Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is close to reaching the 100th match with the German national team, but before this achievement is achieved he is set to become the most German goalkeeper to represent the national team.
Neuer - the 2014 World Cup winner - is scheduled to play his 95th international match - equivalent to the number registered in the name of legendary goalkeeper Sepp Mayer, world champion in 1974 - tomorrow, Saturday, when the German national team faces Ukraine in the European Nations League, and then beats Mayer next Tuesday. When facing the Spanish national team.
🔴 Manuel Neuer 🙌 # UCL |
@FCBayernEN pic.twitter.com/7ocs7d4ik4
- UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 10, 2020
It appears that Mayer, 76, is not upset about losing his record, and he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that "it is time" to skip this figure.
"I hit that number 41 years ago. It shows that it was a great achievement for me. I congratulate Manuel Neuer," Meyer said.
Oliver Kahn could have broken Meyer's record more than a decade ago, but he lost the starting spot for Linz Lyman before the 2006 World Cup and retired after the tournament after playing 86 international matches.
Mayer participated in 95 international matches during the period from 1966 to 1979, and won the 1972 Euro and the World Cup two years later with West Germany, and he also won all the club titles in which Bayern Munich participated.
21 year old Manuel Neuer doing an absolute madness for Schalke back in 2008. pic.twitter.com/nAFr6kUwwH
- Regista (@Regista) November 8, 2020
Neuer, 34, has also won all of the championships with Bayern Munich since his move to the team from Schalke 04 in 2011, including winning two triples in 2013 and 2020.
Neuer got his first appearance with the German national team in 2009, after which he became the first choice before the 2010 World Cup after the then goalkeeper, Rene Adler, suffered a fractured rib.
Neuer did not look back, but retained his position after a long injury that lasted months before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, despite fierce competition from Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Neuer, who wore the captaincy for Bayern Munich and the German national team, redefined the role of the goalkeeper, as he often played the role of a defender and contributed to building the team's attacks as well, which made him superior to Mayer, and was chosen as the best goalkeeper in the world 4 times.
"Manuel Neuer is an exceptional goalkeeper, a godsend for German football. He has been one of the biggest factors in our game development and success in the last decade," said German coach Joachim Loew before Neuer achieved his feat.
"A goalkeeper with record numbers in Germany, this is a special achievement," Loew added, noting that Germany has a long tradition of having good goalkeepers.
According to Meyer, there is no end with the postponed European Nations Championship to be held next year, followed by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and he said, "Manuel Neuer will definitely play more than 120 international matches, that's okay."
Neuer - who extended his contract with Bayern early this year until 2023 - is not afraid of his new rival in the team Alexander Noble, and he wastes no time thinking about retiring. "I am ready. I feel in good health and enjoying football."