In what has been a season of many positives, there are many a player at FC Barcelona who deserve praise for their contributions. One such name is that of a particular German goalkeeper who has guarded the Blaugrana goal with his life and utter resilience all season long.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is a former Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper who made his move to FC Barcelona in 2014. The rest, as they say, is history. Following his €12 million transfer to the Catalan club, the German would end up winning a historic treble in his very first season at the club, contributing heavily to both cup competitions that Barca were a part of: the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Del Ray.
Since then, despite seasons of great ups and seasons of tremendous lows, both the keeper and club have stood by one another. Now, as the curtains close on a glorious 2022/2023 league campaign for both club and player, the struggles seem to have been worth the pain.
Breaking defensive record after defensive record, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen managed to overtake the likes of Claudio Bravo for the most clean sheets in a singular season for FC Barcelona and is now taking a shot at overthrowing Francisco Liano’s record for the most clean sheets in a modern Liga season, which the German international is just 2 clean sheets shy of, with 4 games left to play.
The German may also have a shot at beating Chelsea’s 2004/2005 record of conceding the least goals in a league campaign across the top European leagues, with the Blues having set the record at 15. With 13 goals conceded thus far, Ter Stegen will need to concede less than two goals over the course of the next 4 games to accomplish this rather unreal task.
With the La Liga Santander title secured, this marks the 5th league title in Ter Stegen’s time with FC Barcelona. Having won 5 league titles from a possible total of 9, given that is the number of seasons he has played for Barca, this records quite the impressive tally.
The number 1 remains among the untouchables at FC Barcelona and for good reason. With him, in between the sticks, even next season for La Blaugrana, the officials at the club and fans across the world can all rest assured knowing they currently possess one of if not the best goalkeepers in Europe within their ranks.
