Ter Stegen, Welcome to the Jungle.

 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.

Barça’s pursuit for the successor of Valdés.

With each passing month, it becomes more evident that the likelihood of Victor Valdes remaining with Barça becomes more bleak. It took the club a long time to settle on a true starting keeper after they discarded Zubizarreta following the 1994-1995 European Cup Final. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the club’s fortune improved when they decided on Valdés being the man in goal for the long-term. The club will now have to seek a suitable replacement for Valdés and the list of candidates is impressive but dubious.

It is ironic that the man tasked with the responsibility of finding the next Barça keeper is one of the club’s own legendary keepers, Zubizarreta. Fortunately, the search for a keeper will not be that difficult. The choices available range from old and seasoned to up and coming young talents, however, what will be difficult is making sure the right one is chosen. We went through the likes of Victor Baia, Ruud Hesp, Bonano, Enke, Rustu and even Pepe Reina, who is also a potential candidate as well, before the club settled on Valdés.

The current list of candidates consists of Borussia Monchengladbach’s youngster, Ter Stegen, Manchester United’s David De Gea, former Blaugrana keeper Pepe Reina who is currently on loan with Napoli, and Atletico Madrid’s Courtois who is on loan from Chelsea. Prying some of these keepers will be very difficult and will not be cheap.

I have a tough time believe De Gea is going to be sold by Manchester United unless he has some poor performances the rest of the season. If that is the case, why should Barça then sign him then? As for Pepe Reina, it seems that many Cules are not in favor of seeing the former keeper back with the team. Sure, he is familiar with the players because of the Spanish national team connection. However, my issue is that Barça need a younger keeper who can provide a decade of service if possible and Reina has only a few years left in him.

This basically leaves us with two choices. Ter Stegen and Courtois. Ter Stegen is a young keeper whom the club supposedly has already made an agreement to obtain his services for next season. He seems to be destined to be one of the keepers for the German World Cup roster. However, one has to wonder if he is the right choice for the club. It’s not easy being Barça’s keeper; just ask Valdés and what he had to endure over the years. Does playing for BMG prepare him for the late night kickoffs at the Camp Nou and those intense matches in Europe and against Real Madrid? Maybe the gamble in signing him would pay off but can Barça afford to chance it? He would be worth signing to be an understudy although Barça B Masip also seems suited for that role if Pinto is not brought back to be Barça’s backup keeper.

That leaves us with the ever so impressive Courtois. He was signed by Chelsea when he was a teenager and was sent on loan to Atletico Madrid. The young keeper has been sensational ever since he joined Atletico Madrid. He has helped his side add another Europa League title and played a vital part in ending their long winless streak against their derby rivals, Real Madrid. That victory came in last season’s Copa del Rey Final which was played in Real Madrid’s own turf. Courtois played phenomenally well, and had some luck to assist him too, as Atletico Madrid triumphed and added another Copa del Rey to their trophy case.

Furthermore, the young phenom has performed well in the Champions League. Courtois has also helped guide Belgium back to the World Cup for the first time since 2002. There’s no doubt that his experience at the World Cup will only make him stronger. His resume makes him the perfect candidate for Barça to sign as their long-term keeper. The only stumbling block will be his price tag. He is still is a Chelsea player and with Mourinho there, it is highly unlikely that he will sell the young Belgian keeper to the club without asking for a king’s ransom, if he decides to sell at all.

Zubizarreta has a tall order ahead of him. Replacing Valdés is not an easy task and this upcoming summer will be a difficult one for him and Rosell if he chooses to get involved. The right man has to be chosen because the club has a team built to win for now and a wrong choice will be a setback for their title ambitions. Clock is ticking and hopefully Barça makes the right choice in the end.