Top 3 Greatest German Goalkeepers. Germany has not traditionally relied on remarkable talent to succeed on the international stage, unlike some other nations. We have one of the most decorated football nations when you combine a technically sound bunch of players with a desire to work hard and win big.
But when it comes to goalkeepers, Germany has had the good fortune to be endowed with elite athletes, some of whom were the best of their era.
German goalkeepers of the current generation are light years ahead of their international rivals. They have perhaps the best custodian in the world in Manuel Neuer. Even the bench players, like Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp, and Bernd Leno, are experts in their fields. With potential names like Timo Horn and Alexandre Nubel emerging, the future appears to be promising as well.
Such a situation is the result of numerous causes acting in concert. Germans have always been tall, powerful, and athletic, which are some of the fundamental characteristics one wants to see in a top-tier custodian, therefore some of the credit for this trait belongs to heredity. Germans have a sophisticated scouting system in addition to this, which starts promising names off in the right direction.
The German work ethic and ideology, however, are what really bring out the best in a player by pressuring them to put in consistent, hard work in order to succeed. Today, we honor this mentality by recalling the greatest German pop stars of all time who terrorized enemy assaults.
#3 Oliver Kahn:
Few players can claim to have practically single-handedly propelled their teams to the FIFA World Cup finals. And there is almost no chance that the player is a custodian. Oliver Kahn was undoubtedly an exception, though.
He was obviously more than simply a keeper, earning the nickname “Der Titan” or “The Titan” for his intimidating presence, strong leadership, and aggressive playing style in goal during his professional career. On and off the pitch, he served as the team’s skeleton.
He joined Karlsruher SC in 1975 at the age of 6. He aided his team in winning a 7-0 home victory over Valencia, which helped them advance to the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 1993–1994 for his team. He had offers from other major clubs as a result of his success, and in 1994 he finally joined FC Bayern.
He became one of the most accomplished German players of all time at Bayern with eight Bundesliga championships, six DFB Cups, a UEFA Cup in 1996, and victories in the UEFA Champions League and Intercontinental Cup in 2001. Kahn took over as the German national team’s starting custodian after Andreas Kopke retired.
His ability to lead a rather weak German team to the 2002 FIFA World Cup final, where they ultimately fell to a virtually unbeatable Brazilian team, was the pinnacle of his international career. But he was the only custodian to ever win the tournament’s Golden Ball thanks to his outstanding performance.
His accomplishments include winning two German Footballer of the Year honors, three IFFHS World’s Best Keeper honors, and four straight UEFA Best European Keeper Awards. In 2001 and 2002, he also finished third in the Ballon d’Or.
In Kolkatta, Kahn faced Mohun Bagan in his final game, which attracted 120,000 spectators.
#2 Sepp Maier:
The ‘The Axis’ trio that Bayern Munich’s team was built around in the 1970s helped the team go from a second-division outfit to one of the finest in the history of the sport. Two of them were ‘Der Kaiser’ Franz Beckenbauer, arguably the best defender of all time, and ‘Der Bomber’ Gerd Muller, one of the greatest goal-scorers in history.
Sepp Maier, a custodian, was the third person. Maier, also known as “Die Katze von Anzing” or “The Cat from Anzing,” is largely regarded as the greatest German custodian in history and the actual forerunner of Oliver Kahn and Manuel Neuer.
Maier was one of those exceptional players who lived their entire life committed to just one team. He played a total of 22 years with Bayern after beginning his career there in 1959 with the club’s junior squad. With three consecutive European Cup victories and a flurry of other titles, he contributed to Bayern becoming the greatest club in the middle of the 1970s.
Between 1966 and 1979, Maier participated in 442 straight Bundesliga games, which remains the German record. His most notable international triumph occurred at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, when the renowned German squad, which included players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Paul Breitner, and Berti Vogts, defeated Johan Cruyff’s Dutch team in the championship match.
Maier also triumphed in the 1972 and 1976 editions of the European Championship. He continues to be the only custodian to have earned three German Footballer of the Year awards. He was not only listed by Pele as one of the 100 Greatest Footballers of all time but also placed fourth on the IFFHS list of the Greatest Goalkeepers of All Time.
Maier was well known for his outrageously long shorts, “Mickey Mouse” gloves, and sense of humor in addition to his cat-like reflexes and outstanding consistency. Who can ever forget him attempting to catch a duck on the field when a football game was in progress?
Sepp Maier’s legacy as one of the best goalkeepers to ever step foot on the field was further cemented in June 2009 when he was presented with the Life Achievement Award by the Bavarian government.
#1 Manuel Neuer:
Few players in contemporary football can claim to have revolutionized a particular position. Of course, Manuel Neuer is one. He is referred to as the sweeper-keeper and plays in a distinctive manner that occasionally involves him acting as a sweeper for his team by sprinting off his line in advance of opposition forwards who have defeated the offside trap.
We have more than we could have hoped for in a custodian when we combine this with his exceptional ball control and distribution. And none of this even takes into account his standard goalkeeping abilities.
Beginning his career at FC Schalke, he first gained attention in 2010 when he took Rene Adler’s place as the starter custodian after Adler injured his ribs. In 2011, he joined Bayern Munich, where he enjoyed several productive seasons.
Neuer helped Bayern win their fifth Champions League title and their first treble during the 2012–2013 UEFA Champions League season by keeping four straight clean sheets against teams like Juventus and Barcelona.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup, which Germany won after a 24-year hiatus, saw him perform at his best for his nation. The Golden Glove trophy for the best keeper in the competition was won by Neuer.
In 2011 and 2014, Neuer won Germany’s Footballer of the Year award twice. He has received the IFFHS World’s Best Keeper award four years in a row. Aside from this, he came in third place for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
In addition to his fantastic performance in the UEFA Champions League 2020 final, Neuer made some incredible saves to stop players like Neymar and Mbappe.
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