The German goalkeeper who was expected to succeed Jens Lehmann

The decade of the 2010s brought a lot of uncertainty to the German national football team. Back then, Oliver Kahn had retired, and Jens Lehmann was approaching his retirement. It wasn’t clear who would be the next number 1 for the team. The best online sports betting is available on 1xBet, which features all the matches of the German national team.

However, there were some talented keepers available, such as:

• Manuel Neuer;
• Tim Wiese;
• Robert Enke;
• and René Adler.

Among them, Enke seemed to be Joachim Löw’s favorite. However, in a very tragic situation, Enke committed suicide in 2008.

A direct consequence of this was that Löw needed to find another keeper. René Adler seemed to be the goalkeeper chosen by the coach as Germany’s new number one.

A promising young keeper

René Adler was a product of Bayer Leverkusen’s academy. He played professionally between 2002 and 2019, and he was in Leverkusen until 2012. During Adler’s first years, he was the deputy to veteran keeper Hans-Jörg Butt.

However, Butt was approaching his retirement, and his level started to drop. In fact, Adler finally had an opportunity to show how good he could be, after the veteran Butt had been shown a red card.

While Butt served his suspension, Adler truly impressed in Leverkusen’s goal. In fact, after Butt returned, he was relegated to be substitute keeper behind Adler. At that moment, it seemed that the young keeper would have a brilliant career.

Shattered dreams

Adler’s performances were so good, that Joachim Löw started to consider him for the German national squad regularly. It seemed likely that he would be the starting keeper in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Unfortunately, Adler suffered a broken rib a few weeks before the beginning of the cup. Not only his rib had been shattered, but also his dreams of becoming Germany’s number one.

When it was time to select the squad for the cup, it was clear that Manuel Neuer and Tim Wiese would be on it. However, a third keeper was needed. Curiously, Löw decided to call the veteran Hans-Jörg Butt. Neuer performed so great that he went on to become the undisputed starting keeper of the team for the years to come. Adler wasn’t considered for a few years. Whenever great goalkeepers are playing for Germany, you can visit the 1xBet site to bet on them.