Ter Stegen: The Atlético game will be hard, but we will go for the win

The second Facebook Live from the official FC Barcelona account with one of the Barça players has turned out to be a great success once again. The first came with Gerard Piqué last December just ahead of the Clásico against Real Madrid. This time it was the turn of Marc-André ter Stegen, also in the days before a vital league game, this Sunday’s clash with Atlético Madrid. The German goalkeeper said of the upcoming fixture: “It will be a tough game but we are going out there to win.” He added: “It will be an interesting clash in which we will give 100% to try and get all three points.”

Ter Stegen was also optimistic ahead of the team’s chances in the second leg of their last 16 Champions League tie. “Even though it will be difficult, we have a chance. We have to be concentrated and believe. However, now is the time to focus on the league games that we have before the PSG match,” he admitted.

The former Borussia Mönchengladbach keeper also touched on how he has settled in at FC Barcelona. “I love how people are here and how they treat people not from here,” remarked the shot-stopper. On his team mates he revealed: “They are all good people and I have a great relationship with everyone. I get on best with Rakitic, Cillessen and Masip.” He also had kind words about former team mate Dani Alves: “He’s a great person, very friendly and helped me a lot when I arrived.”

Ter Stegen also revealed how he began his football career as a striker, only becoming a goalkeeper at the age of 10. In his personal life he talked of his plans to get married in the summer and to develop his language skills. He already speaks German, English and Spanish and his next objective is to learn Catalan.

Finally, he recalled his favourite moment so far at FC Barcelona: “It was winning the Champions League in a special season for us with so many trophies. Winning the Champions League was special. Barça is the best team in the world and I want to say here for many years.”