News that has landed hard on fans of soccer: Manuel Neuer, at the age of 38, has decided to retire from the German national team. A symbolic moment that closes a 15-year chapter in the history of the Nationalelf, where he did not just defend masterfully the goal but actually redefined what being a goalkeeper in modern soccer is. This was by no means easy on Neuer – the goalkeeper admitted that much. There's no way for the fans not to feel the sting of nostalgia, coupled with admiration for everything the giant did on the pitch.
Follow Playing for 90 on X (Twitter).
Neuer had never been just a goalkeeper. He was impassable but also a maestro at the back, starting plays and actively joining in the formation of his team's offensive construction. This ability was not only tactically an advantage but a discrete revolution in our view of what the role of the goalkeeper is. Before him, the goalkeeper was the last of the defenders; after Neuer, he was also the libero.
The famous "goalkeeper-libero", a term that if uttered before would have seemed an oxymoron, fully found its meaning in the figure of this player. He didn't just defend the goal; he constructed the plays, anticipated movements, and if necessary, left the area as if he had been a defender. And who can forget that epic moment in 2014 when, against Algeria, he looked more like a third defender than a goalkeeper? That boldness, that fearlessness, is something we're unlikely to see again.
"Everyone who knows me knows that it wasn't an easy decision," he said. And who could blame him? At 38, the temptation to carry on a little longer, perhaps until the 2026 World Cup, was real. Yet, his body spoke, and a wise mind listened. After 124 games for Germany, he opted to pay more attention to Bayern Munich, a team in which he still is today, one of its cornerstones. It shows maturity but also clarity regarding what it takes to keep being at the top level in sports.
We cannot ignore the fact that Neuer is the goalkeeper with most caps for Germany. These are impressive figures, but alone, they don't tell the story. Because Neuer is more than just statistics; he's a living legend who has left his unmistakable mark on the game. Maybe Germany would find another goalkeeper, but a new Neuer? That, my friends, we are not going to see. It's the end of an era.
And, after all, perhaps that is the lesson that sport imparts. Legends come and go, but the stories they forge live on. Neuer is leaving, yet he brought forth such a legacy that it doubtless will be a shining beacon of inspiration to generations on down the line. He proved that when perfection is demanded from an athlete in this world, actually one can go beyond the conventional limits and rewrite the rules of the game. Now, a look toward the future is necessary both for Neuer and for the German national team. Let there be new challenges, new stories, but always with the memory that for 15 years, it had been our honor to watch one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time in action.
Also, soccer is made of cycles, and Neuer's time in the national team came to an end. But, as it always happens with the greats, his influence would continue to echo across generations. Even as the lingering feeling is a mix of pride and nostalgia, all told, you just don't see a Neuer every day.