Ter Stegen the irreplaceable

It's very important to be grateful in this life. Therefore, I'll start by thanking Marc-André Ter Stegen. With him in goal, Barça tasted glory in Berlin in what is, to date, the Blaugrana's last Champions League title . He has defended the goal with solidity and determination in countless matches, some more momentous than others, and also in unforgettable and undignified defeats. He has always stood up for himself and brought seriousness, hard work, and rigor to a locker room of which he eventually became captain. He has made Barça, Barcelona , ​​and Catalunya his own, where he feels at home and where he has made some of his investments in businesses outside of football . For all that, thank you.

Barça has boasted having at least one of the three best goalkeepers in the world. Unbeatable, unquestionable, irreplaceable. But right at the start of the season, at the end of September, Ter Stegen suffered a serious injury, and the tragedy loomed. With a new coach, a barely modified squad, four kids from La Masia, and a luxuriously reinforced Real Madrid, the loss of the reliable Ter Stegen between the sticks raised fears of the worst.

Paradoxically, however, and as if it were a kind of catharsis, the German's injury has ended up becoming revealing and has brought to light a reality that had been intentionally hidden. There was nothing beyond Ter Stegen. A flimsy Plan B, tailor-made to avoid interfering with the German's will, who has spent years confusing his personal ambition with the tyranny of imposing a short-sighted project on Barça's goal, one that begins and ends with him. With the club's connivance, of course. The plan was him and him alone. No competition, no sharing of minutes or competitions, no one who could overshadow him.

And the club allowed him to do so, risking what ended up happening. Everyone rushed to find a goalkeeper with experience and experience to face a season that ended up being practically perfect. And this success without him hasn't been easy for Ter Stegen to swallow either, who was quick to tell the media that he was ready to make his comeback in the most decisive stretch of the season.

The plan was him and him alone. No competition, no sharing minutes, no competitions.

And there are still those who point fingers at the club, accusing it of airing all the captain's misery. Nothing could be further from the truth. The market opportunity of signing Joan Garcia hasn't made a good goalkeeper like Ter Stegen look bad. But it has exposed the German's selfish behavior—who is selfish, like most elite athletes—that has been detrimental to Barça's growth.

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And given this situation, the club has every right to say "enough is enough" and propose a new role for Ter Stegen. Or open the door for him to leave, if he doesn't accept that his approach to goalkeeping is detrimental to Barça.