Football moves so quickly that it is ultimately not so appropriate to remind people of it as the examples are already flying through the heads of all football fans. Some players criticized within a club can completely revive themselves in another context while the opposite is just as valid. Alexander Nübel is in the first category. Former great hope of Germany at the goalkeeper position, the former Schalke 04 got lost along the way.
Worse still, the 27-year-old goalkeeper is coming off a generally failed experience with Monaco. Criticized during his last two seasons on the Rock, Nübel was never unanimous and his numerous errors amused the web while enraging Asemist supporters. Persona non grata in the Principality, the native of Paderborn then returned to Bayern Munich. Third goalkeeper in the hierarchy of Bavarian goalkeepers, the right-hander was finally loaned out again but this time, he remained in the Bundesliga to strengthen VfB Stuttgart.
His managers and his coach are full of praise for him
Tracked by Crystal Palace this summer, Alexander Nübel was finally seduced by the project of the last Bundesliga play-offs, currently second. The incessant phone calls from the VfB goalkeeping coach also tipped the scales, as Fabian Wohlgemuth, the club’s sporting director, revealed to Sport1 : “We were quite stubborn, almost insistent. I think Steffen Krebs called him every day.» A dedication which has borne fruit because the former Monegasque is one of the great architects of his team’s successful start to the season alongside a fiery Serhou Guirassy.
First in the Bundesliga in terms of intercepted crosses (11 out of 70), Nübel is reassuring in his area and has three clean sheets in 6 games. For the moment, his kicking game, failing on many occasions in Monaco, has not yet harmed him. Obviously, his trainer, Sebastien Hoeneß, rubs his hands: “I thought and still think he’s great when it comes to crosses. Alex has good timing, he takes a lot away from us. It’s precious.» It now remains to be seen how much longer the romance between Stuttgart and Alexander Nübel will last.
