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Florian Neuhaus
Photo:
FRIEDEMANN VOGEL / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
During the 90 minutes on the field, the 22 footballers touch the ball thousands of times.
But very few ball contacts stay in the memory.
A nice goal, a special dribble.
Most of them are quickly forgotten.
It is rare that a single action is burned into long-term memory.
Florian Neuhaus created a moment in the first half of the season that had what it takes.
In his team Borussia Mönchengladbach's game at Inter Milan in October, he played a pass over 50 meters, from his own half to the Milan penalty area.
The ball rolled hard and flat across the lawn, past the first Inter player, between two others, and so on.
The ball passed six opponents before it landed in the run of team-mate Jonas Hofmann, who scored the 2-1.
If the pass had been a golf swing, it would have been a hole-in-one.
The pass was unique because it came together so much: the ideal weighting, the optimal angle that it needs and the ability to recognize what other footballers do not see.
You can call this a vision: a grasp of larger contexts.
As if Neuhaus could leave his body, float 50 meters into the air and from there get an idea of the position of the footballers.
Neuhaus, 23, has not played 100 Bundesliga games, and yet he has already provided more magical moments than many a warrior.
Against Mainz, the midfielder hit the goal from almost 40 meters last season.
At the beginning of the year Gladbach defeated FC Bayern despite a 2-0 deficit.
Neuhaus initially caused an inexplicable hand penalty and later scored the winning goal with a long-range shot into the corner.
In his first international match for the DFB, he promptly scored a goal.
Neuhaus is a special player.
One who will probably not play forever with the Gladbachers because he seems destined for higher things.
Opponents Manchester City have won the past 18 games
The Bavarians themselves should have him on the slip, they say.
Allegedly, Neuhaus can leave his club for 40 million euros.
Quite a bit of money in Corona times, which are also times of falling sales for top clubs.
Therefore, Bayern should look in the evening when Neuhaus and Borussia compete in the first leg of the Champions League first leg against Manchester City (9 p.m., stream: DAZN, live ticker SPIEGEL.de).
Man City have just won 18 competitive games in a row and only allowed six goals.
Coach Pep Guardiola's team is currently unbeatable.
Gladbach rather not.
On Saturday, the team lost to Mainz 05, in the table it is eighth.
Is there a more unequal duel?
Neuhaus told the "kicker" this week that courage was essential against City if Borussia was on the ball.
"Manchester have to realize that they have to run after us sometimes," said Neuhaus.
"That really hurts such teams."
Neuhaus is also responsible for courage among the Gladbachers.
And his teammates expect a lot from him: It happens that they pass him the ball even though he is closely covered, and Neuhaus himself seems to be able to cope with such pressure situations.
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Neuhaus made his international debut against Turkey (3: 3), in which he scored a goal
Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa
Last Saturday against Mainz (1: 2) he accepted a pass that came too high and played too hard.
Neuhaus jerked up his left leg, let the ball hit the inside of his foot, and then played it with his right out of the air towards his teammate.
Later in the same game, he lifted the ball a few centimeters when accepted, just high enough that it jumped over the foot of the attacking opponent, then Neuhaus passed, was fouled, picked himself up and played the pass down.
His technique is the basis for his game.
Coupled with his forward thrust, this becomes a weapon.
Neuhaus is constantly looking for ways towards the gate, through low passes or solo runs.
Against Mainz he was surrounded by three opponents at the beginning of the second half, one in front of him, two on the sides.
Neuhaus could have fit in the only free direction, backwards to the teammate in the defense, it would have been the security solution.
Instead, he dribbled around one of the three opponents, he put the ball from his right to his left foot, put it in front of him and was past Mainz, then he played and stormed towards the penalty area without the ball.
A static situation suddenly turned into a dynamic one.
A scoring chance did not result from it, the subsequent cross did not arrive.
Qualities like these, however, that is, dribbling in tight spaces, accelerating the game, resolving seemingly stuck moves, they are particularly in demand with the big teams.
With those who almost always have the ball and have to find the solutions against teams that stand in the back instead of playing along.
Skills make him the ideal switch player
The special thing about Neuhaus is that he would fit into both teams in terms of his abilities: that of Gladbach, which is likely to be dangerous in the evening, especially through counter actions;
but also that of Manchester City.
His skills make him an ideal switch player, they would also let him shine in a Guardiola ball possession team - if he perfected them and improved in other areas.
In the derby defeat against Cologne (1: 2) he was hesitant in defensive duels.
One of his risk passes led to a Cologne scoring chance because he didn't make it.
It is usually a risk for the opponent, but sometimes also for your own team.
His forward thrust has to be secured by teammates, they have to study his movements, because when Neuhaus storms off, he leaves a hole.
They also have to factor in the fact that some of his passports do not arrive because Neuhaus is making the craziest attempts.
But the reward, if these attempts are successful, is greater than the danger involved.
Because ideally there are moments like against Inter.
And Gladbach could use that against City.
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