Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega has been called up for the first time with the German team for the matches of the fifth and sixth days of the Nations League, in which the Germans will face Bosnia and Hungary. The goalkeeper receives the call at 32 years old and despite occupying a secondary role at City, where he lives in the shadow of Ederson. This year he has four appearances, two in the Champions League and the same number in the League Cup.
Ortega has been the third choice of the coach, Julian Nagelsmann, who has also called up Alexander Nuebel and Oliver Baumann. Nagelsmann is without Andre Ter Stegen and cannot count on Manuel Neuer, who announced his goodbye to the national team last summer.
Ortega is the son of a Spanish father and a German mother. Pepe, the father, emigrated to Germany and also worked as a goalkeeper in amateur soccer. Despite his roots, the City goalkeeper does not speak Spanish.
Born in Hofgeismar, he began his football career with Arminia Bielefeld, a team with which he made his debut in the Bundesliga in 2021, at the age of 27. Before, he played for three seasons for Munich 1860.
In the 22-23 season Pep Guardiola claimed him for City, who paid 6 million euros for him. Last year, Sampedor’s coach described him as “a world-class goalkeeper, a truly exceptional goalkeeper.”
Germany arrives at this international window already qualified for the Nations League playoffs after adding three wins and a draw in its four previous games. They are missing one point to secure first place against the Netherlands. With Nagelsmann on the bench, Germany has only one defeat in the 13 games it has played in 2024, the one it suffered against Spain in the quarterfinals of the Euro Cup.
#Stefan #Ortega #Citys #Spanish #goalkeeper #called #Germany #years
