Hoffenheim's Oliver Baumann earning legendary status with penalty heroics
Fresh from making his Germany debut a few days ago, Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann solidified his legacy in Bundesliga history by moving to fourth place on the all-time penalty saves list during Hoffenheim’s 3-1 victory over VfL Bochum on Saturday.
The 34-year-old goalkeeper's decisive moment came late in Saturday's Matchday 7 clash at home to Bochum when he dropped smartly to his right to save Lukas Daschner’s penalty, preserving Hoffenheim’s narrow 2-1 lead and paving the way for Haris Tabaković to score his side's third and secure the precious win.
This was Baumann's second spot-kick stop in as many matches - he denied Ermedin Demirović's initial effort in the 1-1 draw in Stuttgart on Matchday 6 - but more importantly, it was the 15th penalty save of his Bundesliga career, which places him in some pretty exalted company.
Watch: The best of Oliver Baumann
He now sits fourth on the all-time Bundesliga penalty saves list, with only the legendary Rudi Kargus, Toni Schumacher and Norbert Nigbur ahead of him - and he is arguably just now reaching the peak of his powers.
Indeed, his prowess with spot-kicks seems to be growing with time. In fact, five of his penalty saves - a third of his career total - have come since the beginning of last season and have doubtless played a role in Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann's handing Baumann his Germany debut earlier this month.
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Although the Hoffenheim stalwart was called up to the squad in 2020 and for Euro 2024 on home soil, it wasn't until the recent UEFA Nations League A clash with eternal rivals the Netherlands in Munich on 14 October that Baumann finally took his bow for the Nationalelf.
And, as he has been doing for his club, he did his country proud, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win that kept Germany atop of Group A3, well clear of the Netherlands, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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