[Oliver_Kahn]

Raphael Schäfer and Timo Hildebrand are amongst the best goalkeepers in Germany, which is why we at bundesliga.de have scrutinized their careers.


One of the classic goalkeeper jokes goes like this: A mother had three sons. The first was a goalkeeper, the second was a left forward, and the third one wasn´t quite right in the head, either.

Against the old cliché

But Timo Hildebrand doesn´t find that old groaner funny at all. He is actually regarded as one of the quiet and cool-headed representatives of his guild, whom the old cliché of the "mad goalie” doesn´t fit in the slightest.

"I try to stay grounded”, says Hildebrand who left his home club FV 1911 Hofheim/Ried in 1995 at the age of sixteen to join VfB Stuttgart´s youth academy.

His parents - his dad is a railway employee, his mom a shop assistant - have made sure that their son would stay "normal”.

Another big influence on Hildebrand was the year at the Bundeswehr where he did his basic military service. That was before he played his first ever match in the Bundesliga on November 11th, 1999.

”Owe everything to VfB”

But it was the time ain Stuttgart´s youth team and later that in their amateur team that made Hildebrand an exceptionally good and, for his young age, exceptionally mature goalkeeper who, on his personal website, declares that "everything I am, I owe to VfB Stuttgart.”

The 6.1 ft tall, blonde-haired keeper, whose main hobbies are listening to music, meeting friends, surfing the internet and going to the theatre, has meanwhile played 205 matches in the Bundesliga for Stuttgart.

Add to that 23 matches in the Champions League and in the Uefa Cup, and five matches with the German national team. Still unforgotten is his record of 2003, when he didn´t concede a goal for 884 minutes!

Secret Nuremberg sweeper

Nuremberg´s Raphael Schäfer even bears two characteristics that are usually seen as "signs of madness” amongst footballers: not only is he a goalie, he´s also left-footed. But he, too, isn t impressed by the cliché of the "madman between the posts”.

The keeper, who would love to play for Arsenal F.C. at some point in his career, appears very calm and confident on the pitch. Characteristics he needs as a "playing goalie”, and his coach Hans Meyer doesn´t call him his "secret sweeper” without reason.

Schäfer was (just like Hildebrand) born in 1979 in Heydebreck-Cosel in Poland and learned his trade at SC Drispenstedt. His career wasn´t as rapid as Hildebrand´s but there was constant progress.

The shepherd and the wolve

In 1991 he joined the youth academy at Hannover 96, in 1997 he became part of their reserves. One year later he left "The Reds” because he didn´t see a chance to break into their first team, and signed with Regionalliga (third division) club VfB Lübeck where he quickly became their Number One in goal.

When he received an offer from FCN three years later the 6.2 ft keeper didn´t hesitate but packed his suitcases and moved down to Franconia. There, in the 2002/03 season in the 2. Bundesliga, he had his breakthrough, when former FCN-coach Wolfgang Wolf made him No.One goalie at the "Club”.

Schäfer thanked his coach with brilliant saves, defied all his critics, and in July 2004 finally was awarded the coveted shirt with the "1” on the back.

Last season Schäfer had his final public breakthrough after regularly exasperating other team´s strikers with outstanding reflexes.

Exzellent statistics

This season both Hildebrand and Schäfer have proven that they are amongst the greatest goalkeeping talents in Germany.

Both have played all seventeen Bundesliga matches from the start, and Schäfer only missed the last sixty minutes of the last match before the winter break against Hanover when he was forced to leave the pitch with a knee ligament injury.

Together with Wolfsburg´s Simon Jentzsch, Schäfer conceded the least goals in the league (16), and Hildebrand´s statistics are just slightly inferior (19).

Srikers despair

Stuttgart´s goalie, however, has had more clean sheets. He did not concede in seven matches, whereas Schäfer only had five matches in which he didn´t have to pick the ball out of his net.

Schäfer is very good inside the box where he managed to clear the ball 34 times. Hildebrand, however, has been very successful outside his "natural habitat”.

31 times he interrupted an attack of the opposition outside the penalty area, thus proving his exceptional footballing qualities.

A different kind of air security

Both keepers also are very good in the air. Hildebrand, whose motto with high balls is "rather catching than panching away” has only dropped one of nineteen balls that came his way.

Schäfer even has a 100% record: he "culled” all 21 high balls that sailed into his box.

This coming Saturday the two top goalies face each other. The strikers of both VfB Stuttgart and 1.FC Nürnberg should prepare themselves for an unusually hard day at work.