Critics rained down on the German goalkeeper for statements in which he was angry and disappointed after the team’s goalkeeping coach was sacked.
Manuel Neuer is not having a good time in Germany. The historic goalkeeper of Bayern Munich and the German team is recovering from a serious injury suffered while skiing. On the other hand, at the end of January, his club took the decision to the late Toni Tapalovic , goalkeeping coach with whom he has a close relationship. Considering this, Neuer released statements showing hurt and disappointed which rained down criticism from the Bayern management.
The last to speak contrary to the statements of the German goalkeeper is the same club president, Herbert Hainer, who first commented: “For the club, it is incomprehensible and disappointing that Manuel Neuer did not seek to communicate directly with us, but resorted to the press ”. Later he added: “I am more disappointed than angry, because I thought that Manuel, a great player who has been here for a long time, I would first discuss these issues with us.
One of the rumors that surfaced regarding the controversy was a possible dismissal of the team captain, however, Hainer took the opportunity to deny this information: “No, we are FC Bayern and here these conflicts are handled internally and in the end they make the club stronger. ”. To end on his remarks, the helmsman of the Bavarian club said: “We will meet him and discuss everything in a professional manner. Manuel Neuer is a world-class goalkeeper who has been with us for more than 10 years, now the important thing is that he recovers from his injury. We’ll see later”.
Neuer’s words
When the news of the dismissal broke, the 2014 world champion with Germany did not hesitate to speak to the local media, expressing his dissatisfaction and his disappointment with the decision: “It was a blow to me when I was already on the floor. I felt like my heart was ripped out , It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced in my career.” declared.
The reason for the dismissal, as stated, was due to some differences Tapalovic had with first-team coach Julian Nagelsmann. Moreover, some rumors have positioned the goalkeeper coach as a ‘mole’ in the locker room who allegedly leaked messages to the press. Given this, Neuer defended him: “Toni never did that, no matter the coach.”
Subsequently, the 36-year-old criticized the terms of the sacking: “It’s related to the human aspect deal with a decent employee. At Bayern Munich we want to be different, one family . And then something happens that I’ve never experienced here before.”
Tapalovic had worked for the Bavarian side for almost 12 years, the same amount of time Neuer spent with the team. “Everyone in our group of goalkeepers was devastated, people burst into tears,” he added. Later, he took the opportunity to cast doubt on his continuity: “I thought of everything. Also when it comes to my own future at the club.”
Referent reviews
The footballer’s remarks were not well received by Bayern Munich, which drew strong criticism from managers and other historical figures of the Bavarian team. The first to address the situation was the equally historic German goalkeeper Olivier Kahn , general manager of the club. The former footballer began by saying: “What Manuel said regarding the sacking of Tapalovic they do not correspond to him as captain or to the values of Bayern”.
Moreover, his statements They are inappropriate because we are facing very important matches. he added, referring to their bitter struggle in the Bundesliga, in which they are only one point ahead of Unión Berlin. Later, he commented, “He is personally affected, you have to understand that to some degree. We were aware of that when we explained to him that the decision was the best for the team.”
The historic German player mentioned having experienced a similar situation in 2004 for the German national team, however, he knew how to act differently: “The common goals were in the foreground for me, they were more important than my personal feelings. For that I have decided not to speak publicly , Manuel did the opposite” . Kahn condemned with the sentence: “We will speak very clearly with him.”
After the former goalkeeper of the German national team, it’s the turn of Lothair Matthaus , another historical reference of German football. Of course, the retired defender/midfielder’s words were much more direct and acidic against Neuer: ‘Manuel Neuer is no longer acceptable as Bayern captain . He skied negligently (referring to the injury) and now violently attacks the club . Didn’t you say a few weeks ago that no one was above the club? started by pointing to an opinion column in sky sports.
“He’s an icon of world football, one of the greatest who played for Bayern and Germany. I was the biggest fan you could imagine of him, but it’s his fault, the skiing accident and this interview” added the world champion with Germany in 1990, who also commented: “Nobody died; no child is seriously ill, it is the separation of an employee to whom he was very close”.
Continuing with the darts, Matthaus noted: “He Bayern he was more loyal to Neuer than any other player . Serge Gnabry was publicly thrown into hell (for traveling to Paris) and Manuel didn’t say a swear word to the outside world. Bayern had to sign Yann Sommer (goalkeeper) for a lot of money (eight million euros) and now they have to read that Neuer’s heart has been ripped out…”.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
