National team
Neuer and his “crass actions” – EM as the final point?
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will only decide on his future in the national team after the European Championship. Photo
© Christian Charisius/dpa
Manuel Neuer is playing his eighth tournament as number one. Before the European Championship at home, he made mistakes that sowed doubts about his status. He himself does not doubt himself. And he wants to stay in the “flow” with the team.
With his back straight, the 38-year-old, who is even two years older than national coach Julian Nagelsmann, sat on the podium in the DFB media center at lunchtime on Monday before his European Championship record match against Hungary.
And in the 22-minute question-and-answer session with journalists, the eternal German tournament goalkeeper, in the positive mood of the national football team’s 5:1 win against Scotland, quickly dismissed doubts about his performance after unusual blunders before the European Championship kick-off.
“I didn’t think much about the debate,” said Neuer. Don’t read anything, don’t hear anything, that was his strategy. What counts for him is the inside view, the internal analysis and evaluation of the images that spoke against him, for example when the Greeks conceded a goal in the tournament dress rehearsal, which they narrowly won. But that didn’t trigger a change of mind in national coach Julian Nagelsmann, who is relying on him again at the home tournament and not on Neuer’s eternal rival Marc-André ter Stegen.
“Starting discussions doesn’t help us”
“It’s important that we stick together. Starting discussions doesn’t help us,” said Neuer. The key is an intact “relationship of trust” with teammates and the coaching team. “Accordingly, my focus was on the first game against Scotland, on the group phase and the next games.”
The fact that Neuer had to give up the captain’s armband during his long absence following the complicated leg fracture following the 2022 World Cup hardly diminishes his effectiveness and influence in the DFB team. He continues to feel “like the coach’s extended arm”. This is proven by pictures that repeatedly show him on the sidelines during games in intensive tactical discussions with Nagelsmann.
At the start of his fourth European Championship as number one, the Scots were too harmless to put Neuer under pressure. Nobody could even interpret Antonio Rüdiger’s late, unfortunate own goal negatively. “For me personally, it was a really good start, regardless of the fact that I didn’t have any extreme moves at the back,” said Neuer.
Good news: Gündogan is training and fit
Neuer’s workload could increase as early as Wednesday (6 p.m./ARD/MagentaTV) in Stuttgart against Hungary. The Hungarians are already under a lot of pressure after their 1:3 false start against Switzerland in the second group match. “It’s an unpleasant team,” says Neuer. And one that the German team has struggled against in the recent past. A 2:2 draw at the last European Championship in 2021 in Munich was followed by a 1:1 and a 0:1 in the Nations League the following year. “Hungary will be a different story to Scotland,” warned Neuer. But he has great faith in a successful follow-up: “We’re trying to stay in this flow.”
The conditions are there. Nagelsmann can once again field his dream eleven, including young stars Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Captain Ilkay Gündogan was also able to train in Herzogenaurach on Monday without any noticeable problems after the nasty kick to his right foot by the Scot Ryan Porteous. And the mood matched the sunshine in Franconia. At times it was even exuberant, as with Antonio Rüdiger and Leroy Sané, who laughed as they jumped through a lawn sprinkler.
Completely detached, but with “feet on the ground”
Completely detached, but not aloof – that’s how the experienced Neuer perceives the atmosphere in the “good, colorful mix” of older and younger team members. The fact that everyone was very annoyed about the goal conceded by the Scots was seen as a “good sign” that the attitude is right to achieve great things again, as was the case at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. “We have our feet on the ground,” said Neuer.
The national coach sees it the same way. And that’s why Nagelsmann is not dampening the euphoria of the dream start. “I’m not a warning voice,” he stressed. Instead of playing it down, he is banking on a broad chest and a quick entry into the round of 16. “I’m confident that we can win against Hungary. We’ll try to play as well as we did against Scotland.”
Neuer and the Buffon record
Neuer’s 121st international match will give him another record as a goalkeeper. It is his 17th European Championship appearance. This means he is now level with the great Italian Gianluigi Buffon in having played the most European Championship matches as a goalkeeper. “That definitely sounds good,” said Neuer, for whom the now 46-year-old Buffon was once a role model. But “the goals with the team” are more important to him than personal bests. The European Championship title is still missing from his CV.
By the way: Buffon played his last of 167 international matches around two months before his 40th birthday. Neuer’s career in goal is no longer far off either. Will the European Championship be his last major tournament? “I can’t say that yet. I’ll think about it after the tournament,” he replied. Neuer spends a lot of time in the European Championship camp with his fellow World Cup winners Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller. And maybe he’ll discuss the topic with the 34-year-old Kroos, who is ending his great career after the European Championship.