Another famous figure from the footballing world has come out in favor of Manuel Neuer winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or. This time, it's the legendary Italian manager Giovanni Trapattoni. He even compared Neuer to one of the game's greatest ever goalkeepers.
"Neuer, for a change. He's a stalwart goalkeeper, a bit like Dino Zoff," Trapattoni told La Stampa. "I love those players. He could also play as a striker. It would be something different if a goalkeeper would be elected FIFA World Player of the Year."
Trapattoni knows a thing or two about great goalkeepers having managed Dino Zoff, Gianluigi Buffon, and Oliver Kahn in his time. And, while his support of Neuer doesn't really mean anything in the overall scheme of things, it's good to see another of the greats of the game come out in favor of FC Bayern's number one.
It's still likely an uphill battle for Neuer to unseat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the award, but all of the people coming out in favor of Neuer bringing that trophy back to Bayern Munich for the first time since Gerd Müller, Franz Beckenbauer, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won the award five times in the 1970s and 1980s.