Barcelona’s future is in safe hands with hero keeper Marc-André ter Stegen

By Leyla Hamed.

It was a magical night in Munich for Ter Stegen. Mainly because he won the ticket to the Champions League final in Berlin with his team-mates but also for the great performance he put in on the field, which served to demonstrate why he is Barcelona’s European keeper.

Marc-André ter Stegen, 23, is one for the future. That’s something legendary Barcelona keeper and the club’s former football director, Andoni Zubizarreta, knew when he signed last year and was then just an unknown kid in whom the 53-year-old had put his total faith.

Although Neymar was the Man of the Match after scoring two goals against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night that gave Barcelona the way to the Champions League final alongside his team-mate Luis Suarez – who also put in an exceptional performance – it was Ter Stegen who gave us some sensational saves to remember and crowned himself as the hero of the night.

This is only his debut season in the Champions League and he was playing against his idol, Bayern goalie Manuel Neuer in this semi-final. But if he felt under any added pressure, then he certainly didn’t show it. When Neuer’s team were superior, Ter Stegen was more than capable of holding them back and he saved Barcelona from a bigger defeat on the night, even though they were still winning on aggregate.

Now, let’s take a look at the three memorable saves that he made. Thomas Müller latched onto a cross from the right-hand side to head the ball towards the corner of Barcelona’s goal. The ball was creeping into the net little by little but Stegen stretched out his hand to send it away and keep the score level at 1-1.

The Barca keeper then delighted viewers again with a save from Bastian Schweinsteiger’s header which was just sublime, as he tipped it over the bar. Only three minutes later, Ter Stegen took his performance to an even higher level. He made a stunning double save as Robert Lewandowski found himself alone against the German goalie. The Bayern striker hammered the ball towards goal but the keeper blocked it with his arm and then hurried back to his net to swipe the ball from the goal-line right before it counted.

Although he was beaten three times – and Barcelona did lose – when Bayern created trouble, Ter Stegen was immense. He has now gone from being the kid who couldn’t gain his club’s trust sufficiently to keep Zubizarreta in his job to being called upon to be Barcelona’s very own ‘wall’ in the Berlin final in his home country on 6th June.

One thing is for sure, Barcelona are very lucky to have both La Liga keeper Claudio Bravo and Ter Stegen. It’s a beautiful goalkeeping rivalry we will all enjoy for years to come.

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