| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Neuer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | 17 | (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) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:40, 16 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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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.
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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.
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]
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]
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 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.[15]
By now Neuer has established himself as the unconstested number one in Germany's 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 Altıntop, and then he quickly threw the ball to the halfway line into the feet of 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]
As of 20 December 2011[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 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| Career total | 171 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 225 | 0 | ||
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]
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