Will goalkeeper Manuel return to the German national team?

Can there be catastrophic news for a football player? The complete rupture of the patellar tendon in the knee – that was the diagnosis that Marc-André ter Stegen, the German national goalkeeper, received on Monday. His club, FC Barcelona, ​​​​communicated the result of the detailed examination and offensive. What followed for the goalkeeper, the Catalans were soon announced.

In any case, the severity of the injury does not correspond to the intervention of an opponent. Ter Stegen injured himself without any outside influence when he tried to intercept a high ball against Villarreal. This gave ter Stegen a déjà vu: Due to an operation on his patellar tendon, he was unable to take part in the European Championship with the German national team in 2021.

The consequences for Marc-André ter Stegen are serious: firstly, there is the long absence from the club, some forecasts speak of many months, more likely of an absence for the entire season. And of course there is his position in the national team, for which he has already played 42 games, but only two appearances as the undisputed number one – in the Nations League against Hungary and against the Netherlands. Convincing, of course, but basically ter Stegen was a debutant in this role: for years he was in the shadow of Manuel Neuer, who announced his retirement from the national team after a long period of consideration.

In this respect, it is certainly not too much of a word to speak of a tragedy for the sportsman. Lothar Matthäus, certainly not a sentimental man, known for his column for a TV station, was “in tears” when he heard the news. Ter Stegen, the would-be national goalkeeper.

Is ter Stegen threatened with the fate of eternal runner-up?

The fate of the supposedly eternal number two would probably have been a little more bearable if the career of his great rival Neuer had not been repeatedly interrupted by long injury breaks, during which ter Stegen could hope. Neuer injured his foot several times, and he returned to the national team for the 2018 World Cup with little match practice. In total, Neuer has missed 155 competitive matches since 2017 – his last absence after the World Cup in Qatar lasted almost a year.

Ter Stegen was never really in competition with Neuer, who was six years older than him. Whenever things seemed to be getting better for him, Ter Stegen was always hit by an injury. When Neuer sold in October last year after what seemed like an endless absence and it was completely uncertain what condition he would be in, Ter Stegen suffered a back injury.

But even when one of the two was unlucky, Neuer always had the better end of the game. Whenever FC Bayern met FC Barcelona, ​​the Munich goalkeeper was in top form, whereas ter Stegen did not always seem to be completely confident.

Ter Stegen won the role of second goalkeeper, who plays a prominent role as captain in one of the biggest clubs in the world, with an almost admirable loyalty. It was only when Neuer broke his shinbone in December 2022, shortly after the Germans were eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar, that ter Stegen formulated his demands more offensively in the absence of the 2014 world champion.

The current situation is challenging not only for the athlete, but also for the national team. Now it is time to prove the theory that has been asserted relatively carelessly for decades that Germany is a country of goalkeepers. After the retirement of the monument Neuer and his deputy, who has international experience in many Champions League appearances, it remains to be seen how the German special position really stands.

Is Germany really the country of goalkeepers?

The belief in the superiority of German goalkeepers is deeply rooted – and is mainly fed by the fact that in some phases two goalkeepers of exceptional quality, who are among the best in the world, were available. Even Sepp Maier, who in retrospect seems to have been all-powerful, had tough competitors in Norbert Nigbur and Wolfgang Kleff. The rivalry between Toni Schumacher and Uli Stein is legendary; the latter was once thrown out of the German World Cup quarters because he called team manager Franz Beckenbauer a “clown”. Things were a little more civilized between Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann, who pushed the man they called the “Titan” out of the German goal.

Given such competitive conditions, the situation between ter Stegen and Neuer can be described as downright relaxed – but this is also due to the fact that Neuer occupies an exceptional position not only in Germany, but also in world football. And so it should come as no surprise that the discussion about whether a return of the long-time captain is conceivable has already begun.

Neuer, it was reported, originally had a different plan than immediate resignation: he wanted to initially take a step back in the national team and skip the Nations League matches, and then later return to his old position. Such a request would not have been met with great enthusiasm, because it would have been unacceptable to ter Stegen. But now the situation is completely different again.

Stuttgart’s Nübel could move up

Kevin Trapp from Frankfurt, the current number two and number three, Oliver Baumann from Hoffenheim – and Alexander Nübel from Stuttgart are ready. The latter is de jure a professional at FC Bayern, he is on loan to Stuttgart, and there is certainly a reason why he does not play in Munich. However, at 28, Alexander Nübel is not the youngest, he is also the best football player of the candidates mentioned – he is superior to his competitors both technically and in terms of understanding of the game. National coach Julian Nagelsmann valued this quality very much, which is why Nübel’s nomination would not be surprising.

The Germans could soon realise that their reputation as a so-called goalkeeping nation is not as great as they have been telling themselves for years. Especially since their competitors are not sleeping either. Or, as Sepp Maier put it: “Just look at the Brazilians.” In the past, they would put one in and then say: ‘We are so good – if the other four shoot, then we will shoot five.’ And now they have great goalkeepers too.”

Ter Stegen’s long absence will certainly have one effect: Germany will probably look at its own goalkeepers a little more soberly in the future.