Riemann as a special DFB idea?
The goalkeeper who drives everyone crazy
By Tobias Nordmann
October 10, 2023, 7:02 p.m
Manuel Riemann always has games in which he drives his opponents to despair. But there are quite a few games in which VfL Bochum fans and teammates go crazy because of Riemann. Could he also be a penalty killer at the home European Championship?
On Saturday afternoon VfL Bochum surprisingly had zero. Although on both sides of the scoreboard, the Ruhr area men could live with that very well. Significantly better than the players from RB Leipzig, who were the heavy favorites against the opponent who had already been badly beaten up several times this season. In Bochum we know, without having seen it, that such a result against such an opponent must have something to do with Manuel Riemann. The Bochum goalkeeper, who so often has a story to tell. Sometimes it is heroic, sometimes the opposite. Because of him, emotions are always guaranteed.
In the Red Bull Arena, Riemann added a new, spectacular chapter to his wild vita. He saved a penalty twice. This only happens very rarely over 90 minutes. It just didn’t come as a surprise because the 35-year-old is considered one of the best when it comes to a duel between shooter and keeper. The two penalty kicks saved against Xavi Simons (27th) and Emil Forsberg (61st) were his numbers ten and eleven in 23 attempts. Since VfL’s promotion in the summer of 2021, he has saved six penalties in the upper house, twice as many as any other goalkeeper. An outstanding rate. This even gave Sky expert Dietmar Hamann the idea of recommending Bochum’s number one as number three for the DFB team.
Like van Gaal once did with goalkeeper Krul?
With Riemann to the European title? Hamann has to explain that. And does that too. Because the third goalkeeper would almost never play in the tournament, the national team could afford to nominate a man with the special qualities of the VfL man. “If you have one of those, I would at least toy with the idea. There are few who save penalties better than him.” The Netherlands is considered a role model. At the World Cup in South Africa nine years ago, Louis van Gaal came on as substitute Tim Krul in the quarter-finals against the strong Costa Ricans. He came on for the penalty shootout, he Saved two attempts, the second and the fifth. The Netherlands advanced.
With Riemann to the European title? That would actually be revolutionary in German football. Experimental. But that’s exactly what should be over in the new era under Julian Nagelsmann. And it has to be done quickly, the time lost under Hansi Flick has to be made up and a stable hierarchy has to be created. In goal, however, it will probably be a bigger problem. Because nobody knows when top dog and captain Manuel Neuer will return. And in what form. Can he become number one again? Or is the way finally clear for Marc-André ter Stegen, the eternal crown prince. And there are also top-class applicants behind them, such as Kevin Trapp.
Is it like Kevin Behrens?
The topic of the national team shouldn’t be a topic for the Bochum goalkeeper anyway. Even if, using the example of Union striker Kevin Behrens, you can miraculously observe how things turn around again on the home straight. He was nominated for the first time at the advanced age of 32. But if Nagelsmann actually follows Hamann’s idea, it would be a continuation of Riemann’s wild journey through his career. As a 19-year-old, he played so furiously for Wacker Burghausen in the DFB Cup against FC Bayern that manager Uli Hoeneß had the goalkeeper’s number given to him. But the early highlight was followed by a wave that only swept him into the Bundesliga at the age of 32. And how.
In his debut season he performed better and more consistently than ever before. According to “Kicker” scores, he was number two behind Marvin Schwäbe from Cologne. Intoxicated by the goal of the Bundesliga, he led the club to the miracle of staying in the league. He celebrated exuberantly with the fans in Bochum’s Bermuda Triangle. A little later he was voted VfL player of the season with over 70 percent of the votes. But fans and keepers weren’t always so close to each other. The relationship wasn’t always easy because Riemann isn’t easy. Although that may be the wrong description. Riemann never makes a secret of his emotional state. Your own teammates also feel this from time to time. If he wants to shake things up like that, he’ll take action. He also lets it rip in training. If he doesn’t like something, he throws it out.
Sometimes he fights in too many arenas
Last season he attacked a fan in the stands who had insulted him and his family. Riemann lets himself be driven by his feelings. He has a strong sense of injustice. When the Bochum fans once mocked a young goalkeeper on his professional debut in Nuremberg after a serious mistake, he asked his own supporters to refrain from doing so. But that didn’t always work out for him.
Sometimes he fought in too many arenas. His performance suffered. Like last season. The emotional climax of staying in the league was followed by a season with plenty of mistakes. Among other things, in the small derby against FC Schalke 04 in the middle of the second half of the season. At least seven big things have been attributed to him. But Riemann shook himself and got up again. Against 1. FC Köln and RB Leipzig he kept the “zero” twice, took himself back and focused on his game. With his limitless ambition, he doesn’t always succeed. Wild excursions, risky dribblings and mistakes sometimes make the fans and his teammates despair before Riemann becomes a wall again or initiates successful attacks as a game designer with long balls. Another quality that sets him apart from many keepers in the Bundesliga. In addition to his work as a penalty killer.
Exactly how he became this is a mystery even to coach Thomas Letsch. “What’s going on in his head, how he processes the information and then makes his decisions remains his secret,” said Letsch after the 0-0 draw at RB Leipzig: “I’ll ask him.” Riemann drove the Saxons to desperation – and not just from eleven meters. “He was there,” said Letsch about the “outstanding” goalkeeper, “but not just in the situations. Overall, he was a great support, coached great, and was positive the whole game.” Sometimes he is a “little sorcerer,” said Leipzig’s Christoph Baumgartner: “I’ve never experienced that myself. He’s someone who does it well.” And why? He wrote succinctly on Instagram: “Listen to your gut too.”