Much has been made of the presumed rivalry between Manuel Neuer and Marc André ter Stegen. The former enjoyed his breakout first and established himself as Germany’s undisputed first choice goalkeeper, but Ter Stegen’s rise as the main goalkeeper at FC Barcelona saw many outsiders challenge Neuer’s undisputed status, believing the younger man to be the better goalkeeper in several periods of time throughout the years.
There were moments where injury nearly saw Ter Stegen win the starting spot for
the 2018 World Cup, or the time Bayern’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß threatened to boycott the German national team if Ter Stegen was preferred to Neuer. Enjoy Bavarian Football Work’s coverage of the situation here. Still, when push came to shove and both players were fit, every single Germany manager decided to put Bayern Munich’s #1 in goal. To date, Ter Stegen’s only appearance in a tournament for Germany was the 2017 Confederations Cup.
Ter Stegen’s woes would continue even after Neuer’s retirement from international football in 2024, as two huge injuries saw him unable to challenge to be Neuer’s successor and even ruled him out of the 2026 World Cup. Who knows what the now-estranged Barcelona goalkeeper thought when Neuer returned out of retirement to play in said 2026 World Cup?
But Neuer has retired again and ter Stegen is finally fit again. Finally, it is time for the now Ajax Amsterdam loanee to don the #1 jersey for Germany and new Germany manager Jürgen Klopp has done exactly that, giving the 34-year-old his confidence and bringing him along to his very first pre match press conference ahead of the clash against Netherlands.
At the conference, one journalist decided to test the waters and ask Ter Stegen about Neuer. More specifically, has the 40-year-old congratulated Ter Stegen on his new position yet? Was there any contact at all?
“No,” Ter Stegen replied (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “I think he became father for the second time, congratulations to him. I haven’t contacted him either, sorry that was my fault. The last time we met was before the World Cup. It’s nice that he’s fit and playing — I don’t know if this will be his last season — if so, I wish him a great end to his career. He’s a German football legend. I have big respect for what he did for German football.”
Of course, the question was only meant to provoke a testy response from Ter Stegen, based on what many assume to be some bad blood between him and Neuer. But Ter Stegen did not rise to the bait and refused to make it a bigger situation than it is.
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