The sweeper ‘keeper opening up on the secrets of the trade. The trade that only he stocks.
Manuel Neuer is one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.
And, it’s fair to say, he’s probably one of the best sweepers ever considering you don’t have to lose an outfielder to do it.
The Bayern Munich legend was giving the folk at adidas a little taster session of what it takes to make a machine like Neuer tick and, of course, he couldn’t talk about the art he has mastered without discussing his ability to win the ball back. From defensive midfield.
https://twitter.com/_swagi_/status/556774494703198208
“All areas are very important to train but you have to always be in contact with your defenders,” the German World Cup winner said during the adidas Gamedayplus episode. “There’s a space between them, don’t get too far. You have to help them when they make a mistake.”
The commanding number one shows a few training techniques for improving his stability and stretch behind shots and high balls but a lot of what he does is on instinct. Of course it bloody is.
Do you practice punching as well?
“Not so often. I like to catch the ball.”
https://youtu.be/a0zP4Z_qmgc?t=7m7s
There are more gems in the video like Arjen Robben going through speed training and Thomas Muller being a general legend but skip to 7:07 (if it hasn’t already) for the Neuer masterclass.