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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;This story first appeared in the June 6, 2016, issue of Sports Illustrated. Subscribe to the magazine here.&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At the highest level, modern soccer has a lot in common with the German autobahn. The speed of the game has no limits, and players are like the latest sports cars: faster, sleeker and more powerful than ever. The movement in soccer\u2014end-to-end attacking, relentless defensive pressure\u2014can be constant. And yet there remain players, goalkeepers, who impose calm. In 2016, no one on the planet balances order and chaos better than Germany\u2019s Manuel Neuer, who is redefining his position in a way that hasn\u2019t been done for decades.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI\u2019m a little bit risky, but [I represent] security and protection, and you have to give your teammates that feeling as well,\u201D says Neuer. \u201CI\u2019m a guy who likes to drive a car quite fast\u2014but I wear a seat belt at the same time. So you have this balance. Maybe you can compare it.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200BSurrounded by Champions League trophies in Bayern Munich\u2019s boardroom, Neuer has folded his 6'\u20084\", 203-pound frame into a leather office chair. Like many Germans, Neuer, 30, speaks better English than he lets on at first\u2014he ditches his interpreter entirely after a few minutes\u2014and he draws a special pleasure from discussing his ultimate fast-lane experience: Germany\u2019s round-of-16 victory over Algeria in World Cup 2014.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To watch Neuer\u2019s highlight video from that game, which includes an astonishing five clearances and 20 touches &lt;i&gt;outside&lt;/i&gt; his penalty box, is to see a goalkeeper pushing the outer limits of what\u2019s physically possible and, perhaps, mentally sane.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Time and again, with Germany\u2019s attack-minded back line pushed up near midfield, Algeria sends passes through and over defenders, hoping that fleet forwards Islam Slimani and Sofiane Feghouli can run onto the ball for a lightning-strike goal in the rain of Porto Alegre, Brazil. But there\u2019s no joy for the men in green, no &lt;i&gt;alegr\u00EDa&lt;/i&gt; for Algeria. Instead there\u2019s Neuer venturing 35 yards from his goal, racing Slimani into the corner and sliding to block the striker\u2019s cross before it reaches the penalty area. There\u2019s Neuer, racing out again, propelling his head to clear a dangerous diagonal ball before crashing into the onrushing Slimani. And there\u2019s Neuer covering on a misplayed back-pass, clearing the ball from danger an instant before A\u00EFssa Mandi\u2019s arrival.\r\n\r\n\r\n\t&lt;strong&gt;MORE: Full rosters for Euro 2016&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Neuer may look like a madman, but his objective is clear: to prevent scoring chances &lt;i&gt;before&lt;/i&gt; they materialize, even if that means taking sphincter-tightening risks.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt\u2019s better for me to get the ball before the [opposing] striker than to [wait and] have a one-on-one situation in the box,\u201D he says. \u201CIf he can\u2019t get the ball, he won\u2019t get any opportunity.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And if Neuer fails? Then he\u2019s committed the soccer version of hara-kiri. If he misjudges the speed and trajectory of either the ball or the striker and arrives too late, he may not only concede a goal but also look silly in the process.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI don\u2019t feel the fear in my head in this moment,\u201D he says. \u201CI am always thinking positive. But you have to be sure to get the ball.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The circumstances in Brazil created a fairly unique situation: Germany deployed relatively slow center backs; Algeria\u2019s front-line speed was formidable; and Neuer could station himself higher up the field because the ball was skidding on the wet sod, causing hard through-balls to reach him faster than they would in dry conditions. The keeper believes that his early stops put a degree of fear into the opposing strikers, causing them to pull out early in avoiding collisions.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CA lot of their players didn\u2019t want to go into the one-on-one because I\u2019m big,\u201D he says.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Neuer\u2019s heat map for the Algeria match, which shows the location of his touches and his positioning, is unlike anything you would associate with a traditional goalkeeper\u2014it\u2019s as though he\u2019s playing two positions instead of one.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In fact Neuer\u2019s coloring outside the lines of his penalty box has many experts considering him one of the greatest goalkeeping innovators, the next evolutionary step after Soviet legend Lev \u00ADYashin, who began counterattacks with quick outlets and intercepted passes outside his box. Yashin remains the only keeper ever to win the European Footballer of the Year award, in 1963, but consider: In 2014, Neuer was the World Cup champions\u2019 only finalist for FIFA\u2019s Ballon d\u2019Or, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Remarkably, the German language has yet to produce a 12-\u00ADsyllable word that describes the goalkeeper position as played by Neuer. Give it some time, though. For now, there\u2019s a 16-letter English handle that will be hard to top\u2014one that Neuer endorses with a wide smile. &lt;i&gt;The sweeper keeper&lt;/i&gt;.