismissal early in the game led to the defeat in the cup round of 16 against Bayer Leverkusen. It is not the 38-year-old’s first mistake this season, whose contract expires at the end of the season.

After Sepp Maier, Manuel Neuer revolutionized goalkeeping. The trip he took during FC Bayern’s cup round of 16 against Bayer Leverkusen was not the first in his career. This style of goalkeeping earned him the nickname “Manu, the libero”. Neuer regularly let the opponents get away with a body deception far in front of his goal or risked his life and, as in the round of 16 against Algeria in 2014, headed the ball just in front of the attacker who was ready to shoot.

After 864 games: Neuer’s first expulsion

Neuer probably had something similar in mind after a good quarter of an hour in the cup game against Bayer Leverkusen, but the outcome was different this time. Jonathan Tah passed the entire Munich defense with a long ball and found the fast Jeremie Frimpong, who was in turn battling Konrad Laimer towards the goal. And then came Neuer, who briefly switched sports to American football in this scene.

He threw his entire body towards the ball 25 meters in front of his own goal, but only hit Frimpong. Harm Osmers had no choice but to show Neuer the red card in the 17th minute. It was the first sending off in Manuel Neuer’s career. “In the end, I lacked proper contact with the ball,” Neuer described the scene on the ARD sports show. “I don’t think Frimpong has any real contact with the ball either. I’m trying not to tackle him now. I’m standing there and then the whistle came and I got the red card.”

Neuer: “It hurts us and of course I’m sorry”

The 38-year-old quickly realized that the scene was “of course decisive for the game” and that Neuer had done his team a disservice. “It hurts us and of course I’m sorry.” For Joshua Kimmich, however, the red card was “not a sticking point at all”. He didn’t believe “that we could have been better and more dominant with eleven men.”

Coach Vincent Kompany went into analysis immediately after the game. “We still have cover. It’s not like he (Frimpong) goes one-on-one towards the goal. He goes away from the goal and we have Konni (Laimer), who is in a good position,” Kompany explained in the Sportschau. It’s actually four against one, we can let ourselves go a little quicker and then this scene won’t happen.” He tried to call in from the sidelines, “but then of course it was too late.”

This isn’t the first time Neuer has made a mistake this season

A quick, congruent scene happened to Neuer in the defeat in the Champions League at Aston Villa. Here too, a long ball passed over the Bavarian defense, Neuer came far out of his goal and was lobbed over by Villa’s Jhon Duran.

It is also FC Bayern’s offensive style of play, the high-ranking defensive line and the corresponding space behind the chain that repeatedly forces Neuer to make these risky maneuvers. However, it may also be due to his age, now 38, that these maneuvers are less likely to be successful.

Contract with FC Bayern expires

When it comes to Neuer’s goalkeeping game, two scenes are often shown. In the game against Eintracht Frankfurt in 2015, he directed a sharp back pass without looking and with his heel from the left to the right side. In Berlin he lobbed over the opponent who ran at him in his own penalty area. During his time as coach at Säbener Straße, Pep Guradiola is said to have once considered putting Neuer in the field because he was so convinced of his ability on the ball. Currently, this quality seems to have been somewhat lost.

At the home European Championships in the summer, Neuer, who still has outstanding reflexes in his repertoire on the line, proved to be a reliable support, but had fewer scenes to clear in front of his goal. After the tournament he ended his career in the national team. His contract with FC Bayern expires next summer. Alexander Nübel will not return from his loan from Stuttgart until 2026. Neuer would have to play for that long and therefore extend his contract by a year, according to the original plan of those in charge. But Neuer’s increasing number of mistakes are likely to cause sports director Max Eberl to ponder.

Source: BR24Sport December 4th, 2024 – 6:55 p.m