Neuer becomes Bayern’s new number one

01.06.2011

Bayern fans all over the world reacted with joy and excitement to the news that Manuel Neuer, hailed by many experts as the best goalkeeper in the world at the present time, will wear the number 1 shirt in Munich next season. On Wednesday evening, FCB and Neuer’s current club Schalke finalised the details of the 25-year-old’s transfer, freeing him to sign a five-year contract next week and officially report for training at the Säbener Strasse as a Bayern player on 1 July.

“I’m really looking forward to the massive and exciting challenge of playing for Bayern. Many of my colleagues in the national team will now also be team-mates in Munich, so it won’t be entirely new territory for me and I’m sure I’ll settle in quickly,” declared Neuer, who is currently with the Germany squad as they prepare for Euro 2012 qualifiers against Austria and Azerbaijan.

Top flight debut against Bayern

“We at FC Bayern are delighted at signing Manuel Neuer on a long-term contract. He is not only the first-choice goalkeeper for Germany, he is one of the best keepers in the world,” commented FCB chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Neuer will travel to Munich next week for the obligatory medical, and to sign the contract committing him to FCB until 30 June 2016.

Standing 1.90 metres (6 ft 3 in) tall and weighing in at 90 kilos (198 pounds), Neuer rates as a model professional who made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke on 5 November 2006. The opponents at the Veltins Arena were Bayern, in a match which finished 2-2. Neuer made 156 appearances in the Bundesliga and 27 in European competition for the Royal Blues.

Praise from all sides

“Manuel Neuer is unbelievable. In my time at United, it’s probably the finest display of goalkeeping against us,” Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson declared after his team’s Champions League semi-final first leg meeting with Schalke. “This boy is a world-class sensation. Manuel Neuer has everything. In my opinion, he lacks nothing as a goalkeeper,” German FA (DFB) General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach commented a few days ago.

A glance at the stats confirms those views. Neuer has conceded 154 goals in 156 Bundesliga appearances, an average of 0.99 per match. That is the best record of any keeper with 100 or more appearances in the history of the Bundesliga, ahead even of Oliver Kahn (1.04). He has also let in just 21 goals in 22 Champions League fixtures. Since his Bundesliga debut in 2006, he has kept 62 clean sheets, way ahead of any other keeper in the same period.

Top man in many areas

Neuer is the league’s ultimate ever-present after playing every minute of Schalke’s last 78 Bundesliga fixtures, just ahead of FCB captain Philipp Lahm on 75. He led the league’s keepers by catching 97 crosses last season, and also delivered 127 long throws from his own area, more than twice as many as the man next in the ranking, Hoffenheim’s Tom Starke on 61.

In terms of honours, Manuel’s collection currently includes Schalke’s DFB Cup triumph two weeks ago, and the 2009 U-21 European championship in Sweden, after he and Germany conceded just one goal at the tournament. Following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where the Germans finished third, he is the undisputed first choice keeper for his country. His goal now is to lift many more trophies with Bayern, whose loyal fans all over the world will be wishing Manuel a warm welcome and years of success in Munich.