| 28.09.2009 |
|
||||||||
| Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is coming in for a roasting in the German press, held responsible for a “scandal” by both kicker and Bild. What did he do? He led his team to a win, away, against its most hated rival, and dared to enjoy himself afterward. Neuer’s Schalke didn’t exactly brush Dortmund aside in a hard-fought Ruhr derby. The home side had a goal disallowed which, on another day, might have counted - and in truth a draw would have done the balance of play more justice. But the table doesn't have separate columns for pretty, deserved, or half-hearted wins, just the one with a “W” on top, and on Saturday Schalke added another there. The 23-year-old keeper himself, however, was probably less concerned with the win’s effect on the table than on getting one over on the fans from the next town over. After the whistle, Neuer headed over to the 27,000-strong south stand, home to the Dortmund ultras, to raise his arms and do a little victory hop. He was told off by a group of Dortmund players, and headed back toward the center circle, where, a few moments later, an indeterminate part of his body made contact with the face of Dortmund’s Kevin Grosskreutz. Now, in the present era of “professionalism” and DFB and UEFA-led campaigns for “respect,” some people see such roughhousing - and such glee in beating one’s rivals - as passé, or even dangerous. Me, I love it. You see, Neuer is one of a dying breed: an actual supporter of the club he plays for. He grew up rooting for Schalke, standing in the fan block and singing the songs about loving Schalke and hating Dortmund. For him, beating Dortmund away is the next best thing to winning a trophy - it’s the highlight of his season. For Neuer it’s about pride, about bragging rights, about crushing you enemies, seeing them driven before you, and hearing the lamentation of their women - just like it is for the fans. And in today's game, that’s jarring. And wonderful. Grosskreutz says Neuer gave him an elbow to the face. Neuer says he “didn’t see any Grosskreutz” and that if anybody threw an elbow at the guy “it must have been some other Manuel Neuer.” TV cameras missed whatever happened, but a fan’s mobile phone camera video posted to the internet appears to show Neuer back into the Dortmund striker and give him a shoulder block, most probably on purpose. Not a nice thing to do, but nothing much to pout about. Grosskreutz might seem like an unusual target for a star like Neuer, being that he’s just a bit player for Dortmund. The 21-year-old entered Saturday’s match, as he often does, with less than half an hour to play and struggled to make an impression. But he is also, just like Neuer, a born-and-raised fan of his club, and ready to play the part. He told the Bild newspaper prior to the season that he “hates Schalke like the plague” and that they were “public enemy number one” to him. So the kid likes his trash talk - good for him. Now he just needs to take his in-game lumps (and post-match intentional bumps) like a grown-up. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
| 0 Comments |