In this file photo taken on September 7, 2022, German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich holds a ball before the UEFA Champions League Group C football match between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich in Milan. Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has rejected calls to be dropped from the national side, saying he is “certain” he will return from a serious foot injury to play international football again. , photo credit: AFP
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has rejected calls to be dropped from the national side, saying he is “certain” he will return from a serious foot injury to play international football again.
In an interview published Friday with Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung and The Athletic, the 36-year-old Neuer said he told coach Hansi Flick he would return from the broken leg that has ruled him out for the rest of the season.
“Hansi Flick contacted, we are in touch. Hansi definitely believes that I will come back and I will do everything for her.
“I’m sure I can do it.”
Former West Germany goalkeeper Toni Schumacher has called on Neuer to step down and focus on club football, but the Bayern keeper said “everyone can make a recommendation”.
“When the time comes, I will look in the mirror, and as always I will tell myself the truth.
“If I don’t perform, I will step down, but I don’t expect that to happen.
“Whoever is the best will play. If I want to play, I have to be the best.”
“It’s always been like this.”
Neuer, who has 117 caps for the national side, will be 38 when Germany hosts the European Championship in 2024.
Neuer spoke publicly on Qatar for the first time since returning from the World Cup, saying the team received “relatively little support from home”, which left him feeling “we had a millstone around our neck”.
“We probably could have done with a little more support.”
After FIFA threatened sporting sanctions for any team that did so, the German Football Association decided that Neuer would not wear the “One Love” armband in support of diversity and human rights.
In response, the German XI were pictured covering their mouths before their first match of the World Cup against Japan.
Neuer, however, denied that the team was distracted by the gesture. Germany was eliminated in the group stage for the second consecutive World Cup.
“We discussed (it) … and made a decision. And that was it. After that, we turned our attention to football.”
The 2014 World Cup winner also spoke about the sacking of longtime goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic, who joined Neuer in 2011.
Tapalović’s firing was said to be due to a rift with coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Neuer said “It was the most brutal thing I’ve experienced in my career – and I’ve experienced a lot”, explaining that people “burst into tears”.
Bayern signed former Switzerland goalkeeper Jann Sommer to replace Neuer in the winter.
The side began 2023 with three straight 1-1 draws and are now just one point clear of second-placed Union Berlin.