Manuel Neuer: the super-keeper who joined the “wrong” club. From the Nordkurve to the summit of world football – Manuel Neuer, born in Gelsenkirchen-Buer in 1988, lived the dream of thousands of Schalke fans. He displaced Frank Rost at just 20, saved Schalke in a penalty shootout at Porto in 2008, and won the 2011 DFB-Pokal with Schalke.\n\nBut the celebrations were overshadowed by his impending move to Bayern.
A late-night talk with boss Clemens Tönnies could not change his mind. During the open-top bus parade through Gelsenkirchen, one “fan” even slapped him.\n\nAt Bayern, Neuer became one of the world’s best goalkeepers, won the Champions League in 2013 – against Schalke’s hated rivals Dortmund – and became the first Schalke goalkeeper to win the World Cup while actually playing.