Vincent Kompany didn’t find any sweets or even gifts in his boots this morning. The St. Nicholas tradition is not celebrated in the Kompany house, the FC Bayern coach explained on Friday: “No, I married an English woman and after that there was nothing more with St. Nicholas. In Belgium we get gifts for St. Nicholas, here we get a lot of chocolate.” ” Kompany only got bad news that morning.

Rib problems: Manuel Neuer is missing against Heidenheim

Because against Heidenheim two important players will be missing. “Serge Gnabry isn’t there, Manuel Neuer isn’t there either,” Kompany announced quite briefly, citing rib pain as the reason for his keeper’s absence. Above all, Neuer’s personality is bitter.

He would have been happy to forget his mistake against Bayer Leverkusen, because he was sent off the field, his team had to play outnumbered for more than 70 minutes and was ultimately thrown out of the DFB Cup, with a few nice saves on Saturday. Now Tuesday’s mistake, far from the first this season, will probably continue to be an issue.

Daniel Peretz moves into the spotlight

Daniel Peretz, who also took Neuer’s place against Leverkusen, takes over for Neuer. Because Sven Ulreich, actually number two behind Neuer, was recently absent for personal reasons, Peretz can enjoy a bit of the spotlight in the Allianz Arena.

He knew that since he moved to Munich, especially from his regular place on the bench. He played 16 minutes against Wolfsburg last season. His second appearance in the FC Bayern jersey was in the DFB Cup against Preußen Münster. Now also Leverkusen and Heidenheim.

Peretz: regular goalkeeper in Israel

Important games in which he will be particularly in focus – and for the first time he will have the opportunity to distinguish himself and promote himself as Neuer’s successor. Something that the 24-year-old Israeli repeatedly emphasizes is his biggest goal. However, he doesn’t go into these games without any match practice. After all, he was promoted from the Munich bench to become the starting goalkeeper for Israel’s national team. He recently kept the goal clean twice against France and Belgium – which he failed to do against Leverkusen.

Finally a chance to shine?

Even though he wasn’t at fault for conceding the goal, he wasn’t able to excel in what was perhaps the biggest club game of his career. Against Heidenheim, if everything goes according to Munich’s plan, there won’t be too many opportunities for good saves. There is a risk of a lot of idle time in order to then be fully present in crucial moments. Perhaps the most important skill a goalkeeper at FC Bayern needs to have. In this respect, the Bundesliga game on Saturday could be the ideal stage for Peretz. Having to take advantage of opportunities like these, Neuer is expected back soon.