Urbig has stood firm in Neuer’s absence and Nagelsmann feels he was not at fault at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei
Bayern Munich went into the international break on the heels of a disappointing 1-1 draw at Union Berlin that slightly dampened the elation of getting past Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League Round of 16 5-0 on aggregate. Keeper Jonas Urbig has been in between the sticks for the Rekordmesiter since midway through the first leg against Leverkusen when Manuel Neuer pulled up with an injury during the celebrations of Bayern’s second goal of that match.
The young keeper has stood firm to the task, but unfortunately lost 3-2 to VfL Bochum and then drew 1-1 vs. Union after a botched perry in his box late on in the second half. To make matters slightly worse, he has pulled out of the Germany U-21 squad due to a foot injury and SSV Jahn Regensburg’s Felix Gebhardt has been called into the squad as his replacement. Thankfully, though, the injury doesn’t appear to be too serious and he should be able to resume training within a week or so, presumably being able to still fill in for Neuer if the latter is not fit after the international break.
Germany senior squad manager Julian Nagelsmann recently weighed in on the young keeper in a press conference ahead of the first of two legs in the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals against Italy. For the former Bayern, RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim manager, Urbig was not at fault for the goal Bayern conceded at Union Berlin, as the manager said he prefers keepers to be brave in those types of situations where balls in the box are demanding to be dealt with.
“We can debate whether that was a mistake or not. When I watched the game, I said he has to go there because he learns from this situation in order to be prepared for really big games. I’d rather have a goalkeeper make a risky move because he thinks he might win the ball and intercept the cross. That didn’t work out. I’d rather have that than goalkeepers just stick to the line and not make any mistakes, because then they’ll never become great goalkeepers,” Nagelsmann explained of Urbig and the situation that led to Bayern conceding at late equalizer at Union Berlin (via @iMiaSanMia).
Photo by Sebastian El-Saqqa – firo sportphoto/Getty Images
The Germany boss took it a step further and called on the press and media to not jump to negative headlines when younger players make mistakes and pin too much blame on them when it’s not really called for. “That’s why I would like all of us to deal with these mistakes fairly and not pick on the youngster so much in every broadcast. He’ll get better from that,” he stressed.
As Nagelsmann alluded to, Urbig had no choice but to try to make a play on the ball in the cross into the box from Union Berlin’s Juranovic and unfortunately for the young keeper and Bayern, Urbig’s touch fell right to Benedict Hollerbach, who didn’t have too much to do from close range. Several Bayern defenders were in the vicinity and could be equally as at fault for not reacting quickly enough.
