The Uplifting and Crushing Moments of Manuel Neuer's World Cup Journey through Jens Lehmann's Eyes

At the age of 40, Manuel Neuer is participating in his fifth World Cup finals, a record in Germany. He returns specially for the competition, where he has experienced diverse emotions, from triumphs to historic eliminations.

Despite having turned 40 a few weeks ago, Neuer still exudes the same burning desire to compete until the very end of his gloves. Following Germany's entry into the fray and their draw against Curaçao on Sunday (7-1), the goalkeeper grumbled about the goal conceded after a deflected shot. Relying on a special call-up for this competition, he regained his top spot and rediscovered that relentless drive.

He has already added new chapters to his never-ending career: the only player from the Nationalmannschaft to have played in a fifth World Cup finals, alongside Lothar Matthäus, and the oldest German player ever to be lined up in this competition. With his highly probable starting lineup against the Ivory Coast on Saturday (22 o'clock), he is poised to break another record, that of the most capped goalkeeper in the World Cup history, currently held by... Hugo Lloris (20 matches each for now).

Let us go back to his tournaments with his predecessor, Jens Lehmann.

In the year of his triumph, Manuel Neuer had already become a full international. One year later, he was still a young goalkeeper (24 years old) ascending the ranks and a promising backup to René Adler, Bayer Leverkusen's goalkeeper, successor of Jens Lehmann, who retired after the 2008 Euro.

Adler's injury redrew the deck at this position and Joachim Löw decided to promote his youngest goalkeeper rather than Tim Wiese or Hans-Jörg Butt. Neuer was the regular starter until the semifinals (0-1 to the future champions of Spain) before yielding his place for the consolation match (3-2 against Uruguay). He conceded only three goals throughout the competition.

Jens Lehmann's assessment: 'He wasn't meant to be the number one for this World Cup. René Adler, a bit older, was the regular starter since my international retirement, but he declared forfait at the last minute for the World Cup. Manuel Neuer profited from his opportunity to recover the spot. Football often boils down to opportunities, and Neuer grasped his own.'

That was the year of his triumph for the young boy from Gelsenkirchen. After winning the Champions League with Bayern Munich, in 2013 (2-1 vs. Borussia Dortmund), the goalkeeper established himself as the best at his position, narrowly missing the double (elimination in the semifinals against Real Madrid) before winning the World Cup (1-0 a.p. against Argentina). He delivered high-flying performances, especially against Algeria in the round of sixteen (2-1 a.p.) or France in the quarterfinals (1-0).

Neuer: 'I didn't choose it, this position.'

Jens Lehmann's assessment: 'Perhaps he was at his best. He had the upper hand on the attackers, on the opponents, with his way of playing very high and his ability to make reflexive saves. He was very effective and he succeeded in being at the top every three days, which is not necessarily required in the World Cup where the level seems lower than in the Champions League.'

For the first time in its history, Germany was eliminated from the first round of the competition, a true fiasco. Neuer was unable to prevent the disaster: absent for almost a year and a half due to various injuries, including a persistent problem with his medial calf muscle, the captain of the time delivered a World Cup marred by inconsistent play.

Jens Lehmann's assessment: 'That was the competition where Germany first had a serious problem: This team had very high-level players, like Manuel Neuer in goal, but more so in other positions. There were already 'holes' in the team, compared to the depth of the French team, which has always had a remarkable bench.'

The eight World Cup quads

Neuer still carries the captain's armband of the team that flew to Qatar with a new generation, but the days preceding the start of the competition were marked by all the social questions surrounding this country hosting its first World Cup and this rainbow armband, ultimately refused by FIFA. Neuer said: 'We won't let them silence us.'

In a very tough group (Spain, Japan, Costa Rica), Germany was surprised in the first match by the Japanese (2-1) before being eliminated due to the difference in points. The goalkeeper conceded five goals in three matches without ever being truly decisive.

Jens Lehmann's assessment: 'All the media hype about the rainbow armband sucked a lot of energy from the players. I don't think it was their role to express themselves on these topics as often and especially Manuel Neuer as the captain of the team. Sometimes, in Germany and in other European countries, one feels compelled to tell others how to think. But the world doesn't work that way. And then, on one side, Germans gave lessons to Qatar on human rights and on the other side, it didn't stop them from doing business with the same country...' Siemens built a tramway line in Qatar.'

How the Wahi situation eventually unraveled

'You won't ruin that': the speech of a lion on a mission