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;**********\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If Germany-Algeria was Neuer\u2019s version of Rachmaninoff\u2019s playing his Piano Concerto No. 3 at Carnegie Hall, then his childhood training was like learning scales on his teacher\u2019s living-room piano. A netminder from age 4, Neuer discovered early on that he had a leading foot and a standing leg. For him it felt more comfortable jumping to his left than to his right to make a save. Dives to his right, he says, would result in awkward landings and a bruised hip. Neuer had to train himself to explode to his right more easily, just as a right-footed player would practice using his left foot on the ball.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Other aspects of basic shot-\u00ADstopping came over time: positioning, covering his near post, keeping his hands in a ready position. Neuer absorbed them all. \u201CI always want to save it,\u201D he says, \u201Cbut more important is that other players can\u2019t get any rebound, any chance to get a goal.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But shot-stopping\u2014once the hallmark of proficiency\u2014is now a bare-minimum requirement. The 21st\u2011\u00ADcentury keeper also needs to organize his team\u2019s back line and set-piece defenses, command the penalty area on crosses, disrupt opposing forays outside the box and initiate his own team\u2019s attack. Comfort on the ball (with both feet) is mandatory, as is the ability to unspool passes to moving targets on a dime, over short and long distances, including with an overhand throw.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What\u2019s more, the strategic trend of extreme defensive pressure up high means that goalkeepers often need to make themselves available for besieged defenders in need of an outlet. (A 1992 rule change prevented goalkeepers from picking up deliberate back-passes, forcing them to use their feet.)\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Fortunately for Neuer, he also perfected these foot skills at an early age. When he joined the youth ranks of the German club Schalke in 1991, at age 5, the right-footed keeper would practice with the outfield players if there was no goalie training, which developed his weaker left foot. Schalke even considered switching Neuer to an outfield position when he was 13, partly out of concern that he wasn\u2019t tall enough. Ultimately they kept Neuer in goal, fully equipped with the tools to redefine the position. (Schalke wasn\u2019t able to hold on to him; Bayern Munich, as it so often does to its German rivals, poached Neuer for $31.5&amp;nbsp;million in 2011.)\r\n\r\n\r\n\t&lt;strong&gt;EURO 2016: Full statistics, standings, groups&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CTo be a modern goalkeeper, I have to think offensively, to initiate our attacking moves safely and securely,\u201D Neuer says. \u201CBoth my teams\u2014\u00ADBayern and Germany\u2014usually have more than 60% possession, so I have to move outside the box to be involved in the passing game from the back.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With Bayern, Neuer almost never boots the ball aimlessly downfield, like so many other professional goalkeepers. Under recently departed manager Pep Guardiola, the high priest of possession-based soccer, the watchword for the team\u2019s attacking philosophy was &lt;i&gt;control&lt;/i&gt;. Why would a keeper boom the ball and risk giving that up?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe passing game has become more important,\u201D says Neuer. \u201CWe rarely just hammer the ball forward. I have probably twice as many touches now than I used to have at Schalke.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;During this past European league season, for example, Neuer completed more passes\u2014in fewer games\u2014than prolific French striker Antoine Griezmann of Atl\u00E9tico&amp;nbsp;Madrid.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A stranglehold on possession by Bayern and Germany often leaves Neuer with few occasions to demonstrate some of his more traditional skills. But he still has to call upon them, knowing that one mistake can turn a game. How does he know when to come out for a cross? The thought process isn\u2019t much different from deciding whether to leave his box to cut off a through-ball\u2014though there tends to be more human traffic in his path on crosses, requiring him to read even more variables in a split second.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CYou have to know which players are in your area and whether you have a free way to the ball,\u201D he explains. \u201CIf I know I can\u2019t get the ball, then I have to stay&amp;nbsp;in.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Television commentators tend to believe that a goalkeeper should come out for &lt;i&gt;any&lt;/i&gt; cross inside the six-yard box. Neuer argues that this isn\u2019t always the case. At 1,080 square feet (6\u2009\u2026\u200920 yards), he notes, the smaller box is still larger than many city apartments.