00:03Manuel Neuer is a different breed of goalkeeper, and while his unique and aggressive playing
00:09style could be interpreted as dangerous or risky, it has led him to big things on football's
00:15greatest stage. While he didn't invent the role of sweeper-keeper, Neuer certainly took
00:22it to a new level. Lightning quick for such an imposing physical figure, almost daring
00:29opposition strikers to take him on as he takes risks to launch attack from defence, the
00:35German international has made goalkeeping fashionable. And in 2014, he made it the key to Germany's
00:43World Cup success. For 20 years, Neuer was entrenched at his home club Schalke, where he started
00:52at age five. He debuted in the Bundesliga in 2006, but was snatched by Bayern Munich in
00:592011, the team for which he really blossomed. His Schalke fan base were not pleased when he
01:08announced he would be leaving. And surprisingly, nor were the fans of Bayern when word reached
01:14them that a rival player was entering their midst. But they were silenced quickly by the
01:19match-winning theatrics of their new stopper. He won a string of Bundesliga titles, two of
01:26them as part of a treble, along with the DFB-Pakal and Champions League in 2013 and 2020. Neuer
01:34named the world's best goalkeeper five times in that span. But as good as Neuer has been
01:41for Bayern Munich over the journey, it all seemed to lead to football's greatest stage in 2014.
01:49Germany qualified with ease for the World Cup in Brazil, and earned two wins from the
01:54group stage to progress to what would be a hard-fought knockout phase. But that's when
02:01Neuer's aggressive mid-air acrobatics came to the fore, holding off Algeria in a tense 2-1,
02:07extra-time victory in the round of 16. The Germans got through against France 1-0 in the quarter-finals,
02:14before an unprecedented 7-1 rout of host nation Brazil.
02:21Neuer's heroics continued in the decider against Argentina, making breakaway forays,
02:27forcing countless errors from the opposition, leaving the Argentinians remarkably without a
02:34shot on target, before Mario Goetze scored the winner in extra time.
02:40While Goetze got the glory for the match-winner, Neuer was hailed a colossus.
02:46He won the Golden Glove for the tournament's best goalkeeper, but finished only third in the
02:51ensuing Ballon d'Or, behind strikers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
02:57The 2014 Ballon d'Or sparked widespread condemnation of the voting system.
03:03German legend Franz Beckenbauer, just one of many to label Neuer's lack of recognition unjust.
03:11But while Manuel Neuer didn't win football's greatest individual prize,
03:15his feats on football's greatest stage in 2014 will be cherished forever.
03:20Dr.
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