Germany travelled to the World Cup hoping to play seven games. Their journey began in Salvador with a dream and ended in Rio with football's most coveted trophy. DFB.de takes another look back at Die Mannschaft's magnificent seven and recounts this summer's stories both on and off the pitch. Today, we remember Manuel Neuer’s momentous reinterpretation of the goalkeeping role in the last-sixteen clash with Algeria.
Well, some of you fans clearly can't add up. How can you hand the Man of the Match award to a player who came in significantly below average in every relevant stat? Following the normal practice after every match, the National Team Fan Club powered by Coca-Cola voted for its Man of the Match following the Round of 16 meeting with Algeria. The result was as near as you'll get to unanimous, with the winner amassing 88.52 percent of the votes. And yet in purely statistical terms this same winner was among the worst on the pitch. Each German player covered an average of 10.6 km against Algeria, but the man you named best player finished on 5.5 km. And it gets worse: according to the number crunchers his activity level was classified as ‘low’ for more than 96 percent of the game. To put it bluntly, the guy you voted best player played the least significant role. Look at this: he finished with a mere six sprints, where the rest of the team averaged 41.
The irrepressible Neuer
So much for statistics then! Joking aside, the reason like-for-like comparisons are futile in this case is because the Man of the Match wasn't an outfield player but rather goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. He was rightly praised throughout the tournament, but especially so in the aftermath of the meeting with Algeria, where he fundamentally redefined the craft of goalkeeping. Neuer’s performance in the World Cup last-sixteen tie conclusively proved that a keeper does not have to pull off a string of spectacular saves to be the outstanding individual on the night. It also showed that the keeper racing from goal does not necessarily cause an attack of palpitations for the coaching staff on the touchline.
Finally, it proves you should never read too much into the bare stats. You would never have thought it, but against Algeria, Neuer actually covered far less ground than his usual average. The figure of 5.5 km relates to the full 120 minutes. His total after 90 minutes was 3.8 km, which in Neuer's case practically amounts to not showing up for work. Take this illustration from the qualifying campaign: following a meeting with Austria back in September 2013 in which Neuer covered 5.4 km, the keeper himself said: "That's a completely normal figure – I frequently end up with around 5 km."
Decisive interventions
Almost bizarrely, the match in which the world woke up to the concept of the ultra-modern sweeper-keeper saw Neuer cover relatively little ground by his own standards. But when he did break into a sprint the effect was spectacular. Reviewing the game in chronological order, nine minutes had been played when the Germany No1 catapulted out of his box to challenge Islam Slimani. Neuer forced the striker wide, matched him pace-for-pace in a dash to the byline and then timed his sliding block to perfection, deflecting the ball away for a corner when the quicksilver Algerian was poised to score. On 27 minutes Neuer again played the classic libero, or in fact its modern equivalent, the holding midfielder. He was fully 30 yards from goal when he slid in to nick the ball off Sofiane Feghouli’s toe.
Neuer was out of his box again after 71 minutes, again beating Slimani to the ball but this time with his head. And the keeper left the safety of the penalty area again in the penultimate minute of normal time when he beat Feghouli to a loose ball for the second time. All of his excursions from goal ended in success, and every one of them was essential. Underemployment was not the reason Neuer took such an active role in the play. Instead, he weighed up the chances and risks and took the right decision every time.
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Germany travelled to the World Cup hoping to play seven games. Their journey began in Salvador with a dream and ended in Rio with football's most coveted trophy. DFB.de takes another look back at Die Mannschaft's magnificent seven and recounts this summer's stories both on and off the pitch. Today, we remember Manuel Neuer’s momentous reinterpretation of the goalkeeping role in the last-sixteen clash with Algeria.
Well, some of you fans clearly can't add up. How can you hand the Man of the Match award to a player who came in significantly below average in every relevant stat? Following the normal practice after every match, the National Team Fan Club powered by Coca-Cola voted for its Man of the Match following the Round of 16 meeting with Algeria. The result was as near as you'll get to unanimous, with the winner amassing 88.52 percent of the votes. And yet in purely statistical terms this same winner was among the worst on the pitch. Each German player covered an average of 10.6 km against Algeria, but the man you named best player finished on 5.5 km. And it gets worse: according to the number crunchers his activity level was classified as ‘low’ for more than 96 percent of the game. To put it bluntly, the guy you voted best player played the least significant role. Look at this: he finished with a mere six sprints, where the rest of the team averaged 41.
The irrepressible Neuer
So much for statistics then! Joking aside, the reason like-for-like comparisons are futile in this case is because the Man of the Match wasn't an outfield player but rather goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. He was rightly praised throughout the tournament, but especially so in the aftermath of the meeting with Algeria, where he fundamentally redefined the craft of goalkeeping. Neuer’s performance in the World Cup last-sixteen tie conclusively proved that a keeper does not have to pull off a string of spectacular saves to be the outstanding individual on the night. It also showed that the keeper racing from goal does not necessarily cause an attack of palpitations for the coaching staff on the touchline.
