Will Marc-André ter Stegen get a new chance to start for Germany after Joachim Löw’s departure?

Marc-André ter Stegen joined FC Barcelona in the summer of 2014, after an impressive stint with his hometown club, Borussia Mönchengladbach. Since joining Barcelona, he was given starts immediately and the club has not looked back ever since the 2016/2017 season, when he was trusted with the responsibility of their number one goalkeeper. Since then, he has had no shortage of game time, appearing in almost every fixture for Barcelona over the past few years.

Despite all the club success he’s had, Ter Stegen been unable to maintain as a regular goalkeeper for Germany. Ter Stegen has been the second choice behind Manuel Neuer for what seems like ages now with the DFB. There have been points where he was poised to take over that first choice, but Neuer managed to prove to his critics that he should keep the job.

There’s no arguing that Ter Stegen is a world-class goalkeeper, and has been for years now. He has often been placed in the argument for the top three goalkeepers in the world. He currently has the third-highest market value out of any goalkeeper according to Transfermarkt and the German’s value once peaked at a whopping €82 million. The problem is that Neuer is just so good, that it’s hard to find room in the squad for Ter Stegen. The Gladbach native has made just 24 appearances for Die Mannschaft ever since his senior debut in May 2012.

However, Ter Stegen has hopes that his luck might finally change. With the departure of Joachim Löw from the national team after 15 years, the goalkeeper hopes that he might earn that first choice under a new manager. Ter Stegen seems really excited about the prospect of being managed by Hansi Flick. The Barcelona goalkeeper is a big fan of Flick and will be curious to see how the lineup could look under new management:

“Hansi Flick had an unbelievable year and a half as head coach at Bayern. When he comes to the DFB, few people will be able to tell him anything. Because he did a great job with Bayern. If he came back to the DFB, he would feel like home again come. I’m curious what happens.”, Ter Stegen told Sport1.

After all, this might be Ter Stegen’s last chance to earn that role for Germany. At 29-years-old, he cannot wait another 15 years for a new German manager. Manuel Neuer is a veteran at 35-years-old but is still showing his best performances. However, the World Cup winner has won virtually all there is to win at Bayern Munich and with the national team, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were to retire from international play after this summer’s European Championships.

It is a great compromise for Germany knowing if they lose possibly the greatest goalkeeper ever in Neuer, they will have an elite successor in Ter Stegen to protect their net going forward. If he does get the playing time under new management, no one will be able to doubt whether this role was deserved.