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| Manuel Neuer |
Manuel Peter Neuer (born 27 March 1986) is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bayern Munich and the German national team. He has been described as a "sweeper-keeper" because of his unique playing style and is known for his quick reflexes, excellent shot-stopping abilities, command of his area and accurate distribution of the ball.
Neuer won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany as well as the Golden Glove award for being the best goalkeeper in the tournament and is considered to be the best goalkeeper in the world.
Manuel Neuer signed professional terms in 2005 after progressing through every age group at his hometown club. He made his Bundesliga debut with Schalke when he came on to substitute the injured Frank Rost on match day two of the 2006–07 season. The 20-year-old eventually won the starting position when Rost was surprisingly dropped for the crunch clash against Bayern Munich. He did not disappoint and managed to secure a 2–2 draw against the defending champions. Despite his young age, he was widely tipped to be a potential successor to his former idol Jens Lehmann in the future for the German national team.
On 1 June 2011, Schalke and Bayern Munich confirmed that Neuer would move to Bayern Munich in July 2011. Manuel Neuer signed a five-year contract that will last until June 2016. The move was worth €22million, making Neuer the second most expensive goalkeeper of all time, only behind Gianluigi Buffon. After hostilities of Bayern fans against Neuer, a round-table discussion between Bayern Munich and group of supporters’ representatives took place on 2 July 2011. Among other things, it was decided that Manuel Neuer will be "regarded as a full member of the FC Bayern Munich team, who should be treated with due respect. Furthermore, hostility towards him should cease". Right in the first weeks at Bayern, after a 0–0 draw with Hoffenheim, Neuer broke the Bayern Munich record for most competitive clean sheets in a row, having gone over 1000 minutes without conceding. He improved the record formerly held by Oliver Kahn.
He went on to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final against Chelsea and it also went to a penalty shoot-out. He took and scored the third penalty for Bayern and also saved the first penalty taken by Juan Mata, but all the rest were scored and Munich lost the trophy 4–3 on penalties in their home stadium, the Allianz Arena.
On 2 May 2014, Manuel Neuer extended his current contract until the summer of 2019.
More about him you can find here.
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