Everyone is used to Manuel Neuer stopping goals, less so him scoring them. But the German goalkeeper once channelled his superb distribution by winning an aerial ball before tucking the ball coolly past the keeper - and all while celebrating his birthday.
We're a few days away from 1 April, so no, this is not an April Fools. In June 2013, a month after sealing his first of nine Bundesliga titles, the Bayern Munich goalkeeper played outfield in a charity game in the Bavarian city of Würzburg.
The match raised money for two charities - the first being the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation, which was set up by the former German basketball player and helps to secure "education, health and well-being" for disadvantaged children.
The other charity was the Manuel Neuer Kids Foundation. Neuer's own charity tackles child poverty. In Neuer's home town of Gelsenkirchen, one in every four children is in poverty.
These two worthy causes came together for a charity match between the so-called 'Dirk Nowitzki All Stars' and 'Manuel Neuer & Friends'. German stars Lukas Podolski and Mats Hummels lined up in Nowitzki's team, while Ilkay Gündogan and Julian Draxler teamed up with World Cup-winner Neuer.
7-foot basketballer Nowitzski blazed over the bar with a penalty that proved costly as Neuer's side snuck a game devoid of defending by the ridiculous scoreline of 8-7. But the most eye-catching moment came from Neuer himself, as the nominal goalkeeper leapt to win a header from the defence, maintained his balance, looked up, and found the back post calmly.
Neuer played in goal for most of the match, but if there was ever a time for him to ditch the gloves and try his hand at out-field matters, this was it. Without his goal, his team wouldn't have won. Still, thank goodness he returned to his position between the posts straight afterwards. Within a year and a month, he had won the World Cup with Germany.
Topics:Â Football, Bayern Munich, Manuel Neuer
Dom Smith