Ter Stegen is already an FC Barcelona goalkeeping legend
Last Tuesday, FC Barcelona defeated CA Osasuna at Camp Nou (1-0), adding another narrow victory that makes Xavi Hernandez’s team close to the LaLiga Santander title, taking 14 points from their closest pursuers, Real Madrid, with 15 points left to play.
The 250th match in the Barcelona jersey
The match against Osasuna was also Marc-André Ter Stegen’s 250th game in the FC Barcelona jersey in LaLiga. This figure has only been reached by three other goalkeepers in the club’s history: Ramallets (288), Zubizarreta (301) and Víctor Valdés (387). The German is already one of the club’s historic goalkeepers at the age of 30, having played 9 seasons and being one of the captains.
European goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in a season
Ter Stegen became, after not conceding against Osasuna, the European goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in a season in the history of the five major European leagues with 25, surpassing the record of Peter Cech (2004/05) and Jan Oblak (2015/16), both with 24. The German goalkeeper is having his best league campaign since he arrived at the Blaugrana club in the summer of 2014, being then one of the most promising European goalkeepers at the age of 22.
A goalkeeper trusted by all coaches
Despite this, in his early days, it was difficult for him to get the starting position, which he alternated with Claudio Bravo, who also arrived at the club that same year. But as the seasons went by, he had the confidence of each and every one of the coaches who passed through the bench; Luis Enrique, Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setién, Koeman and Xavi. Confidence backed by his numbers. Since he took the starting lineup in the regularity tournament in 2016/17, only one season has he conceded more than one goal per game.
Your best year
In fact, this season is his best year in this ratio, picking up the ball from the back of his goal 0.33 times per game. In terms of goals saved (goals conceded minus expected goals against), Ter Stegen’s season is also outstanding. The Barça goalkeeper has prevented 6 goals so far in the championship, being the 5th best goalkeeper in the five major leagues, and first in LaLiga, who has saved the most goals this campaign. However, it is not his best year in this statistic, as 2017/18 with 8 and 2018/19 with 7 were better. The FC Barcelona goalkeeper is going straight for his first Zamora, an award that, in large part, will be sustained by his excellent save percentage (86%), the highest since he arrived in the Catalan capital, and the best of all goalkeepers in the five big leagues this season.
The third goalkeeper in Barça’s history with the most league titles
But if there is one thing he has always stood out, it is his footwork. The German international is one of the team’s passers, with numbers that could be signed by Busquets himself. This season, his passing accuracy is 83%, a figure that has risen to 84% since his arrival in LaLiga. Of course, without forgetting that he has the honor of having given two assists in the 250 games he has played. Nine LaLigas as a Barcelona player, with four titles won, with the fifth more than on track, which would make him the third goalkeeper in the history of Barça with the most league titles, only behind the 6 leagues won by Ramallets and Víctor Valdés.
