The time has come: Marc-André ter Stegen, the regular goalkeeper at FC Barcelona, is in goal for Germany – for at least five games. Even after that, Manuel Neuer should not have an automatic right of return if he is fit.
Marc-André ter Stegen has not yet explained in detail how he felt when he put on the number one jersey at the DFB campus in Frankfurt at the beginning of the week. “I was asked, I said okay – and now I have the number,” he revealed on Thursday, “there isn’t much more to say about it.”
It’s possible that he took note of the matter in passing because it’s just about a different number on the outerwear. But it’s also possible that he smiled at himself or even freaked out internally. Since his notably unsuccessful international debut in May 2012 – he played his part in the 5-3 defeat of Switzerland – Ter Stegen has always been numbered 22 over the years. So far, the degrading number has been his destiny with the national team, although his DFB history had previously promised otherwise: From the U17s to the U21s, ter Stegen had always been number one despite strong rival Bernd Leno.
Now the time has finally come that the FC Barcelona regular goalkeeper, who is much-vaunted in Spain, is also the first choice in the national team, officially confirmed by national coach Hansi Flick. In the upcoming games against Peru on Saturday in Mainz and against Belgium on Tuesday in Cologne, he should be in goal from the start. He is also entitled to the jersey with the one in the three-part international round in June. And then? He had “not yet exchanged views with Flick about this,” he said.
The national coach could not have promised him a definition anyway. At the course in September, Manuel Neuer, then 37 years old, would like to be able to bid for the regular place in the German goal again. Flick assures that there will be no automatic return of the long-standing throne holder, that performance will decide: “Nothing is set in stone.”
If Neuer hadn’t broken his leg during the ski tour last December, Ter Stegen would probably still have to wait for his promotion. Here and there there were moments when he was tired of being crown prince with the national team, then, like last summer, he let himself be released from a meeting. But over the long period of time he has also learned to be patient and persistent and to control the ambition that he feared in the past. In this way, the relationship with Neuer has also relaxed, although it was never really bad despite the rivalry. “I wish him that he comes back quickly and still takes the time he needs. That’s what you wish for him as a colleague, as a friend and as a long-term companion in the national team,” explained ter Stegen. He still wants to defend the priority. “The situation is as it is because of Manu’s injury. I’ll try to take my chance,” he promised. The fight for the German goal, which has been canceled for years, can begin.