Per reports, Jürgen Klopp is going to name Marc-André ter Stegen as his #1 goalkeeper for the German national football team.
Uh-oh.
As we all know, Ter Stegen isn’t the best goalkeeper in the world and despite being a key figure at FC Barcelona over the years, he is known for his costly errors on the pitch. Now at Ajax, Ter Stegen might be getting the break that he has been desperately waiting for.
Germany needs someone stable, an excellent shot-stopper, a player that can command his area and defense
well. Enter Manuel Neuer.
The 40-year-old goalkeeper may be retired from international duty (twice), but he can still offer his best when it really matters. Take for example his performance away to Real Madrid last season: Neuer made nine saves against Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr, two players considered to be some of the best in the world, and limited Madrid to just one measly goal. The former Schalke goalkeeper also made numerous saves in the 2025 Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, also limiting VfB Stuttgart to just one goal.
Take away his standout performances in the past few years and you still have someone who can accurately ping a ball long to a teammate, make insane long throws to start counterattacks. When defending from opposition attacks, Neuer is known for rushing out and clearing the danger as well as being unbeatable from corner kicks. Compare that to Ter Stegen who isn’t particularly great at shot-stopping and once conceded four goals to Athletic Club in the 2015 Supercopa de España. Against Bayern, Ter Stegen has conceded 22 goals. How many goals did Neuer concede to Barcelona? Only nine.
Maybe most importantly, I think you can see the point that I’m making here — Neuer should return just to spite his old nemesis Ter Stegen and not necessarily because he can lead Germany in the EUROs in 2028.
Wouldn’t that be something?
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