Ter Stegen is already here. In time for the Champions League, which was the goal the goalkeeper had set himself when he decided to go through the operating room. Far from having lost his place or someone having opened the debate, Barcelona have missed the saves of their second captain. Back to be the 1.
The idea of the coaching staff is that on Sunday against Granada, the line-up will start again with Ter Stegen. There will be exactly 10 days until the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in Naples. In addition to the match against Granada, the German will also have the Balaídos match on the 17th to gain rhythm and confidence after almost three months of inactivity before flying to Italy.
Marc-André ter Stegen has not played a game since November 12, against Alabès, precisely the last opponent that Iñaki Peña, his substitute, has faced. Right after that match against the Vitorians in Montjuïc, the German traveled to Germany for the national team call-up. Unable to play in either of the two friendlies planned by the organizers of this summer's Euro Cup, the Blaugrana returned to Barcelona with a backache.
Ter Stegen, 31 years old, had just had a great season, in which he only scored 18 goals in the League that Barça won. Perhaps for this reason, he tried to improve with a conservative treatment in which rest was prioritized, which is why he was neither in Vallecas nor in Porto's visit to the Champions League. Seeing that the evolution was not as expected, he ended up choosing to go through the operating room on December 8. It was put in the hands of Dr. Amélie Léglise in Bordeaux - to whom Marcos Alonso later also turned for a similar illness.
His main goal was to return as soon as possible in the best conditions. The player, thinking about the Champions League and the most decisive part of the season, understood that he could not wait any longer to have the operation and the deadlines set for his reappearance are being met perfectly. The goalkeeper's feelings have been very good since the beginning of his recovery.
"He has made a book recovery", revealed Xavi Hernández. Since January 26, Ter Stegen has been working in the field with José Ramón de la Fuente, his trusted coach since he landed at the Camp Nou in 2014. A readjustment in which there has been no trace of pain.
In addition to the medical discharge, which he will receive if there are no setbacks on Saturday, it will not be the only good news for Ter Stegen. On February 1, their second son was born, whom the couple named Tom. In December, Ben, the first born, turned three. Of course, now the goalkeeper will have to update his gloves, where the names of Ben and Dani, his partner, were inscribed on the wrist.
Since he stopped sharing the goal with Claudio Bravo - a situation he experienced in his first two seasons at the Camp Nou -, Ter Stegen has always been the owner and master of ownership at Barcelona. In the last seven seasons, he had never dropped out of the 42 games played. Iñaki Peña, a 24-year-old youth player who had not made his league debut, was given the role of replacing the starter, who he considers his role model. The Alicante has only been able to keep a clean sheet in three of the 17 games in which it has defended the Barcelona goal.
Without being to blame many times – because the whole defense has been very insecure and unstable –, he conceded three goals in Antwerp, conceding four against Girona, Madrid and Athletic (two of which in extra time) and took five from Villarreal. Peña has experienced two eliminations (Copa and Supercopa).
Barça hope to recover the wall with a Ter Stegen who stops 73% of the shots on goal, compared to 56% for the Alicante. The opponents need four shots to beat the Germanic. Also with the ball, the absence of number 1 has been noticed. Although the success of the pass of the two is similar (91% to 89%), the difference is noticeable in the success of the passes to the opposite field, a tactic that the team uses to get out of pressure. Ter Stegen has 58% and Peña has remained at 36%. The goal is getting back its regular keeper, who renewed until 2028.
