Logo
Football
Written by

Karine Grigoryan

22-10-2018 | 17:01 Football
902 Views

Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world

The beginning

Marc-Andre ter Stegen began his career in a local team called Mönchengladbach since 1996. Playing there he would never realize that after 18 years he’ll be signed by one of the biggest clubs in the world. With Mönchengladbach he had a lot of remarkable games but the most remarkable game so far is the game against Bayern Munich in 2011/12 season. Bayern Munich had just signed Manuel Neuer, yet to become the best goalkeeper in the world. It was Neuer’s debut at Allianz Arena and after his error, Mönchengladbach won by 1-0. Next season, after the departure of Reus to Borussia Dortmund, ter Stegen emerged as Mönchengladbach's main star for the season. He had been linked with a move to Barcelona but later he denied the rumors. And in the upcoming season, as the rumors continued growing, ter Stegen rejected a new deal from his club and after the 3-1 win over Mainz, paid tearful tribute to his club and left Mönchengladbach to start a new journey with FC Barcelona.

Road to Barcelona

After Barcelona was having some crisis in La Liga and Champions League, the team sacked their head coach Gerardo Martino by bringing Luis Enrique to the club. As the new head coach sold club legend Victor Valdes, ter Stegen was suppose to be the perfect replacement for VV. On the comparison with Valdes, ter Stegen said:
 I am who I am and that's that.
But sadly, the German goalkeeper got injured in his first match of the League and was replaced by another Luis Enrique signing, Claudio Bravo. If it wasn’t for the injury, ter Stegen would have been the first choice goalkeeper. But he continued playing in Copa del Rey and Champions League as he made significant contributions in the Copa del Rey and in the UEFA Champions League. He became the second German goalkeeper at Barcelona after Robert Enke. His most remarkable save is from the Champions League game against Bayern Munich in the seond leg.
That year Barcelona went on winning the treble, second time in club’s history. As his time at Barcelona was going well but he was not the first choice goalkeeper, there were rumors that Marc-Andre wants to leave Barcelona. But eventually, the Catalan club preferred to keep the young goalkeeper and sold Claudio Bravo to Manchster City. In the 2016-17 season, ter Stegen was already the first choice goalkeeper. The most remarkable game of that season is the comeback against PSG.
Mascherano:
After conceding the goal, Ter Stegen started shouting: ‘We never die! We’re Barcelona!’ Shouting: 'All of you! Go into the attacking areas! Don’t worry about me!’ He kept shouting: 'We will win! We will win!’ At one point I told Busi that Marc wasn’t okay.
There is another remarkable game for the goalkeeper. In the group stages Barcelona faced Monchengladbach. It was an emotional return for ter Stegen but he did everything to secure wins for Barcelona. The first leg ended 1-2 and in the home game Barcelona won 4-0.

International level

Marc-André ter Stegen made his international debut in 2012, but was left out of the World Cup winning squad at Brazil 2014. Ter Stegen was included in Germany's Euro 2016 squad, but remained on the bench throughout the entire tournament, as a back-up to starter Manuel Neuer; Germany reached the semi-finals, and were eliminated following a 2–0 loss to hosts France. At the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, Ter Stegen started in all of his team's matches, apart from the first group-stage match, as Germany went on to win the tournament. For his performance in the final, against Chile, he was named the Man of the Match.

It’s the style of play that makes him different

Ter Stegen has been described as a tall, agile and consistent goalkeeper, with quick reflexes, good decision-making and excellent shot-stopping abilities. He is also strong in the air, good in one-on-one situations. He perfectly fits in Barcelona philosophy. The club values the goalkeeper as an 11th player in the pitch. He, usually, tales part in the team's attacks. Here is represented the latest game of FC Barcelona and Marc-Andre ter Stegen's  heroics from that night.

Related News

Standings

England, Premier League