22     Goalkeeper     1 FC Köln     Germany

Skinny

Timo Horn is currently enjoying his fourth season as the undisputed number one at 1 FC Köln. Following the club’s relegation from the Bundesliga in 2011/12, their first and second choice goalkeepers departed the club for pastures new and the door was opened for the then 19 year-old to take the gloves.

Timo hasn’t looked back from that chance and has gone one to make the number one shirt all his own. 6’4 with an imposing frame, Horn is a naturally commanding goalkeeper. A solid shot stopper, his natural confident demeanor exudes confidence that filters into the players around him.

When he first broke into the team he was quite shy when expect to bark orders at his defence but has grown out of that. With the ball at his feet, he is lacking and will need to improve his distribution over the course of the next two or three years if he wants to play for one of the bigger sides in Germany or even Europe.

2015 has been…

This time last year Timo Horn marked his first appearances in the German top flight by keeping four consecutive clean sheets. It wasn’t until his fifth games that he had to pick the ball out of his own goal.

In 2014/15, 1 FC Köln scored only 34 times in 34 Bundesliga matches. Only two teams scored fewer goals than the Billy Goats and they were both relegated. However Köln finished a respectable 12th thanks to the mean defence that Timo was already to organize. Only four teams – the top four teams – boasted better defensive records than Köln’s 40 goals conceded.

18 clean sheets kept in 47 career top-flight matches is a decent record for any stopper, never mind one playing in a team whose first priority each season is to avoid relegation.

What's next?

This is the part where ultimately we talk about Timo Horn as a potential Germany one day. We’ll start by listing a few names – Bernd Leno, Kevin Trapp, Ron-Robert Zieler, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Roman Weidenfeller and Manuel Neuer. They are the six goalkeepers that have been called into the German national team in the last 12 months and they are the men Horn needs to get past.

It will be no mean feat for Timo if he is to manage it. Given how the last two seasons have gone he appears to be on the same trajectory that Marc-Andre ter Stegen appeared to be previously on. Ter Stegen has promptly fallen off that train thanks to his move to Barcelona and the mistakes that have followed.

When the offers eventually do come and Köln accept they are going to lose him, he should take his time and choose wisely.

C+     All going really well indeed