I WANT TO BE CELTIC’S ANSWER TO NEUER
IF Vasilis Barkas can become half the goalkeeper that his idol turned out to be, then Celtic will certainly have a bargain on their hands. Though he might give manager Neil Lennon the odd heart attack along the way if he adopts his style.
The Greek goalkeeper spoke yesterday upon his arrival in Glasgow of how he looks up to legendary Germany and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, and with a history of dabbling at left-back and in midfield in training over the years, he hasn’t ruled out the odd dash from his area if he feels it is the appropriate course of action.
Barkas got to play against Neuer for AEK Athens two years ago in the Champions League group stages, an experience that made him doubly determined to strive for the standard set by his hero, if not exactly to ape the ‘sweeper keeper’ approach that is the German’s trademark.
Certainly, he does seem to have the confidence of Neuer, believing his arrival at Celtic already marks him out as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Now, he wants to prove that he should be spoken about in such company.
“Neuer is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, both with feet and with hands,” Barkas said.
“For a goalkeeper, confidence is everything. It’s his job to give confidence to his teammates and the character he shows is crucial to the team.
“I don’t know yet if the coach will be happy with me running to the halfway line like Neuer, but if I save one goal doing it then why not?
“I always played as goalkeeper but as the years have passed I have liked to play outfield as in modern football goalkeepers need to be able to play.
“In training sessions, if I play outfield sometimes then it’s better for me when I need to play with my feet as goalkeeper. This is why I like to play outfield.
“It was special for me to play against [Neuer]. It was a dream actually and I managed to get his shirt.
“That’s what football is all about. When you see your idol up close and play against him.
“That was two of my best games, I made two good games against Bayern.
After the game he said to me I did good and told me to keep going. When your idol speaks with you and says you did good you feel fantastic.
“And maybe I will meet