Two keys behind ter Stegen’s improvement this season – report

Barcelona’s recent win over Real Betis (4-2 in penalties) in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final was all one man; Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The German stopper, who has been excellent since the beginning of the season and was arguably the reason why the game went into the penalties in the first place.

The 30-year-old made save after save throughout the game to make sure his side stays in it for the rest of the tenure.

If someone needs to put their right mind into it, the German’s excellent run of form is all down to his own persistence, to say the very least. 

After having endured a challenging time last season, the reason for which was an issue with his right knee for which he underwent surgery in May 2021, the stopper took the matter into his own hands, reports Mundo Deportivo.

For that, he first pulled himself out of the Nations League and in the previous summer, devised a plan to work on a specific blueprint with a personal trainer to work on his movements.

Once that was done, he gained enough strength to make the reaction saves, which included stretches and jumping. As a result, the club’s medical and technical staff is pretty much impressed with his improvement and work ethic.

So now the only thing that remains for the keeper is to keep his performances consistent enough and if Barcelona are to aim for titles this season, this particular attribute of the stopper will be of utmost importance.

“For a year now I have been at a very good level, personally and physically, and in the end it is also the work of every day. Every day I have a spectacular team that makes me better every day and think about how to improve,” assured the stopper.

As for the game against Betis, he showed how he is utilizing the training methods after he stopped German Pezzella early in the game. Before the break, he also kept the likes of Rodri and Luis Henrique out of goal.

Ultimately, the German managed to save Betis’ last two penalties which prompted Xavi to say, “In penalties, you have to have a great goalkeeper to stop them. Ter Stegen has taken us to the final.”