Goalkeeper change at the record champions
Zoff potential with Neuer: FC Bayern intends to do that with Yann Sommer
Manuel Neuer and Yann Sommer know each other from numerous duels against each other. Two years ago they met Germany and Switzerland in the Nations League.
© Federico Gambarini / DPA
Yann Sommer will be FC Bayern’s new number one for the next six months. With the commitment of the Swiss national keeper, the Munich team did everything right. But what happens when Manuel Neuer returns?
It is quite possible that the newcomer will already be between the posts of FC Bayern for the Bundesliga opener after the winter break. A new goalkeeper needs “15 minutes” to get used to the new team, said coach Julian Nagelsmann succinctly on Wednesday. Yann Sommer, who switched to Bayern after tough negotiations with Borussia Mönchengladbach, will probably make his first appearance on Friday evening against RB Leipzig complete the record champion.
There was a reason why the transfer went so quickly in the end: Borussia Mönchengladbach only wanted to give Sommer up when a replacement had been found. Borussia finally found him a few days ago in Jonas Omlin from HSC Montpellier, also a Swiss national keeper. A day later, Sommer traveled to Munich for a medical check, on Thursday he signed the contract, which runs until 2025, and completed the first training session on Säbener Straße. He is scheduled to make his debut against Leipzig on Friday.
The relief will outweigh the high cost
The transfer costs Bayern eight million euros plus a bonus, it is said. But the money won’t matter to Bayern because the relief at the successful change outweighs it. The broken leg that Neuer suffered on a ski tour caught Bayern cold and the search for a replacement proved difficult. Which goalkeeper with quality already moves to Munich, possibly to sit on the bench again in six months? Manager Hasan Salihamidzic flashed off Alexander Nübel, who has a contract with Bayern and is loaned to AS Monaco.
With the Swiss, who is capable of sensational reflexes on the line, it is the knockout phase of the Champions League and Bayern want to go further this year than last. In the past two years they failed in the quarter-finals – not enough for the claims of the largest German club. The opponent in the round of 16 is now called Paris Saint-Germain, where Lionel Messi, Kylian and Mbappé and Neymar are known to play. For Bayern, the games in February and early March will be the yardstick for the whole season. If they beat PSG, anything is possible. If they fly out of the competition, a mood of disaster will spread.
What happens when Manuel Neuer returns
Another alternative would have been to rely on substitute goalkeeper Sven Ulreich. But they don’t think he’s good enough in Munich to replace Neuer over a longer period of time. The fact that they played with Ulreich almost the entire 2017/18 season when Neuer suffered a metatarsal fracture does not count in the present.
The question remains what will happen if Neuer returns fit. The 36-year-old has already made it clear that he is far from thinking about the end of his career, his goal is to take part in the 2024 European Championships in Germany, as number one in the DFB jersey and with Bayern, of course. For Bayern and Sommer, this means that competition for the regular place could break out in the new season. It would by no means be decided who decides for himself. Coach Nagelsmann is officially counting on Neuer’s comeback, but it is by no means certain that he will find his old form. Nagelsmann does not want to make concrete predictions. In view of the questions about possible competition, he expressly emphasizes that he is currently not thinking about the future.
Sources: DPA, “table football“, “Southgerman newspaper“