00:04Manuel Neuer is a different breed of goalkeeper, and while his unique and aggressive playing
00:10style could be interpreted as dangerous or risky, it has led him to big things on football's
00:16greatest stage. While he didn't invent the role of sweeper-keeper, Neuer certainly took
00:23it to a new level. Lightning quick for such an imposing physical figure, almost daring
00:30opposition strikers to take him on as he takes risks to launch attack from defence, the German
00:36international has made goalkeeping fashionable. And in 2014, he made it the key to Germany's
00:44World Cup success.
00:48For 20 years, Neuer was entrenched at his home club Schalke, where he started at age
00:54five. He debuted in the Bundesliga in 2006, but was snatched by Bayern Munich in 2011, the
01:02team for which he really blossomed. His Schalke fan base were not pleased when he announced
01:09he would be leaving. And surprisingly, nor were the fans of Bayern, when word reached
01:15them that a rival player was entering their midst. But they were silenced quickly by the
01:20match-winning theatrics of their new stopper. He won a string of Bundesliga titles, two of
01:27them as part of a treble, along with the DFB-Pakal and Champions League in 2013 and 2020. Neuer
01:35named the world's best goalkeeper five times in that span.
01:40But as good as Neuer has been for Bayern Munich over the journey, it all seemed to lead to
01:45football's greatest stage in 2014.
01:50Germany qualified with ease for the World Cup in Brazil and earned two wins from the
01:55group stage to progress to what would be a hard-fought knockout phase.
02:01But that's when Neuer's aggressive mid-air acrobatics came to the fore, holding off Algeria in a
02:07tense 2-1, extra-time victory in the round of 16. The Germans got through against France 1-0
02:14in the quarter-finals, before an unprecedented 7-1 rout of host nation Brazil.
02:21Neuer's heroics continued in the decider against Argentina, making breakaway forays, forcing
02:28countless errors from the opposition, leaving the Argentinians remarkably without a shot on
02:35target, before Mario Goetze scored the winner in extra time.
02:41While Goetze got the glory for the match-winner, Neuer was hailed a colossus. He won the Golden
02:48Glove for the tournament's best goalkeeper, but finished only third in the ensuing Ballon d'Or,
02:54behind strikers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The 2014 Ballon d'Or sparked widespread
03:02condemnation of the voting system. German legend Franz Beckenbauer just one of many to label
03:08Neuer's lack of recognition unjust. But while Manuel Neuer didn't win football's greatest individual
03:15prize, his feats on football's greatest stage in 2014 will be cherished forever.
03:21blue-finger
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