Marc-André Ter Stegen complained in Naples that the media is fueling his current situation at Barça. But, served cold, the data says that this is the worst season of his career, at least since he has been at Barça, the club he joined in 2014 and where he is celebrating his eighth season. Ter Stegen has a percentage of stops that barely exceeds 63%, very far, up to thirteen and a half points, from the 76.51 he signed in the 2017-18 season. The Ter Stegen thing is, in addition, a trend. Except in the 2015-16 academic year (69.32%), the German goalkeeper always exceeded 70% success in saves. But that curve has been worryingly downward. From 68.94% in the 2019-20 season, it went to 67.74% in the 2020-21 academic year, up to the already worrying 63.03% this season.
Ter Stegen’s situation worsens if compared to the First Division goalkeepers. The German descends to 20th place in First Division goalkeepers. That 63.03% is 17 points 80% of the spectacular Bono, but also very far from the 76.14% of Courtois stops, the percentage in which the German used to move years ago. Or 72.37% of Unai Simón and Gerónimo Rulli.
At Barça there has been a debate for months about Ter Stegen’s performance and, especially, about the fact that he has played all the competitions as long as he has been available to the coach. An untouchable condition that is not consistent with his performance, and that leaves coaches in a bad way (Setién, Koeman and now Xavi) who have given in to the specific weight of the German, one of the sacred cows that remain in Barça, and who have caused the demotivation of goalkeepers like Neto, who came preceded by a good reputation, or the same Iñaki Peña, who has seen a few years of his career go by as third goalkeeper, without being able to play always in the subsidiary for the trips of the first team, in which he did not even debut. This Thursday he showed that he was more than capable of doing it. His agility in the Memphis foul, his courage in the air, had nothing to envy Ter Stegen.
“In recent weeks, there are people who have written things to add fuel to the fire. You are like that and I understand it. But I see everything. You don’t see it. I am happy with my performance. There are many things that I am doing well“, Ter Stegen said by way of self-protection the day before playing against Naples at the Stadio Diego Maradona. There he also failed, with an avoidable penalty. The German, normally cold, has had a couple of reaffirmation gestures this course in the He celebrated a saving save in Palma like a goal, one of the few he has made this year, and another action in Elche almost at the end of the game. As if he felt compelled to proclaim that he remains indisputable. But the numbers do not accompany these gestures and Barça have also warned about it. Laporta has slipped in recent times that Barça will sign a second goalkeeper to squeeze the German; and Xavi already said the other day that “competition is good for everyone“. Something is changing in the Barça goal.