For the entirety of Oliver Baumann’s senior career, which spans nearly 15 years now, the German must have believed that he would simply never even come close to an appearance for the senior German national team as Manuel Neuer had a stranglehold on the starting role in goal. But all of a sudden, at the ripe old age of 34, the combination of Manuel Neuer’s retirement Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s horribly unfortunate injury left the door ajar for someone to stake their claim in goal. After Alexander Nübel put forward his case last Friday, it was Baumann’s turn against the Netherlands on Monday.
And it turned out great. Speaking after Germany’s win over the Netherlands, in which the former SC Freiburg goalkeeper helped his team collect both a clean sheet and a win, Baumann was clearly brimming with pride and joy: “It was great. The day and the game couldn’t have been more perfect. Playing for my country is a dream come true, I’m very proud of that,” the senior goalkeeper confessed, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “It was really fun out there.”
Head coach Julian Nagelsmann’s assessment of Baumann’s performance will not have deterred his mood in the slightest, with the former Bayern Munich boss giving Baumann the best possible German grade on his Germany debut. Has he sealed his spot as Germany No.1 until ter Stegen’s return from injury? He certainly could not have done any more than he already did today to justify such a decision…
Looking for more thoughts and analysis from Germany’s 1-0 victory over the Netherlands? Awesome, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show where our Jack Lauschway breaks down the match. Jack gives you all the analysis you need from the game, along with where the German national team might be headed. You can get the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, and below:
Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @bfwinnn, @IredahlMarcus, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
