There are goalkeepers in football. And then there is Manuel Neuer. The German has won it all. From multiple Bundesliga crowns to a Champions League medal, and, above all, the FIFA World Cup.However, the best part about the German is that he'll be remembered, by the generations to come, less for these achievements and more for the incredible things that this man is capable of doing on a football pitch.We look at some of such moments which have made him a real urban legend in football, acts which only Neuer can dream of orchestrating and executing.
#1 Come half way down the pitch to satiate his tackling appetite
How often do you see a goalkeeper run down halfway down the pitch to tackle an on-rushing forward despite having his own defenders around to manage the situation? Pretty often if you're a German football fan because Neuer does it with quite a bit of punctuality and flair.
In a recent international fixture against Georgia, Neuer rushed halfway down his half to put in a sliding tackle on a forward. Not only that, after he realised that he had made a pretty decent mess of it, he stuck around to have a second bite of the cherry. Fortunately, there wasn't a Xabi Alonso or Charlie Adam around and Neuer stood vindicated.
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#2 Pull-off tricks not just with the feet but also with his hands
What would a conventional goalkeeper do to make a short pass with a throw to the closest defender? Dink it over the top of opposition strikers, roll the ball into the path of the defender, play it to the feet of the player? These are fairly safe and popular practices adopted by goalkeepers all over the world.
But Neuer's eccentricity holds no bounds, and the fact that he chose this basketball-like pass right under the nose of a Dortmund player over ten other safer options bears perfect testament to that.
#3 Double up as a quarterback
Sports buff who are acquainted with American 'football' and have seen Neuer play regularly, would not deny comparisons between him and a 'quarterback'.
Neuer's throwing ability is far superior to most other goalkeepers, making him seem more like ones of those quarterbacks with their long passes to the wide receivers. The power, speed and swerve coupled with his vision make him one of the most talented distributors of a football.
#4 Fulfill throw-in duties in Euro qualifiers
If his other special responsibilities and duties were not enough, Neuer was recently seen taking over the role of a primary throw-in taker for Germany in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Georgia.
And to make the situation even more amusing, the ball didn't go out of touch near the goal line, but almost halfway into Germany's defensive half. Neuer takes the throw-in ever so nonchalantly and then jogs back to his goal like it was everyday routine.
#5 Dribble in the final third
When a team is desperately looking for a goal, sights of goalkeepers rushing into the penalty box is quite common during set plays. However, Neuer has redefined last-minute desperation (and confidence) to say the least.
So much so that when you see a player in green shirt dribble his way around near the opposition's penalty area, you immediately recognise that it’s Neuer and all you do is to sit back, enjoy and admire this man's sheer audacity, confidence and willfulness.
#6 Win freekicks near the halfway line
When Neuer was being taught and trained on the basics of goalkeeping, the 'word' clearance was not in the manual. Not only does he, with amazing regularity, rush off his lines to make inconceivable interceptions and tackles, he also dribbles past hapless forwards, with his defenders playing last-man.
On one such instance, he makes another of his trademark sliding challenges, gets up with a blink of an eye, regains control of the ball, then muscles a striker off the ball and wins a free kick close to the halfway line.
#7 Take the meaning of high defensive line to a whole new level
It's imaginable for a goalkeeper to feel left-out in solitude on the pitch in a team like Bayern Munich, who tend to dominate most opposition teams with their slick possession-based football and hardly get out of enemy territory for prolonged periods of the game, let alone give them a sniff at their own goal.
Yes, it get boring for Manuel Neuer, but the German has devised his own ways of entertaining himself. He simply gets a better view of the action by stationing himself on the half-way line. Talk about having the best seat in the house.
#8 Assisting Miroslav Klose with a goalkick
We've seen multiple instances of goalkeepers getting goal assists with their long-range kicks. But most of these instances have been freak occurrences or terrible lapses in concentration by defenders.
However, Neuer doesn't believe in chance occurrences and instead orchestrates every move with complete certainty and control. This assist for Miroslav Klose during the quarterfinal against England at the 2010 World Cup showed his ingenuity with the long-ball. He hit it with a very different technique, which forced the ball to swerve and move in the air unpredictably, and tricked even a solid head like John Terry, eventually leading to Klose's winner.
#9 Consider controlling, stopping and passing the ball as too mainstream
Some brave goalkeepers who idolise Neuer might muster the courage to emulate some of his uncanny acts, but surely no sane footballer can think of doing the following in a competitive football match.
Neuer, given the task of controlling and redistributing an awkward knee-height pass, pulls up another of his extraordinary tricks from the hat. Instead of controlling it or directly clearing it, he attempts a stupendous one-touch side-heel pass that would put most world futsal players to shame.
Even the opposition manager couldn’t help but admire his audacity.
#10 Make a Cryuff turn inside the 6-yard box
Neuer once had remarked in an interview that he wanted to be a midfielder instead of a goalkeeper. He showed the world who his childhood idol was when he made the famous Cryuff turn, albeit in his own six-yard box, under heavy pressure from an opposition player.
Most goalkeepers would clear their lines or put the ball out of touch, but again, we are not really talking about most goalkeepers.