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt depends how high the ball is coming into the box,\u201D Neuer says of a cross into his six. \u201CIf it\u2019s a high ball [your opponent] can\u2019t reach, you can go out. But if it\u2019s a very low ball and a striker is there, it\u2019s very dangerous and you can\u2019t.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Even in 2016, there are enough variables that the same keeper who\u2019ll venture 40&amp;nbsp;yards from his goal to pick off a ball will sometimes refuse to move even six yards to make a clearance, depending on the situation.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;More commonly with control-\u00ADobsessed Bayern and Germany, however, the ball is at the other end of the field. One of the hardest parts of Neuer\u2019s job is going 45 minutes without a scoring chance by the opposing team, then suddenly having to spring into action.\r\n\r\n\r\n\t&lt;strong&gt;LIONEL MESSI: The world's best player, in his own words&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CSometimes in the winter it\u2019s very cold, especially in Bavaria,\u201D he says, half-smiling but fully serious. \u201CIt\u2019s not easy in this moment, because you have to go from zero to 100.\u201D&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Such is life on the autobahn.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;GALLERY: Bayern Munich takes on Oktoberfest&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;**********\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Freshly showered after training, and wearing a gray designer sweater, Neuer turns toward the 65\u2011inch video screen in Bayern Munich\u2019s boardroom and starts breaking down clips from a showdown with Borussia Dortmund last October. In addition to reviewing video of his own game performances and practices on a laptop with his goalkeepers coach, Neuer takes part in pregame tactical talks with the rest of his squad.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Beyond its usual high-pressing approach, Dortmund will try to attack Bayern\u2019s high back line the same way that Algeria did, by sending passes over and through the line, into space, for speedy striker Pierre-Emerick \u00ADAubameyang. Even so, Neuer keeps an aggressive starting position, the better to quickly attack through-balls, and in the eighth minute he intercepts one 35 yards from his goal, igniting the Bayern attack.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIf I\u2019m in my box and waiting for the ball to come to me, we lose time,\u201D Neuer says. \u201CIf I\u2019m standing higher, we have more time\u2014and Dortmund can\u2019t get into the real [balanced defensive] position the way they want.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The sweeper keeper is in full view later in the game when Neuer races out 40 yards to head a piercing through-ball away from Aubameyang\u2019s path and directly to teammate David Alaba, who immediately starts a Bayern fast break. Ten seconds and three lightning-quick passes later, Bayern has a shot in Dortmund\u2019s box, and while it doesn\u2019t go in, we\u2019ve still witnessed one more world-class play by Neuer.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And that\u2019s just the obvious stuff. Before each game Neuer studies his opponent\u2019s set-piece and penalty-\u00ADtaking tendencies. He\u2019s the one who sets up Bayern\u2019s wall in defending free kicks near the goal. And when Dortmund has a corner kick, it\u2019s on Neuer to organize Bayern\u2019s zonal marking in the box. The key here, Neuer says, isn\u2019t just the five defenders arranged in a horizontal line across the six-yard box but also the three teammates in a similar line near the penalty spot, whose job is to prevent Dortmund\u2019s attackers from getting a full head of steam and leaping over the zonal markers or finding spaces between them.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt\u2019s always a zone,\u201D he says, referring to the area between the two parallel lines. \u201CThe second line of three players wants to block [the attackers] so they can\u2019t go fast into the zone.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bayern builds a 2\u20130 lead against Dortmund before Aubameyang scores on the break late in the first half to make it 2\u20131. How you respond to conceding a goal is also important, Neuer says.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CNormally you know if you can change something or if you have made a mistake\u2014every time there is something,\u201D he says. \u201CBut you always have to start again at zero after a goal.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This game, however, is no contest. Bayern goes on to win 5\u20131, a major victory in its run to a fourth straight Bundesliga title. Neuer won\u2019t make the headlines on this day, but his performance is terrific, in direct contrast to that of his Dortmund counter\u00ADpart, Roman B\u00FCrki. The perils of the sweeper keeper are manifold: On two occasions B\u00FCrki allows goals after coming out for the ball and missing it.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Being Manuel Neuer is a lot harder than it looks.\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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