“The resurrection of Ter Stegen“was the headline of the Madrid trade journal”Marca“on Monday (January 3rd, 2021). The newspaper”El Mundo“and other media spoke of a”Miracle parade“and from the right”Poor miracle” of Keepers.
Atypical playback errors
Just recently, however, the German national goalkeeper made completely different impressions and headlines. Since his knee operation last summer, Ter Stegen had not found his shape for a long time and had lined up a few mistakes.
He even made one or two playback errors with his foot, although his passes are actually as safe as those of his competitor in the German goal, Manuel Neuer. A special quality that the two German goalkeepers have and which set them apart from the group of the world’s best goalkeepers.
Mockery for Ter Stegen
The Spanish public took him particularly badly at the game against FC Bayern in the Champions League (0: 3) in early December. the Mundo Deportivo spoke from one “grotesque goal” and meant the 2-0 of Leroy Sané, as the Barca-Goalkeeper looked anything but good when the Munich attacker shot from long range.
“Ter Stegen has long been just a shadow of its best version”was the verdict of the Spanish newspaper Sports. the Marca drew an even more relentless conclusion: “He has nothing to do with the prodigy of the past few years. He wouldn’t even stop a taxi this year.”
Barca exit speculation
Not least because of the weaker performance of Ter Stegen, there was speculation in Spain that the FC Barcelona would like to get rid of his goalkeeper and thus save around 18 million euros net annually in salary. The Catalans really need money right now. Even if, of course, a severance payment would be due in the event of a separation. The German’s contract runs until summer 2025.
Central defender Eric García, who played in ter Stegen after the game, showed how great the internal status is Mallorca particularly emphasized: “Spectacular parade. Marc showed what a great goalkeeper he is. We know that we can rely on him when it matters. “
And Xavi Hernandez summed up the German’s situation: “Marc saved us, this win is immensely important”said the Barca coach. “He recently had a crisis of confidence”, but this has now been overcome.
The day-to-day business of professional football can go very quickly. For the time being, Marc-André ter Stegen’s good reputation has been saved and restored.
Status: 03.01.2022, 7:56 p.m.