Football

Feuding goalkeepers hint at a deeper malaise in Germany’s squad | Jonathan Wilson


M arc-André ter Stegen played for Germany in the 2-2 friendly against Argentina on Wednesday but when it comes to a competitive fixture, against Estonia on Sunday, it will be Manuel Neuer back in goal. And so for the moment an uneasy peace has broken out but one that feels indicative of far wider tensions as Joachim Löw attempts to remodel his squad.

Ter Stegen’s frustration is understandable. With Neuer injured, he had been a regular before the World Cup only to be left out for the tournament. Neuer, having not even played for Bayern Munich since damaging his metatarsal the previous September, struggled in Russia. His form has recovered to some extent, although he is still not the commanding figure he once was, and has remained Löw’s first choice. As a result, between the World Cup and the Argentina game, Ter Stegen, despite being in probably the form of his career for Barcelona, played for a total of 135 minutes in the friendlies against Peru and Serbia.

What was telling was that he felt the need to speak out, something he apparently believed was not being adequately handled internally. Neuer then bit back, telling Ter Stegen he should be happy with any role in the national team and the spat escalated as the increasingly preposterous Bayern president, Uli Hoeness, threatened to withdraw Bayern players from Germany squads were Neuer to be replaced. He has rowed back on his comments but the row has added to the fug of discord that has hung over German football since the defeat to South Korea in Kazan.

Getting the balance right is never easy. There is a need to maintain a harmonious squad environment and ensure everybody feels involved to avoid outbursts such as Ter Stegen’s. And the whole point of a reserve goalkeeper is that he should be able to step in should the first-choice be unavailable; the more familiar he is with his defence the better he is likely to be able to do that.

But switching between goalkeepers can be problematic. Through the late 80s and early 90s, Cameroon had arguably the two best goalkeepers in African history, Thomas N’Kono and Joseph-Antoine Bell. No manager was able to settle on one or the other, a situation exacerbated by Bell’s habit of giving interviews that may be described tactfully as candid.

The men were opposites in almost every way. Bell was voluble, charismatic and proactive in his goalkeeping, forever leaving his box to sweep up behind the defensive line and, as he saw it, stifle attacks before they had really begun. N’Kono was quiet, reserved, with sharp reflexes and a profound understanding of angles; he preferred to stay deep and react to shots or headers from his line. That meant the defence were never able to adopt a consistent approach, something that had severe consequences.

Bell was expected to play at the 1990 World Cup but after another outspoken media appearance he was dropped before the opening game, so late N’Kono’s wife missed her husband’s clean sheet in the victory over Argentina. Expecting him to be on the bench, she had gone shopping in Milan.

Marc-André ter Stegen played in the friendly between Germany and Argentina.



Marc-André ter Stegen played in the friendly between Germany and Argentina. Photograph: Friedemann Vogel/EPA

It was only in the quarter-final that the flaw was exposed. Cameroon led England 2-1 but then conceded two penalties as Gary Lineker got in behind and was brought down by N’Kono.

Had he been there, Bell has always insisted, he would have had a higher starting position and would have been quicker from his line, so the space Lineker accelerated into would not have existed. But then, as Bell’s critics have maintained with equal consistency, had he not mouthed off to a French magazine, he would have been there.

Cameroon are not the only country to have been affected by the simultaneous emergence of two high-class goalkeepers. England in the late 70s had a policy of alternating between Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence. Although there was no crisis point such as Cameroon faced in 1990, it was a compromise that suited nobody, least of all a defence who, game by game, had to adjust between playing in front of a goalkeeper who stayed deep (Shilton) and one who was comfortable advancing (Clemence).

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That, though, should be less of a problem for Germany. Neuer and Ter Stegen are both proactive, both good on the ball, both happy to sweep behind a high defensive line. That Löw could not keep both content seems less a tactical issue than another manifestation of the failure of man-management that led to resentment before Russia as he struggled to integrate the younger players who won the Confederations Cup so impressively in 2017 into his World Cup squad.

The summary decision to end the international careers of Thomas Müller, Mats Hummels and Jérôme Boateng – all at the time Bayern players, which, perhaps, in some way explains Hoeness’s intervention – seemed to stem from a similar place. Leave them out by all means, by why decide on an irrevocable end? Hummels may be useful right now to shore up a worryingly creaky back four. Then there was the appalling, clumsy response to Mesut Özil’s complaints of racism.

There is a more fundamental tactical problem, too. Germany have been at their best under Löw playing a counterattacking game, as they did at the 2010 World Cup and in the latter stages in 2014 (even the 7-1 against Brazil was primarily about ruthlessness in transition). He seems to want to play a more possession‑based game, even though every time Germany have attempted that under him, they have struggled with the balance between attack and defence, often leaving the rearguard exposed. It was exploited by Mexico at the World Cup and by the Netherlands on a regular basis since.

Germany are in a mess; the feuding goalkeepers are only part of it.



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