Ter Stegen is Barça’s new keeper after his signing was completed last week. He comes in as the new number one keeper after both Victor Valdés and Pinto exit the club. The young German is entrusted as the new man in the box which will be no easy task. Ter Stegen is walking into a jungle where he has to combat history along with comparisons to the legend Valdés and his contemporary Courtois.
After a decade of service, Barça will no longer rely on Valdés as their goalkeeper. Ter Stegen now inherits the mantle unless his backup, whoever Barça signs, somehow beats him to the starting lineup. The same scenario happened back in 2003-2004 when Turkish keeper, Rustu, was signed by the club and ended up being the backup to Valdés. Rijkaard had more faith in Valdés and the rest is history. Now, Ter Stegen has to combat history as he tries to become a true starting keeper after Barça discarded Andoni Zubizarreta following the 1994-1995 European Cup Final. 19 other keepers have guarded Barça’s goal since then and only three had more than 100 appearances; Valdés, Hesp and Busquets.
Ter Stegen doesn’t have history on his side but it doesn’t mean that he is doomed either. He wasn’t called up by Low for the World Cup for Germany, contrary to many world cup sports books. But he is a young talented keeper who I have high hopes for. Hopefully the club will surround him with a strong back four in front of him too and whoever is his backup will also serve as his mentor and not his competitor. However, the young man will also have to fight off comparisons to not one, but two goalkeepers.
Ter Stegen replacing a legend that is Valdés will not be an easy task. At times, the Blaugrana faithful were harsh on Valdés but he still leaves the club as the most successful, and greatest, goalkeeper in the history of the club. When one replaces a legend, he also has to be compared to him and that will be the case for the young German. Furthermore, there will be comparisons to Atlético’s keeper, Courtois, who it seems was longing to join Barça over returning to Chelsea. Many, including myself, would have preferred his signing as Valdés’s replacement. Courtois is used to playing in Spain and the late kickoff times and has proven himself in La Liga and in UEFA competitions. Obviously, if Ter Stegen sputters, then there will be talks of what if, even if it’s unfair.
Indeed, Ter Stegen walks into a new environment that is currently unstable at the top with more changes along the horizon. Hopefully he can cope with all that he is about to face and endure. It will be a test to see how the German can handle being in the jungle that is Barça and pass with flying colors.
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