Herzogenaurach (dpa) – Oliver Bierhoff has praised DFB captain Manuel Neuer to the skies and does not see the end of the national goalkeeper’s career yet.
“The way I see him, he’s still the best goalkeeper in the world and that won’t stop tomorrow. I still see a lot of vigor and enthusiasm in him, also physical agility, that it will continue like this for a while and we are very grateful for that,” said the DFB director before the national soccer team’s next game in the Nations League on Saturday (8:45 p.m. / RTL) in Hungary.
Bierhoff described Neuer’s performance in the 1-1 draw against England as “impressive” and “madness”. Comparisons with predecessors in the DFB goal like Oliver Kahn or Jens Lehmann are difficult. But: “Of course, Manuel Neuer combines everything because he is strong in positional play, anticipates a lot, but is also quick, reactive and supple at his age. You can see that from the fact that he is able to do all sports, he cycles, plays tennis and and and,” said Bierhoff about the 36-year-old Neuer.
The German record goalkeeper, who is about to make his 112th DFB appearance in Budapest, recently extended his contract with FC Bayern Munich until 2024. He would also like to continue in the national team at least until the European Championships at home in the same year. Behind Neuer, Marc-André ter Stegen (30 years old/28 internationals) from FC Barcelona and Kevin Trapp (31/6) from Eintracht Frankfurt currently have the best cards for the other two places in the squad for the World Cup in Qatar in late autumn.