Ter Stegen: The Top 10 moments
Since Marc ter Stegen came to Barcelona in 2014, the goalkeeper from Mönchengladbach has earned his place in blaugrana folklore. There have been so many memorable moments in the last decade, but here we pick what we believe to have been the finest ten of all.
1. Arrival at Barça
FC Barcelona announced Ter Stegen as a new player on 19 May 2014. The 22-year-old was a replacement for the outgoing Víctor Valdés and José Manuel Pinto, but Barça also signed another goalkeeper, Claudio Bravo, who played all the league games, while the German was used in the Copa del Rey and Champions League, making his debut against APOEL of Cyprus. He didn't play his first Liga game until September of his second season, against Atlético Madrid.
2. Champions League winning save
In his first season, Barça won a famous treble under Luis Enrique. Perhaps the finest moment for the German came in the UCL semi against Bayern Munich, an incredible save to deny his current team-mate Robert Lewandowski followed by another one to keep the ball from crossing the line.
In fact, it was so good that UEFA ended up naming it save of the season, and Barça went on to win the title against Juventus in the final.
3. First captaincy
On 17 April 2018, none of the four captains (Iniesta, Messi, Busquets and Mascherano) were in the side and Ter Stegen was the man chosen to wear the coveted armband for the first time in his career at Barça.
4. Hero between the sticks
The Liga game against Sevilla in 2018/19 was one of his most memorable performances. Ter Stegen made two especially amazing saves as the team won a dramatic encounter 4-2...
5. Footwork
Ter Stegen is famed not only for his saves but also his terrific ability with the ball at his feet, to the extent that in the 2019/20 he was credited with two assists. One was away to Getafe, where he set Luís Suárez up for a one-on-one with the opposing keeper to score the opening goal of a 2-0 win. And in December he also laid the ball for the first goal of a game, with Griezmann the fortunate recipient of the German's long but accurate pass upfield.
6. 300th game
On 21 December 2021, Ter Stegen reached the milestone of 300 games in blaugrana. Only five Barça goalkeepers have ever played so many games, and he is now closing in on the magic 400.
7. First Zamora
Last 2022/23 season, Ter Stegen finally won his first trophy for the best record in La Liga. He only let in 17 goals in 38 games and kept 26 clean sheets, and very, very nearly beat the record for the best coefficient of all time. His 0.49 goals a game fell short of the 0.47 set by Oblak and Liaño by the narrowest of margins.
8. Record breaking 2023
In 2022/23, Ter Stegen kept more clean sheets and conceded fewer goals than any other goalkeeper in Europe's five biggest leagues. And he has started the new season in spectacular form as well, having kept two clean sheets in the team's first two outings.
9. Second captain
On 21 July 2023, it was announced that Ter Stegen would be the second captain behind Sergi Roberto. He's actually worn the armband a few times before, but not in an official capacity like this year.
10. Third extension
Ter Stegen signed a new contract until 2028. It also puts him on strong course to become the goalkeeper with the most ever appearances for FC Barcelona. The incumbent in that role is Víctor Valdès with 536 games played.