Tasked with replacing Manuel Neuer when he departed Schalke for Bayern Munich in 2011, Ralf Fährmann went from understudy to club captain in a heartbeat.

bundesliga.com looks at the goalkeeper who had his own trait on FIFA 17…

Ralf Fährmann

Age: 30
Club: Schalke
Position: Goalkeeper
Country: Germany (1 U21 cap)

Key stats

Like many German goalkeepers over the last decade, Fährmann has had the unfortunate coincidence of playing during the same period of time as one Manuel Neuer. In fact, the pair were teammates at the Veltins Arena before Neuer’s move to the Allianz Arena in Munich. For Fährmann, it all started at Schalke, where he made the final steps of his youth career and his Bundesliga debut during the 2008/09 season. With Neuer in his way, though, Fährmann went to Eintracht Frankfurt in search of more game time.

Watch: Fährmann has been one of the Bundesliga's best in goal!

Two seasons and just 19 appearances later, Schalke came calling for their former goalkeeper. It was a difficult restart in Gelsenkirchen, though, as Fährmann suffered a cruciate ligament injury which restricted him to just nine Bundesliga matches over two seasons. But once fully recovered, nothing stopped Fährmann from becoming the number one choice at Schalke.

He played 47 Bundesliga games across two seasons before going on a run of three consecutive league seasons without missing a single game. He was also named Schalke club captain for the 2017/18 season by then coach Domenico Todesco. In his 234 appearances for Schalke he has kept 77 clean sheets, while in the Bundesliga he records a shutout in almost every third game. Fährmann has also saved 35 per cent of the penalties he has faced in his career, keeping out 14 of 49.

Plays a bit like: Petr Cech

We’re by no means saying that Fährmann is the next Cech, however, the pair share a key attribute that is not found in every goalkeeper of the modern era. The 30-year-old is one of the last of his kind as an old-fashioned goalkeeper, built more shot-stopping first, rather than being a sweeper. And because of his focus on keeping the ball out of his net, Fährmann is also known for his excellent ability to save shots with his feet. Rather than having to dive for every ball, the German has quick enough reflexes in his legs to make saves that others would not be able to.

Ralf Fährmann has never been afraid of getting stuck in when he needs to. - 2017 DFL

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Did you know?

If you want to know just how good Fährmann is at saving with his feet, just ask EASPORTS’ FIFA game. The Royal Blue is one of a minority of goalkeepers on the game who has the “saves with feet” trait, enabling him to be one of the elite shot-stoppers.

What they’re saying

"For me he's still one of the best goalkeepers in Germany." - Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nübel

"Ralf Fährmann is a great goalkeeper, Schalke never have problems with goalkeepers." - Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer

About the clubs

FC Schalke 04

VELTINS-Arena