One definition of a genius is when someone does somethimg that defies the ordinary wisdom, but which turns out to work. And Manuel Neuer fits this description in this era.
Though In his side’s 3-2 win over Paderborn recently, Neuer did something which captured perfectly the anxiety-inducing protagonism of the modern goalkeeper. Charging out of his area which has become so synonymous with the World Cup winner, The German found himself less than ten yards from the left-hand side touchline. He was nut-megged by Dennis Srbeny and seconds later the ball was in the back of the net.
Neuer’s career is filled with these types of unforced errors. He is known for moving away from his goal-line so fast. Some goalkeepers’ entire careers are defined by one or two such flaws; one only has to look at Loris Karius’s mistakes which eventually led to his exit to see that. And yet Neuer, who has done it more often than most, is still seen as one of the best. Why?
A goalkeeper used to be a bung in a drain, and how good a footballer was were based on how effectively they stopped the leaking of goals, but, these days the position is more of a balancing act. Part of the reason Neuer is one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time – and certainly the most revolutionary in the modern era – is down to how well he contributes to attack that are the dual responsibilities of the modern goalkeeper.
While Pep Guardiola was at Bayern Munich, Neuer executed the sweeper-keeper role perfectly well, was so composed with the ball and had such passing prowess that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had to stop the Catalan from playing him outfield. Around that period, Neuer finished third in the Ballon d’Or, just 0.4 percent of the vote behind Messi.
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Neuer has always trod the line between the bats hit and the brilliant – that will be his legacy. In doing so, he tested the limits of what a goalie could be. In this day and age, nearly every emerging number one is formed in his image. The keepers used to be the ones who just got in the way of the goals. Nowadays they are stars in their own design – just look at how Liverpool fans adore Alisson.
This centrality of the goalkeeper in modern times – in terms of strategy and, indeed, psychologically – is the brainchild of the great Johan Cruyff who in enigmatic fashion once said, “in my teams, the goalkeeper is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender”, sentiments echoed by Thiago Motta as well as all great coaches of the modern era.
The modern goalie is the logical conclusion of total football where any player can play in any position. Football has now finally realized that it’s a waste of a pair of feet for a goalkeeper to use just his hands.
When Neuer moved from the halfway line to take Bayern Munich’s third penalty in the 2012 Champions League final, it was not an example of some high-level tactical intellectualism. Rather it was one very confident player who was very good at striking the ball stepping up to wrestle the limelight from the outfielders. Goalkeepers are no longer just a preventative measure; they are now a proactive force.
Goalkeepers are now throwing off the shackles that confine them to being just guardians of the eight yards between the two posts and expressing themselves with the ball at their feet as well. However, Neuer does not do so in the style of René Higuita with goal scoring theatrics like Rogério Ceni.
Sadly, there’s no fourth wall to break in football, but if there was, Neuer would be able to explain everything he was doing, as he did it. In the most complimentary way possible. While his contemporaries might make mistakes because of a rush of blood to the head, Neuer is very well calculated. Even when he rushed from of his goal against Paderborn, he had a plan; the only difference was that, it didn’t come off.
Manuel Neuer and his legacy is proving an increasingly hard screw to sink. Many keepers today are now following in his footsteps.
