The suffering of the eternal ter Stegen
Fate is not kind to Nagelsmann and Neuer
By Tobias Nordmann
March 21, 2024, 6:34 a.m
The “eternal” deputy will look after the DFB goal, Marc-André ter Stegen will be allowed to play in the friendly games against France and the Netherlands. Of necessity, however, Julian Nagelsmann actually chooses Manuel Neuer as number one. It’s a special reunion – with a bitter note.
Manuel Neuer and Julian Nagelsmann were briefly together – and quickly separated again. But this time there was no crisis, no discord that drove the goalkeeper and coach apart – just another injury. But the torn muscle fiber is unlikely to be too dramatic. At least not compared to the terrible injury that Neuer sustained while skiing after the World Cup debacle in Qatar, which forced him to take a forever break. And yet this medical scare also has a large dimension.
Because Neuer should be number one again on his comeback. The national coach had ordered this. That wasn’t a surprise. Neuer has recovered well from his long period of suffering and is in outstanding shape at FC Bayern. In a significantly better situation than before the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, when Germany collapsed in the preliminary round and the previously injured Neuer had to listen to criticism of his performance. Suddenly he was no longer untouchable. A forgotten time. The keeper is unchallenged again. He should form the foundation of a new (old) hierarchy, with the returnee Toni Kroos, Joshua Kimmich and perhaps also Thomas Müller. They should be the men who help players like Jamal Musiala or Florian Wirtz mature and give them support when things get difficult.
Ter Stegen can only advertise again
But nothing comes of it. The new one has to fit. “It’s very, very annoying,” says Nagelsmann. Of all things, at the national coach’s new start, with a squad that is only focused on performance, that has eaten up a few old stars and that is against France (Saturday, 9 p.m./ZDF and in the ntv.de live ticker) and the Netherlands (Tuesday, 8:45 p.m./RTL and in the ntv.de live ticker) I want to really stress test it.
And so Marc-André ter Stegen comes back into focus. “Thank God we still have a world-class keeper,” said Nagelsmann about the FC Barcelona keeper. For him, the early decision to choose Neuer in the upcoming duels against France and the Netherlands as well as at the home European Championship in the summer was a big deal bitter blow. Once again the eternal deputy was left behind. Once again when it comes to making a decisive difference for Germany. A hero in Spain at FC Barcelona, here simply an unfortunate, sometimes angry challenger. Probably the best number two in the world is once again denied what he wants so much. Ter Stegen, already 31 years old, has kept the post position warm for a year and a half and yet has to make do with the place on the bench again.
At least when it really hits in the summer, when the national team finally wants to rekindle the good feeling in the country after their huge crises. If you want 2006 vibes. A summer fairy tale reloaded. Without scandals. Against the frustration that has kept the Federal Republic deep in the mood for months. That remains the plan if Neuer’s injury is really only temporary. But what actually happens if the Bayern goalkeeper is out for a longer period of time? Twice it didn’t end well for the national team. A topic for the future. In the present, Ter Stegen can now promote himself and show what an outstanding goalkeeper he is. But nothing will change his position in the hierarchy.
Nagelsmann’s crisis began with Neuer’s injury
It was a given that Neuer and Nagelsmann would get together again. At least when it was clear that the goalkeeper would return to the home of his main employer, FC Bayern (and shine there). But there is also something very special in this great story. Something fateful. Nagelsmann’s first major crisis began with the goalkeeper’s serious injury while skiing after the failed World Cup in Qatar. The record champions experienced a turbulent time. The team lost its sovereignty and the coach lost his dressing room. Almost exactly a year ago, Nagelsmann had to leave the club. Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidžić decided that. Both have long been history with the record champions. And not a particularly good one, as club patriarch Uli Hoeneß emphasized several times afterwards.
A marker on the way to the unstoppable hamster wheel was the club’s separation from goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic. The 43-year-old is the keeper’s closest confidant and best man. Nagelsmann was considered the driving force behind the expulsion. On January 23rd last year, the association cited “differences over the way we work together” as reasons for the immediate end of the common path. He had been the goalkeeping coach for the record champions since the 2011/12 season. A few days later, Neuer launched an angry all-round attack. He took on the leadership of FC Bayern via the “Süddeutscher Zeitung” and “The Athletic” and Nagelsmann was also able to see himself as the recipient of the reckoning.
“The craziest thing I’ve experienced in my career”
“There was no justification that I could understand. Things were said that I don’t agree with,” said Neuer, who was deeply affected. “Everyone in our goalkeeper group was torn apart, people burst into tears.” He “had the feeling,” he confessed, “that my heart was being ripped out; that was the worst thing I have experienced in my career.” The two keepers had previously worked together at FC Schalke 04. Neuer also didn’t like the impersonal nature of the separation: “It has to do with the human aspect, dealing with a deserving employee: We as Bayern Munich want to be different – a family. And then something happens that I still have here “I haven’t experienced it.”
The interview caused gigantic waves. One after the other crashed down on FC Bayern. And in the end, Nagelsmann was carried away when he read that his relationship with Neuer was already strained and that the players showed solidarity with the goalkeeper and not with the coach. He could no longer capture the debate. He confessed: “From my perspective, I wouldn’t have given the interview, especially if it said in the interview that the club was in the foreground. Of course, that doesn’t exactly help with calm, it’s in the newspapers and it’s occupying the whole of football -Germany.” A few days after the interview there was said to be a discussion between the coach and the keeper. That didn’t bring calm to FC Bayern. On the contrary, things were accelerating more and more. And crashed into the wall.
Now Germany is heading towards an event that will concern the entire republic: the home European Championships. It could be the last major tournament for the national coach and Neuer. Nagelsmann, whose contract ends after the tournament, should return to his everyday work as a club coach. And Neuer, who is 37, is under contract in Munich until the end of June 2025. What comes next is uncertain. Likewise, what happens at FC Bayern this summer, who will be the new coach and thus the successor to Thomas Tuchel. Nagelsmann maybe? A return should not be ruled out, but probably not immediately. But now first the European Championships and possibly the happy ending to a turbulent relationship between coach and keeper. Albeit late.