Manuel Neuer has been at Bayern Munich for over a decade now, but it seems like even longer. The German legend has been untouchable for virtually his entire career, however, things are changing. The media and club seems to be a bit more critical of the sweeper keeper in the past years and the clock is ticking on Neuer’s career. Despite the criticism, legend Lothar Matthäus came to defend the Bayern goalkeeper.
Matthäus admitted he has been highly critical of Neuer himself, however Neuer’s recent performances have actually changed his mind.
“I also criticized him, but in the past few weeks I’ve seen a Manuel Neuer that reminded me of his glory days. Against Paris, he handled two or three similar situations with ease. Against Dortmund, his save against Sabitzer was world class. That’s the risk of his aggressive game. It’s actually a miracle that he has now received his first red card after what feels like 2000 competitive games, given his modern goalkeeping style”, Matthäus told Bild.
Matthäus has a fair point. Neuer has came to the halfway line, dribbled past attackers, and countless more daring attempts during his career with a virtually perfect record of execution. So much so that when Neuer does these things, fans don’t even worry. Most goalkeepers doing these kinds of plays would make most fans panic but Neuer has earned this trust.
Now the great debate continues. Is it time for Neuer to pass on the duties or allow him to tell the club when he’s done?
