February 2025
Both goalkeepers revolutionised their position , each in their own way .
MANUEL AS A CENTRE- FORWARD :
HE COULD DO THAT TOO
Sepp Maier
MN : That sounds anything but modern … SM : You ‘ re not wrong . For a quarter of an hour it was just diving to the right , then just to the left , bang , bang , up and down , 20 times one after the other . It didn ‘ t do any good . When I then worked as a goalkeeping coach with Jean-Marie Pfaff at Bayern in 1984 and for the national team from 1988 , it was important to me that it wasn ‘ t boring and tedious , but that it was fun . It ‘ s much better to do an exercise five or six times in a focused way than 30 times in a row – you don ‘ t get the same shot on goal 30 times in a game either . Towards the end of my coaching career , I had 146 different exercises in my programme – and Oliver Kahn didn ‘ t even realise how long we ‘ d been training . After 90 minutes , he would ask in amazement why we ‘ d stopped . I was also never a fan of the weights room . It ‘ s good in pre-season or when you ‘ re injured , but during the season you need litheness and jumping power , and the best way to get that is on the pitch . When you hear that , Manu , the invention of the gloves , the innovative goalkeeper training – how highly do you rate this pioneering work ? MN : It ‘ s a lifetime achievement , no question about it . When I talk to people from other generations , whether it ‘ s Oliver Kahn or my goalkeeping coaches , Sepp is the ultimate role model for every-
32 FC Bayern Magazine