Schalke safe in Neuer's hands

Call it the audacity of youth or a belief borne of genuine talent, but FC Schalke 04 goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has a steely confidence about him – despite being the man charged with keeping FC Barcelona at bay when the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals commence on Tuesday.

Shoot-out saves
Schalke will be appearing in the last eight for the first time in their history, and they owe their progress to their young No1, who only turned 22 last week. It was his pair of saves in the penalty shoot-out at FC Porto in the last round that sealed the Gelsenkirchen club's progress, after he had already shown great calm to deny Ricardo Quaresma in extra-time with the aggregate score tied at 1-1. Now, with Barcelona's mighty attacking armada next up at the Arena AufSchalke, Neuer is more excited than daunted.

Top players
"I watched the draw with the rest of the team," he said. "We were in a hotel and, yes, it was great for us to be drawn against a world-famous team like Barcelona. They have every position covered with top players. I heard that [Samuel] Eto'o was happy about the draw and said Schalke are not that strong an opponent. I don't really care what they think about us, but if they don't think we're very strong or if they have doubts about some of our players that can only be good for us. We've already achieved quite a bit ourselves in the [UEFA] Champions League."

Tight defence
Eliminating the Spanish heavyweights would constitute a staggering achievement, and Neuer is under no illusion that he will have a big role to play as Schalke aim to build a first-leg advantage. "I don't think Barcelona will pack the defence quite as much as Porto did," he predicted. "They'll try to get forward even if they are playing away, so of course it's important that we keep tight at the back and don't concede a goal. A lot will depend on our defence and me."

Boyhood dream
The Germany Under-21 international would have it no other way, of course. His ascent has been rapid, but he has not lost sight of the fact that he is living out a boyhood fantasy. "I grew up here in Gelsenkirchen and I've been a Schalke fan since I was little," he said. "My family and everyone around me are Schalke fans so I couldn't be with any other club. I'm very happy because I've been through a lot here, I played in all the youth teams and now I'm No1 in the first team. I have a contract until 2012 and I'm living out my dream here, so I don't think anything will change."