Since Marc-André ter Stegen has been the undisputed number one goal at FC Barcelona, he has been collecting title after title. Only not in the disaster year 2020, in which the former Gladbacher has to cope with numerous setbacks.
The year 2020 is not getting off to a good start. Tendon problems in the knee put the goalkeeper out of action in the first game, then the leaders of the table Barca missed the city derby win against Espanyol (2-2).
Pursuit Real Madrid, on the other hand, wins, the changing of the guard follows two game days later and at the end of the season Los Blancos celebrate the championship five points ahead.
The next setback comes at the beginning of February, when Barcelona surprisingly eliminated in the cup quarter-finals against eventual finalists Athletic Bilbao – the winner will only be determined in early January 2021 in the game against Real Sociedad. One month later, the corona lockdown paralyzed life in Spain for months.
Since then, there has been chaos at FC Barcelona.
The great chaos and an extension into the unknown
There would be the embarrassing 8-2 defeat in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in their own stadium against FC Bayern, after which Ter Stegen apologized on behalf of the team to the Barca supporters and called for “changes”. There is the publicly contested alternate theater around superstar Lionel Messi, which is still not over.
There is the resignation of club president Josep Bartomeu, who could no longer withstand the pressure of the Barca fans. Since then, numerous successor candidates have been struggling for power at the football giant, and there is no calm.
And for Marc-André ter Stegen, too, things get sticky. A serious knee injury ensues: an intervention on the patellar tendon and a complicated rehab ensure that he cannot play a single competitive game between mid-August and early November.
Ter Stegen will only take over the position of deputy Neto again in November, in the meantime he has signed a new contract until 2025. The goalkeeper also temporarily waives money due to the financial difficulties of the club, which is being accelerated by the consequences of the corona pandemic. It is a declaration of love to the club where he feels so “at home”. And it is an extension into the unknown, because the crisis at FC Barcelona is already evident on every corner.
So far, coach Ronald Koeman’s team can only win two of the six games played. Barca is bobbing around in midfield in twelfth place, and the team is a long way from former top football.
Rüffel for ter Stegen
Barca win against Real Betis 5-2 in the Ter Stegen comeback. After the international break – during which his German national team colleagues are beaten 6-0 by the Spaniards – the goalkeeper of all people is responsible for the next setback. In the top game against Atlético Madrid, he made the momentous mistake that sealed the 0-1 defeat. “That mustn’t happen,” said coach Koeman afterwards in public.
And Barca did not find their way back on track in the following weeks either. At the beginning of December, there was an embarrassing 1: 2 defeat against newly promoted Cadiz. Then the team catches a bitter 3-0 defeat against Juventus in the Champions League.
Ter Stegen is not to be envied these days. The defensive worries of the former top team are too big, with the chief central defender Piqué missing in every nook and cranny. The mistakes of his front men are too blatant.
Barcelona defense leaves a lot to be desired
In the all-important 2-1 prestige win against leaders Real Sociedad about a week ago, the Barca backcountry allowed a total of ten shots. Ter Stegen, himself not always sure of his saddle, finally fends off ex-BVB attacker Alexander Isak in stoppage time and secures three points for his team.
The defensive problems are also visible in the most recent 2-2 draw against Valencia CF, when a rehearsed corner kick variant of the opponent is sufficient for guest defender Diakhaby to put a header in Ter Stegen’s case all by himself. On the second goal, the Barca back team refused to work in several duels, again the 28-year-old goalkeeper is powerless.
And so Marc-André ter Stegen and FC Barcelona are stumbling from game to game these days instead of sweeping their opponents off the pitch as they were used to. The only good news: The end of the (sporting) disaster year is in sight. If Barca do not score six points against the relegation candidates from Real Valladolid (Tuesday, 10:00 p.m.) and SD Eibar (29.12., 7:15 p.m.), the new year should also start turbulent.
Gerrit Kleiböhmer
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