Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz recently became Bayern Munich's first-choice goalkeeper, a year after joining the German giants. Manuel Neuer's injury and Sven Ulreich's delayed return to training led coach Vincent Kompany to give the Israeli a spot between the posts in the team's recent Bundesliga and Champions League outings.
German daily Bild on Tuesday published an interview with Peretz, in which he shared, among other things, his dreams for the future. "In soccer, as in life, you can never predict exactly how things will unfold. There's no single path to reach your goals but my biggest dream is to be Bayern Munich's first-choice goalkeeper," said the Israeli.
"It's a big task to follow a goalkeeper like Manuel Neuer, but that's my goal and I'm working hard for it," he added. "Right now, I need patience, hard work and faith in my abilities. I need to show consistency in my performances. I'm very happy here — with the club, my performances and life in Munich. You never know what might happen by summer; a lot can happen between now and then."
On Neuer's support, he said, "Before my first game, Neuer texted me wishing me luck and wrote, 'Enjoy it and just be yourself.' That helped me a lot — it’s not something to be taken for granted that he’d send me such a message."
Regarding the minutes has been playing recently, Peretz shared, "It's not easy to regain peak form after 12–14 months without any playing time. I always prepared myself mentally for this moment and I'm happy I was able to show in recent games that I'm here and can compete at this level. Hard work pays off, and my hunger has been rekindled."
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Peretz also expressed gratitude to the soccer club's fans. "The feeling of playing in the Allianz Arena is incredible. There's an amazing crowd here and it felt like home from the very first moment. The fans made things much easier for me. They showed me incredible support and love."