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Alexander Nübel at Bayern: The fall height after the jump

2020-01-04T11:20:10.432Z


One of the greatest goalkeeper talents in Europe is moving to FC Bayern's bench instead of a club where he could also play: Alexander Nübel wants to inherit Manuel Neuer. But does it have the quality for it?



The 23-year-old FC Schalke 04 goalkeeper showed that Alexander Nübel is a threshold player, one on the move to becoming a world-class player, but has not yet arrived there, from the offers he received by the end of the year.

According to SPIEGEL information, a total of twelve clubs made an effort for Nübel. Among them were large clubs that actually have very good goalkeepers. Atlético Madrid asked where Jan Oblak, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, is currently playing. Manchester United also inquired, although David de Gea is a top player under contract as at AC Milan, another prospect with 20-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma, one of the greatest goalkeeper talents in international football.

Since Nübel's contract for Schalke expires in the summer and a transfer payment is no longer necessary, his commitment to the clubs seemed to be financially and athletically lucrative. They wanted to make provisions for the future.

Of all twelve expressions of interest, Nübel only listened to four more closely. Among them that of FC Barcelona. Marc-André ter Stegen has been holding so well at the Catalan world club for a few years now that he can claim the successor to Manuel Neuer from FC Bayern in the goal of the German national team. Nübel politely declined the offer because it would have led him away from his goal: Barça initially wanted to lend the Germans to Valencia for three years, only to be prepared for a possible departure of ter Stegens.

The career plan was convincing

Nübel, on the other hand, already wanted to be part of an elite club. He wanted to cross the threshold and position himself as a new successor. And he was convinced that it makes the most sense to get as close to Neuer as possible - initially as his representative.

Arne Dedert / DPA

Manuel Neuer (left) will want to defend his regular place against Alexander Nübel as long as possible

FC Bayern has now officially announced that Nübel will play in Munich from the 2020/21 season. The goalkeeper thus swaps the regular place in Gelsenkirchen for the substitute bank in Munich, since Neuer may also be kept at FC Bayern until 2023, even though his current contract expires in 2021, and is still considered number one for the time being.

This raises at least two questions: Why does one of the greatest goalkeeper talents in Europe prefer to be number two in Munich instead of switching to a club where he also plays regularly? And: does Nübel really have the quality to replace new ones one day?

According to Nübel's environment, FC Bayern has presented a career plan that convinced the U21 vice-European champion the most. He should slowly get used to Munich, the higher level and therefore the increased expectations, in order to then change the guard at some point.

"Chose the hardest path"

Nübel also does not believe that he only develops as a young goalkeeper if he plays regularly. He hopes for progress only from training sessions against strikers like Robert Lewandowski. "He should grow into such a top team," says a Nübel confidant to SPIEGEL. A qualitative difference to Neuer can still be seen. "But he can get to that level in a year or two."

However, the drop is large: Nübel is now considered a possible number one for the future in Munich and perhaps also in the German national team. However, his career could stagnate if he is hardly used until Neuers' departure in 2023 and thus cannot step out of the shadow of the 2014 world champion. It could be lost years in Munich. "He chose the hardest path," says the Nübel confidante, "but he can also win a lot with it."

DPA

Ralf Fährmann (above) also seemed a size too big for Alexander Nübel (below) - later he replaced him in the Schalke goal

Nübel has only been a goalkeeper at Schalke for a year, he displaced Ralf Fährmann and has played 41 professional games since then. He has much less experience than Neuer when he moved from Schalke to Bayern in 2011. He had already played more than 200 competitive games for Schalke, won the DFB Cup and was in the semi-finals of the Champions League. But Nübel has similarly good systems.

Ideal physical conditions

At 1.93 meters and 86 kilograms, his physical requirements are perfect. For its size, Nübel's movements are extremely explosive. Before an impending shot on goal he makes small but quick jumps on the balls of his feet. This increases his speed of reaction and moves within the possible shooting range without being caught on the wrong foot.

Nübel's positional game is one of his strengths. His control of the penalty area is also very good for a goalkeeper of his age. One of his greatest qualities, however, is playing with the foot: with targeted flying balls at the half-positions and precise passes under opposing pressure, Nübel is predestined to be the first player on his team at the highest level. Just as it has been desired at Bayern since Neuer at the latest.

Robert Jaeger / DPA

Alexander Nübel at the U21 European Championship in the preliminary round game against Austria

According to the platform "WhoScored.com", Nübels pass rate in the Bundesliga is only 66.5 percent (new one is 89.1 percent), but it is also due to the Schalke style of play, the deep passes into the opposing half and the fight around the second ball. At the U21 European Championship 2019, Nübel's pass rate was still 83.9 percent. The team of trainer Stefan Kuntz plays almost no long balls.

Teaching the difficult Kahn succession

But Nübel is sometimes still inconsistent. Too often he actually lets safe shots slip through, or goes into risky duels in front of the goal, such as in the collision with Frankfurt's Mijat Gacinovic on match day 15, which earned him four games ban. He has seen the red card twice in 35 Bundesliga games so far. At Schalke, mistakes were planned due to Nübel's inexperience. In Munich you will see it differently.

The intention of the record champion nevertheless seems clear: Bayern do not want to make the same mistake as they did in 2008. After Oliver Kahn's departure, a three-year vacuum developed in the Munich Gate that neither Michael Rensing, Thomas Kraft nor Hans-Jörg Butt finally filled could be. Only Neuer met the requirements.

Against this background, the Nübel obligation makes sense for Bayern. Without a transfer they have acquired a highly talented goalkeeper. If he can replace Neuer at some point, the calculation worked. If not, it was not expensive. However, it will only become clear in a few years whether the change would also make sense for Nübel.

Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2020-01-04

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