The new season is finally kicking off again. On Friday, FC Bayern will face VfB Stuttgart in their Bundesliga opener. Manuel Neuer will be in the lineup as well, and he’s on the verge of a historic milestone.
If he plays, it could be his 600th competitive match in an FC Bayern jersey. That would be something special—right at the start of the new Bundesliga season, which will likely also be Neuer’s last.
“I don’t think there’s anything better than starting the season this way,” said the FC Bayern goalkeeper on the sidelines of the German record champions’ traditional lederhosen photo shoot.
Neuer has big goals
For what is likely to be his final season—the goalkeeper, who had already been seriously considering retirement this summer, has set his sights high. For Bayern, it was important to get off to a good start in the competitive season with the Super Cup victory.
But the strong start was just the beginning. “That’s why we’ll take every game seriously, do our homework, and try to be there from the start and win the games,” Neuer explained.
The victory over BVB definitely “gives Bayern a good feeling,” according to Neuer. So the motivation is there, as is the anticipation for the new season and the first competitive match at the Allianz Arena in front of their own fans.
Coach Vincent Kompany will be happy to hear that, too. The Belgian recently stated that no one should expect FC Bayern to ease up or even take a step back—not even by a single percentage point—after a very successful season. Kompany wants to get the most out of FCB and showcase attacking, no-nonsense soccer right from the start.
Pre-season went well; now it’s about taking the next step and staying focused for 90 minutes—something the team wasn’t able to do in their most recent match against BVB.