For the longest time, Germany has been consistent in producing world-class goalkeeping talent. With names like Jens Lehmann, Oliver Kahn, Harald Schumacher leaving their mark behind as German legends of the game, a modern batch of keepers in Manuel Neuer, Marc Ander Ter-Stegen and Bernd Leno have emulated the former’s success and have also ensured the continuation of this Germanic tradition.
Barring perhaps Neuer, Ter-Stegen has perhaps been the best German keeper over the last 7 years.
Since making his shift from Borussia Monchengladbach to Barcelona during the 2014/15 campaign, his career has taken flight.
The German was quick to dethrone Claudio Bravo as the no. 1 keeper for the Spanish side and also started the 2015 Champions League win against Juventus in the final during his debut season.
Since then, the keeper has been untouchable at the club and has over the years picked up 4 La Liga titles, 5 Copa del Reys, 2 Super Copas and 1 UEFA Super Cup along with the 2015 UCL trophy.
He has been a part of Barca’s history-making treble-winning squad of 2015 which had the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar and Suarez all playing.
Having played with some of the greats of the game for both club and country, when Ter-Stegen was asked to pick his Dream 11 consisting of his teammates, many expected the German to include names from that Barca side. But he has picked an 11 that has surprised many fans as it does not feature a number of household names.
Ter Stegen has chosen one name from his time at Gladbach in Janis Blaswich and has also included Marco Reus, Antonio Rudiger and Mario Gotze from the German national team.
The rest of the 11 is dominated by Barca players in Xavi, Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Dani Alves and Sergio Busquets.
Marc André ter Stegen’s dream XI of players he played with for club & country 🇩🇪 [dfb] pic.twitter.com/snkUTbH6jg
— Bayern & Die Mannschaft (@iMiaSanMia_en) March 20, 2022
Fans speculated over the practicality of Ter-Stegen’s 11 as he has fielded an attacking front three featuring 2 attacking midfielders (Reus and Gotze) and 1 central midfielder (Frenkie De Jong).
The absence of Barca’s infamous MSN (Messi, Suarez, Neymar) trio has also upset many Barca fans as they expected the trio to make a guaranteed appearance.
Although his choices for the Dream XI might not have been received well by Barca fans, his on the pitch performances have always been something for Catalan supporters to be proud of.
The goalkeeper once again played a key role in Barca’s thrashing of Real Madrid on Sunday by making a few early saves to ensure Barca remained without a deficit. He would be pleased with the clean sheet from the Clasico and would be focusing on helping Barca fight for success in securing the Europa League trophy this season.
