Marc Andre Ter Stegen has been one of the most influential FC Barcelona players for almost nearly a decade now. The German goalkeeper first tasted great success with the Catalan giants in 2015, when he became a crucial part of the Barca side that ended up winning the club’s second treble under Luis Enrique.
8 years from then, the German goalkeeper now stands as a proud captain of FC Barcelona. Arguably in the form of his career, the 31-year-old goalkeeper is still providing fans of La Blaugrana the utmost security between the sticks of the Barcelona goal.
Speaking recently in an interview with SPOX and GOAL, as highlighted by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, the German international acknowledged various hot topics that were brought up to him during the interview.
One of the main points of discussion was Xavi’s method of playing which he adopted for Barcelona last season that gave the club the La Liga title.
Many considered it to be non-Barcelona-esque and even neglectful of the Barcelona style of play that Xavi himself used to promote. Ter Stegen considered this as complete ‘nonsense’ and gave a more progressive reply:
“That’s complete nonsense. Every philosophy must evolve. When Xavi played himself, the quality of the Barça team was significantly higher compared to the competition. Since then, everything has become more balanced, especially in the physical aspect.”
“Therefore, we must now find different solutions than back then. Especially at the beginning, he tried to give us a certain stability, which was very necessary.”
He was then asked if he had stayed in touch with now coach and former teammate Xavi once he left in 2015, to which he replied with a positive confirmation:
“After his departure from Barcelona, we stayed in touch. We have a special connection, a very open relationship. When he offers sports-related criticism, I am very open to it. That is important for our relationship. I can separate private matters from professional ones. I think we Germans are generally good at that.”
