Manuel Neuer and FC Bayern München’s treble dream lives on. The World Champion played a decisive role in his side’s progression to the DFB Cup semifinal after his penalty shootout save against Bayer Leverkusen (5-3). The 29 year old World Goalkeeper of the Year spoke with DFB.de about penalty drama, FC Bayern’s long injury list and the upcoming games.
Question: Mr Neuer, how was the penalty shootout for you?
Neuer: I think every penalty, including from Leverkusen, was taken very well. It’s obviously very tough for any team to lose on penalties. It was fair for the game to go to penalties after 120 minutes and we were lucky to have come out on top in the end.
Question: In your opinion, was this performance evidence of the teams fighting spirit, considering all the injuries at the moment?
Neuer: This was already clear after the Dortmund game. I think the team has been brought closer together. This is important going into the next few weeks. Every fit player is vital for us. We’re aware of the injuries and we are hoping that one or two can come back quickly.
Question: What are your thoughts on Thiago’s yellow card for the foul on Stefan Kießling?
Neuer: I can’t say. For me Thiago is one of the fairest players we have. He was looking at the ball and then this unfortunate situation happened.
Question:
During the game you took the captain’s armband from Philipp Lahm when he was substituted. Why did you take it off for the penalty shootout?
Manuel Neuer and FC Bayern München’s treble dream lives on. The World Champion played a decisive role in his side’s progression to the DFB Cup semifinal after his penalty shootout save against Bayer Leverkusen (5-3). The 29 year old World Goalkeeper of the Year spoke with DFB.de about penalty drama, FC Bayern’s long injury list and the upcoming games.
Question: Mr Neuer, how was the penalty shootout for you?
Neuer: I think every penalty, including from Leverkusen, was taken very well. It’s obviously very tough for any team to lose on penalties. It was fair for the game to go to penalties after 120 minutes and we were lucky to have come out on top in the end.
Question: In your opinion, was this performance evidence of the teams fighting spirit, considering all the injuries at the moment?
Neuer: This was already clear after the Dortmund game. I think the team has been brought closer together. This is important going into the next few weeks. Every fit player is vital for us. We’re aware of the injuries and we are hoping that one or two can come back quickly.
Question: What are your thoughts on Thiago’s yellow card for the foul on Stefan Kießling?
Neuer: I can’t say. For me Thiago is one of the fairest players we have. He was looking at the ball and then this unfortunate situation happened.
Question:
During the game you took the captain’s armband from Philipp Lahm when he was substituted. Why did you take it off for the penalty shootout?
Neuer: It felt right. There is always a slight tension when you wear it and you need to do anything possible to be as comfortable as possible when you have a shootout.
Question: Did you have any tips before the penalties?
Neuer: Obviously we prepare for these situations, but as you saw, a lot of the penalty takers went in the opposite direction. I think Bernd Leno chose the wrong way a few times, but he will definitely have prepared.
Question: How much momentum does this win give you for the next few games?
Neuer: The most important thing for us now is to recover as quickly as possible, stay fit and go into the next game.