Finally, it proves you should never read too much into the bare stats. You would never have thought it, but against Algeria, Neuer actually covered far less ground than his usual average. The figure of 5.5 km relates to the full 120 minutes. His total after 90 minutes was 3.8 km, which in Neuer's case practically amounts to not showing up for work. Take this illustration from the qualifying campaign: following a meeting with Austria back in September 2013 in which Neuer covered 5.4 km, the keeper himself said: "That's a completely normal figure – I frequently end up with around 5 km."
Decisive interventions
Almost bizarrely, the match in which the world woke up to the concept of the ultra-modern sweeper-keeper saw Neuer cover relatively little ground by his own standards. But when he did break into a sprint the effect was spectacular. Reviewing the game in chronological order, nine minutes had been played when the Germany No1 catapulted out of his box to challenge Islam Slimani. Neuer forced the striker wide, matched him pace-for-pace in a dash to the byline and then timed his sliding block to perfection, deflecting the ball away for a corner when the quicksilver Algerian was poised to score. On 27 minutes Neuer again played the classic libero, or in fact its modern equivalent, the holding midfielder. He was fully 30 yards from goal when he slid in to nick the ball off Sofiane Feghouli’s toe.
Neuer was out of his box again after 71 minutes, again beating Slimani to the ball but this time with his head. And the keeper left the safety of the penalty area again in the penultimate minute of normal time when he beat Feghouli to a loose ball for the second time. All of his excursions from goal ended in success, and every one of them was essential. Underemployment was not the reason Neuer took such an active role in the play. Instead, he weighed up the chances and risks and took the right decision every time.
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Despite it all there was a note of post-match criticism from the coaching staff. "I have to start with a complaint: we've not kept a clean sheet. Yet again we've let in a goal," admonished Andreas Köpke. That of course was true: even though André Schürrle (92) and Mesut Özil (119) made it safe in extra time, Abdelmoumene Djabou netted in time added on at the end and spoiled Neuer’s otherwise flawless display. Although of course it was not his fault, and Köpke was joking.
"Seriously though,” the goalkeeping coach continued, "I can honestly say it was extremely impressive, especially because it was hardly your typical goalkeeper's performance. Manuel had relatively few saves to make. Instead he had to do the things goalkeepers are increasingly expected to do: join in the play and anticipate opposing moves. Goalkeepers must be capable of operating as a sweeper of sorts, and Manuel did magnificently."
Skills of an outfield player
Köpke insisted he felt no anxiety when his protégé left the penalty area, with only a temporary increase in his heart rate. "I'm basically relatively relaxed," the coach commented. "You never have the feeling he'll arrive too late. He has very good spatial awareness, and he accurately works out speeds and distances. He gives you the feeling he always knows what he's doing and never doubts his decisions for an instant. Basically he almost always reaches the ball relatively comfortably."
And given Neuer is fundamentally employed to work with his hands, he is no mean performer with the ball at his feet. The Bayern man is blessed with excellent footballing skill, as evident in almost every match and training session. When coach Joachim Löw orders warm-up games of five-against-two at the start of a session, the other players tend to seek out Neuer rather than avoid passing to him. When he trains with backup keepers Ron-Robert Zieler and Roman Weidenfeller, his crosses with either foot are well-struck and precise. There is no doubting Neuer's versatility and all-round ability, as acknowledged by the goalkeeping coach: "He'd easily make it as an outfield player in the third division," Köpke declared.
Turning defence into attack
Taking the Algeria clash as the benchmark, that is probably understating the case. Neuer’s sweeping duties were by no means restricted to neutering the Algerians’ goalscoring efforts, as he was frequently the initiator of his own team’s attacking moves. The 35th minute provided a good example, when a decisive intervention ended with the keeper unleashing an inch-perfect 50-yard pass to Thomas Müller off his nominally weaker left foot. Or shortly after the break when he almost turned provider: Neuer tidied up after a corner and immediately released André Schürrle for a run at goal with a 70-yard punt upfield.
So yes, the goalkeeper was the undisputed man of the match against Algeria. The forays from his line that so impressed the watching world showed that the man named world's best keeper in 2013 was also the best on the planet at the 2014 World Cup. That was admiringly confirmed in glowing terms on the return flight from Porto Alegre to Porto Seguro. In his customary speech over the on-board PA system, DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach made an exception to his normal rule of refusing to single out individuals. Niersbach initially thanked the team for reaching the quarter-finals, but then turned his attention to the man who made it possible: "Manu, today's performance was simply and absolutely world-class."
