Ronald Koeman cared little how Neto felt after his blunder with Piqué in Mendizorroza's game. Whether he had spoken to his goalkeepers or not, Marc André 'Herr' Stegen, the lord of the Barça goal, was in a hurry and in Barcelona he has already been known since 2016, when he threatened to leave if he was not the starting goalkeeper in LaLiga (Bravo was sold Manchester City), which, if the German prevails, we must accelerate. So almost three months after (82 days in particular) of being marked as the goalkeeper who received 2-8 in Lisbon, Ter Stegen reappeared. The former Moenchengladbach goalkeeper, who decided to have surgery on the patellar tendon in his right leg as soon as he finished last season, made six saves in a shocking comeback. Dazzling. “Thanks to Marc,” Ronald Koeman praised him. The injury has not deprived the reflexes, lucid before the arrivals of Tsygankov and Supryiaha. Neither are its rules of the game. He is a relentless goalkeeper under the sticks, although he has not corrected certain deficiencies in his handling of space for years. His extraordinary ability in hand to hand hides, in part, that lack.
It was a happy comeback for Ter Stegen, whom many voices already claim as captain at Barça. Renewed until 2025 in the policy of salary adjustment, the German admitted that “at first it was hard for everyone.” Ter Stegen wanted to be the highest paid goalkeeper in the world, because that is how he considers himself, at the height of Alisson, Oblak or Neuer himself. But the pandemic changed the plan. First, the doorman stopped the negotiations. Now, he has adapted to the needs of Barça and has signed a new contract. Its clause, moreover, is prohibitive: 500 million euros.
“I really wanted to be in the field”, recognized Ter Stegen, Who has been seen to be thinner than ever in training and who, from what could be seen, has not lost spark or goal. Koeman thanked him “thanks” on his return. The cruelty of football invites us to think that there will not even be a sweet transition in the Barça goal. The week had given rise to speculation about the possibility that Koeman, warning of Neto's error in Vitoria, would give the Brazilian the opportunity to play as a starter before the break. To this day, Ter Stegen is listed on the rise as a starter this Saturday against Betis. Neto, who except for the game against Alavés has had an optimal performance and perhaps deserved some more gesture, has already learned to get used to it. Buffon weighed heavily at Juventus. Ter Stegen weighs a lot in Barça.