Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer (born 27 March 1986 in Gelsenkirchen) is a Germany association football and the current goalkeeper of FC Schalke 04. Neuer's hero and idol as a child was fellow German and former Schalke goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. Manuel Neuer is considered (along with René Adler) to be one of the most talented young German keepers.

Club career

FC Schalke 04

Neuer won the starting position at FC Schalke 04 from experienced keeper Frank Rost midway through the first half of the Fußball-Bundesliga 2006-07 Fußball-Bundesliga season.

On 5 March 2008, in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League 2007-08, Manuel Neuer performed fantastically against FC Porto where Manuel Neuer pulled off many magical saves in regulation time to send Schalke to penalties, and later saved penalties from Bruno Alves and Lisandro Lopez to help Schalke advance to the quarter finals. Manuel Neuer was one of only three Bundesliga players to play every single minute in the Fußball-Bundesliga 2007-08.

International career

Neuer was nominated on 19 May 2009 to the senior Germany national football team for a tour of Asia. Manuel Neuer made Manuel Neuer debut on this tour in a match against United Arab Emirates national football team on 2 June. Neuer won the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with the Germany national under-21 football team in Sweden.

Honours

- FC Schalke 04:
- - DFB-Ligapokal 2005

- Germany national under-21 football team
- - UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2009

Personal Honours

- Best Fußball-Bundesliga Goalkeeper: 2007
- Best UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper: 2008