Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer has criticised the country’s first-choice goalkeeper Rene Adler following an unconvincing performance against Hamburg at the weekend.
Adler, 25, generated cause for concern about his judgement when racing off his line against Hamburg and colliding with defender Sami Hyypia, allowing Ze Roberto to score in a 4-2 win for Bayer Leverkusen.
Adler said he had “looked a bit stupid” following the mistake.
“If somebody makes an error like that in a school team, then you would tell him to find a different sport,” Beckenbauer said on Sky. “Adler is a great goalkeeper, but since he has known that he is the No. 1, he is making one error after the other.”
However, Leverkusen director of sport Rudi Voller, who played under Beckenbauer when West Germany won the 1990 World Cup in Italy, has backed his player.
“He is just the goalkeeper that Germany needs,” Voller said. “Rene at least takes risks and that is why he is rightly Germany’s No. 1. I hate nothing more than goalkeepers who just stand on their line and play for the galleries.”
