Marc-André ter Stegen has often speculated on becoming the number one goalkeeper for the national team. The current chance is different: He has it in hand and foot to come out of the shadows.
Die Zeitung “Sport” appears in Barcelona. She is very attached to the city’s major football club and usually dedicates many of the front pages to them. Before the Clásico on Sunday (March 19th, 2023), the paper looked for reasons why FC Barcelona would win the duel with Real Madrid and then definitely become champions in Spain.
The excellent starting point is “owed in large part to the achievement of German”wrote “Sport”. The newspaper called Ter Stegen the best goalkeeper in Europe and this is “not an opinion” but has data to back it up.
The Occupied Throne
Many theses can be supported and refuted with figures. However, the aggregate of statistics and observations should lead even newspapers well-disposed towards Real Madrid to conclude that Ter Stegen is having an outstanding season. If a field player with a German passport were influential at FC Barcelona, there would be no doubt that he would also be guaranteed a place in the top eleven in the German national team.
For goalkeepers, however, it was special for more than a decade and until a few weeks ago, because this place was a throne in the elite selection of the German Football Association (DFB), and Manuel Neuer sat on it. If he ever had to descend to seek treatment or take a break, he would choose when to return. The national coach approved this as a chancellor grants the wishes of a monarch.
Even before the 2018 World Cup, after Neuer had been out for months due to a metatarsal fracture, his return to the national team’s goal caused only subtle discussions. That will be different before the EM 2024. Even if Neuer regains full health and form after breaking his lower leg, his aura is likely to be lost.
Competitors only on paper for years: Manuel Neuer (left) and Marc-André ter Stegen
With a good year to go before the tournament in Germany, everything points to Marc-André ter Stegen deciding whether he will be number one at a European or World Championship for the first time in his career. Born in Mönchengladbach, who will be 31 on April 30, he has it in hand and foot for the first time.
The duty of a long waiter
“I want to be number one, both at FC Barcelona and in the national team”, said ter Stegen of “Bild am Sonntag” before the Clásico. It wasn’t the first time, but over the past few years it’s been more the performance of duty by an ambitious but reserved professional than the belligerent announcement of someone who’s been waiting for so long.
Ter Stegen, who has been playing for FC Barcelona since 2014, made his first international appearance in March 2012. It was cruel for him, Germany lost 3:5 in Switzerland. Then there was a 1:3 with him against Argentina, then a 3:4 in the USA. It was a difficult relationship between Ter Stegen and the national team. That only changed after winning the 2017 Confederation Cup, when Neuer received a long furlough and Ter Stegen was number one.
Neuer weakens at the World Cup in Qatar
He would have been at the World Cup in Russia a year later, but Neuer just managed to get fit and play an acceptable tournament. It was different in Qatar, because Neuer was also weak there. One of the best goalkeepers in history is now missing the arguments, even if the numbers continue to speak for Manuel Neuer compared to Ter Stegen.
The rate of saved balls in the national goal is 72 percent for the Munich player, while Ter Stegen only has a weak 65 percent. With Ter Stegen, the DFB selection conceded a goal almost every 73 minutes, with Neuer it is a good 92 minutes. But these are historical numbers. A new era begins for Marc-André ter Stegen after more than ten years in the national team.
| Neuer | Category | ter Stegen |
|---|---|---|
117 | Calls | 30 |
48 | clean sheets | 10 |
10.440 | minutes played | 2.398 |
92,4 | minutes for a goal | 72,7 |
409 | against Shots on goal | 94 |
72,4 | repelled (in percent) | 64,9 |
55,4 | caught (in percent) | 45,9 |
113 | against Great Opportunities | 27 |
25,7 | frustrated by it | 29,6 |
11 | Goals conceded by long-range | 6 |
Data: Sportec Solutions
Operations against Peru and Belgium
National coach Hansi Flick announced that Ter Stegen will play against Peru on Saturday (March 25th, 2023, from 8.44 p.m. live in the radio report on sportschau.de) in Mainz and probably also three days later (Tuesday, from 8.44 p.m. live in the radio report on sportschau .de) will be in goal against Belgium in Cologne. It’s up to him then.
