For the first time ever, the “kicker” Manuel Neuer gives the grade 6

It was a mistake for the history books. That was already clear from the moment it was committed. Because Manuel Neuer served the ball to his opponent immediately after kick-off, Robin Fellhauer was able to score the fastest goal in Bundesliga history. It will be difficult to beat these eight seconds again.

But the goal also has a historical dimension for Neuer. For the first time in his 20-year Bundesliga career, the FC Bayern goalkeeper was given the maximum penalty by Germany's “Football Bible”. The “kicker” gave Neuer a grade of 6 after Bayern’s 2-2 (0-1) draw at FC Augsburg.

"A game to forget, an afternoon that was rare in Neuer's career. This is also reflected in his grade. In his 549th Bundesliga game he received a 6.0 for the first time," says the specialist journal's individual review: "The first huge mistake in the failed ball reception and the failed chip attempt, right after kick-off, after less than nine seconds, which led to 0:1. The 1:2 is also his fault because he missed Brackelmann's shot centrally where Augsburg’s Ribeiro scored.”

But there is “not (yet) a discussion about number 1 because no one would dare to do it,” says an analysis. But Neuer now has “a certain amount of variation in the game, especially with the ball at his feet, the former parade discipline.”

The grades in other media were not quite as tough. Instead of being inadequate, Neuer's idea was rated as inadequate. The "Abendzeitung", "ran" and "Bild" gave the goalkeeper a grade of 5. "Bild" said: "The fastest goalkeeper in the history of the Bundesliga (...) And at 1:2 he also looked unhappy: he held the ball from Brackelmann, but let it bounce right at the feet of goalscorer Ribeiro. One of his blackest days at Bayern."

Now the debate is raging as to whether the 40-year-old Neuer ("Yes, of course, it was a stupid mistake on my part") should give up the goal earlier and not at the end of the season in favor of the 23-year-old national goalkeeper Jonas Urbig. Ex-national player Steffen Freund pleaded for this on Sky: “In my view, it has to happen over the course of the season because after that it’s too late.”

Bayern are trying to end the discussion in public as much as possible. "For us there are no doubts about Manu. There is a clear idea that we have. We have been implementing this for almost one and a half, almost two years, together with Jonas Urbig in the goalkeeping team," said sports director Max Eberl on Monday: "Manu is our number one and will remain so. And what happens in the future, we will see."