India, April 29 -- With a smile, Roman Weidenfeller recalled his early days in football - long before he was a part of the German team that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was the goalkeeper for the youth team in his village in Rhineland-Palatinate in the west of the country. But for all his skill and talent, he rarely got a chance to show off.

"Our team had some good players so I didn't get to make too many saves," he said. "At the end of the match, the strikers or the midfielders who scored would be given gifts like ice cream or candy. It sometimes made me want to play as a striker as well."

Over the years, he would become one of the most decorated and capped players for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, with whom he would win the ...