Johan Cruyff is certainly one, Bayern Munich icon Franz Beckenbauer another. Legendary Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin is a third, but of all the great custodians to have graced football’s elite, Manuel Neuer stands head and shoulders above Yashin and the rest.
In a glittering career spanning over two decades and liberally sprinkled with the game’s biggest prizes, Neuer set a revolutionary standard for others to follow, transforming the humble goalkeeper from a mere shot-stopper to a more technically rounded outfield player.
