German media Bild reported on the 27th (Korea Standard Time) that “Munich coach Thomas Tuchel officially declared his return to Manuel Neuer.”

Bayern Munich is scheduled to face Darmstadt in the ninth round of the Bundesliga in the 2023/24 season at 10:30 p.m. on the 28th at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. Munich, which is currently in third place with 20 points (6 wins and 2 draws), after first-place buyer Leverkusen (22, 7 wins and 1 draw) and second-place Stuttgart (21, 7 wins and 1 loss), is determined to beat 12th-place Darmstadt to become the league leader.

Prior to the match, Neuer, who attended a pre-press conference against Darmstadt on the 27th, said, “If nothing happens in training now, Neuer will play,” signaling that Neuer will start.

Neuer, a world-class goalkeeper and Munich captain and defender, was ruled out for the season after suffering a long-term injury while on vacation in December last year. Neuer, who went to the 2022 Qatar World Cup as a member of the German national soccer team, ended the 2022/23 season early when he fractured his leg while skiing while on vacation.

Neuer, who flew the entire second half of the season, has devoted himself to rehabilitation and recovery training to date to return for the 2023/24 season. In case of emergency, he did not accompany the Asian tour that he visited Japan and Singapore during the pre-season last summer.

Recently, he was expected to be able to build his body before the opening game of the German Bundesliga in the 2023/24 season after successfully undergoing surgery to remove a metal screw embedded in his right calf bone, but he still needs enough recovery and rehabilitation time to return.

Neuer, who had only been receiving individual training so far, is a part of it, but he finally took one step closer to the moment he returned to the ground by successfully playing it through team training. Munich announced on the club’s official website on the 29th of last month that “Manuel Neuer performed some of the team training for the first time.”

Ahead of the league’s eighth-round match against Mainz on the 22nd, the team’s medical staff and goalkeeper coach Michael Lechner were determined to be able to play, and Tuchel decided to watch the situation a little more rather than rush back to Neuer.

Finally, coach Tuchel also sent an “OK” signal to Neuer’s return, and Neuer is on the verge of returning to the ground for the first time in about a year. If Neuer starts against Darmstadt, he will appear in front of Munich fans in 350 days.

On Neuer’s return, coach Tuchel said, “Neuer is looking forward to his return, and so are we. “I’m getting into the rhythm quickly,” he said. “No one can predict what the performance will be like. Of course I feel Neuer is not nervous. “I think Neuer wants to show everyone his skills again,” he said, expressing expectations.

“More than anything else, the fact that he returned successfully seems to please Neuer,” he said. “In training, I’m seeing a completely new level of goalkeeper.” It will be the greatest comeback in history,” Neuer said, adding that Neuer’s physical condition has risen enough.

Munich plan to drop Sven Ulreich, who has kept the goal while he is away, back to the bench as Neuer returns.

“The team structure was always the same,” Tuchel said. Ulaihi was Neuer’s friend and rival. Ulaihi’s performance was excellent. However, Ulreich also knows the structure of the team, and he will go to the bench, he said. “In the long run, I hope Daniel Peretz will take steps step by step and become a real challenger.” Perhaps Neuer’s successor. Both players will have a chance to sit on the bench tomorrow, he said, making it clear that Munich’s No. 1 goalkeeper is Neuer.

As Neuer is certain to return, Munich fans, including domestic soccer fans, have drawn attention to what kind of teamwork Neuer will show by Kim Min-jae. Kim Min-jae, who joined Munich this season and is playing as a key center back, will finally join Neuer, a world-class goalkeeper, for the first time. The two were able to meet each other as enemies in the final group match of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but they could not meet as Kim Min-jae failed to enter the final entry due to injury.

Bayern Munich fans are expecting the synergy created by Neuer and Kim Min-jae. Neuer is also excellent in defense, but his biggest advantage is his ability to distribute the ball. Neuer, who uses his feet and hands to deliver accurate passes to his teammates in front of him, is sometimes regarded as the “most modern goalkeeper” as he goes up to a high position and engages in pass play.

In order for Neuer to go up to his heart’s content to distribute the ball, the defenders in front must also be excellent, but Kim Min-jae, one of the world’s best defenders, has been active recently, and the two players are expected to create good synergy to stabilize the defense and strengthen the rear build-up.

Before Kim Min-jae was recruited, German media “AZ” said in July, “The level of Munich’s defense has fallen significantly since David Alaba and Jerome Boateng left the club,” adding, “In the future, Kim Min-jae will have to help Neuer deliver the ball more gracefully and safely to the center.”

“Kim Min-jae is an extremely stable, physically strong, and very intelligent player who provides high speed,” he said. “Bayern Munich fans can expect Kim Min-jae, an ‘all-rounder’. That much is certain,” he added.

As expected by Tuchel’s manager and everyone, it is expected that Neuer and Kim Min-jae will be able to take Munich’s defense one step further and lead Munich to the league lead.

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