In seiner elften Saison als Torhüter des FC Barcelona macht Marc-André ter Stegen Spiel für Spiel meistens weiter eines: er wartet. Darauf, dass die Spieler des Gegners mit dem Ball in seine Richtung stürmen und er den Angriff mit einer Parade im richtigen Moment stoppen kann. Oder darauf, dass die Spieler des Gegners ohne den Ball in seine Richtung stürmen und er den Angriff seiner Mannschaft mit einem Pass im richtigen Moment starten kann.
Im modernen Fußball muss der Torhüter das Spiel mittlerweile nicht nur mit den Händen, sondern auch mit den Füßen kontrollieren können. Das ist Manuel Neuers Geschichte. Im modernen Fußball muss der Torhüter mittlerweile aber auch warten können. Das könnte Marc-André ter Stegens Geschichte werden.
Titel, auf den er lange warten musste
Am Samstag wird dieser Marc-André ter Stegen, 32 Jahre alt, Torhüter und Kapitän des FC Barcelona, im Stadion in Düsseldorf das 41. Mal für die deutsche Fußballnationalnationalmannschaft spielen. Er selbst sagt, dass es sich davor anders anfühle. Anders als vor seinem ersten Spiel im Mai 2012, anders als vor seinen 39 Spielen danach. Warum? Weil er weiß, dass er ab sofort auf eines nicht mehr warten muss.
Es ist Donnerstagmittag, als ter Stegen – so kann man das im Livestream des Deutschen Fußball-Bundes (DFB) sehen – mit kurzer Hose und T-Shirt in den Pressesaal in Herzogenaurach kommt und sich dort auf das Podium setzt, wo ihn die DFB-Pressesprecherin Franziska Wülle auf seinen neuen Titel hinweist, auf den er so lange warten musste: Nummer eins der Nationalmannschaft.
“Greetings,” says Marc-André ter Stegen, the man who will be in the German goal not only on Saturday, but also in the 2026 World Cup summer. And in his first statement as number one, he then says a sentence that one would expect from the association’s new PR intern: “I’m looking forward to the new tasks and I’m looking forward to what’s to come.”
But it doesn’t matter that ter Stegen is holding back with his statements on this own matter, because one man has not held back with his statements on the matter this week: Joshua Kimmich, the new captain of the national team, who gave an enthusiastic short speech in Herzogenaurach on Tuesday that went like this: “You have to say that he did an outstanding job, that he always put himself at the service of the team. […] There were certainly one or two tournaments where he thought he had a chance of becoming number one and was then promoted to number two. He always took it in good spirit. He always gave me the impression that he wanted to be number one, and that has to be his goal. But when it doesn’t happen, you have a responsibility to the team. And he did that outstandingly.”
Not without telling Neuer’s story
Of course, ter Stegen said on Thursday, it was always his goal to be number one. But that just didn’t work out because there was someone who always performed well and stood up to the pressure. “At this point too: Congratulations to him for what he has achieved with the national team!”
Him? That is, of course, Manuel Neuer, the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game, who has just announced his retirement from the national team. And even though Neuer is no longer there, the fact remains that you cannot tell ter Stegen’s story without Neuer’s story.
While he had to learn to wait in the national team, in Barcelona he learned that waiting is also important on the pitch. In the timing of the passing game, where he became one of the best in the world. And in the timing of the jump, where he had to be very precise because at 1.87 meters he is a decisive bit smaller than Neuer (1.93) and therefore had no room for error. And even though ter Stegen said on Thursday that he was “glad” “that the time of waiting is over,” it seems that he knows the value of waiting.
Later, a reporter wants to know what headline ter Stegen would like to read about himself and his team after the 2026 World Cup: “That’s a good question, a very good question,” he says, thinks, and then continues: “For us, it’s true that we want to be successful. The most important task for us right now is to prepare ourselve
s to be successful.”
The reporter seems dissatisfied with this, whereupon ter Stegen says: “I know you always want short headlines, I’m not very good at that, that’s why I’m sitting here, not there.” Franziska Wülle, the DFB press spokeswoman, then intervenes: “Then I’ll make one: We are world champions.” ter Stegen: “Great!”
If you look at the open questions in midfield, it seems that the German national football team has a very long way to go to become world champions in the summer of 2026. But in September 2024, it seems that at least we can say that the new goalkeeper is unlikely to be the reason for the team’s failure.
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