The third goalie to appear on the Ballon d'Or nominees list is Germany's Manuel Neuer.
Surprisingly, the keeper is the only representative of the 23 that plays in the first division German Bundesliga. Neuer had a tremendous 2011-12 season during which he led Bayern Munich to a second place finish. He was also instrumental is leading the club to a second place finish in the UCL where he shutdown Real Madrid in the semi-final and stopped a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty kick in the decisive shootout. He also turned aside shots from Sergio Ramos and Kaka in the same shootout. During the final, he stopped a Juan Mata shot and even converted one himself, but ultimately lost the tournament. During that tournament he pitched five shutouts and made 33 saves in 11 matches.
In the ensuing 2012 Euro Cup he led Germany through the Group Stage with only one goal against. In the quarter final, he allowed two, but his team scored four. In the semi-final he was unfortunate on both Mario Balotelli goals as Germany failed to meet expectations.
Neuer has looked good in 2012-13 for Bayern Munich as the squad is off to a 10 wins, one loss, and one draw start and has a seven point lead in the standings over second place Schalke 04. Neuer has made 23 saves in the 12 matches, but has an astounding eight clean sheets in those 12 matches. He has been steady in the UCL with one clean sheet and five goals against in four matches.
Best Moment of the Year: He did not win any major tournaments, but made three huge spot kick saves in the UCL semi-final to shut down Real Madrid.
Chances of the Top Three: Minimal at best. Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas play the same position and both had better years over all with Buffon besting Neuer in the Euro Cup semi-final. Casillas' record breaking year would propel him into the top three before either keeper however.
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