Marc-André ter Stegen on becoming Germany’s number one: “My aim has always been to be number one. “

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·5 September 2024

Marc-André ter Stegen on becoming Germany’s number one: “My aim has always been to be number one. “

Speaking at his first press conference after being named Germany’s number one, Marc-André ter Stegen gave his thoughts on his new role in the squad.

On finally becoming Germany’s number one, ter Stegen said:

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“Of course it was a different feeling to arrive here. Apart from three or four positions, the group hasn’t changed that much. I’m looking forward to the new tasks and of course I want to be successful. I’m happy about all the kind words that my colleagues and the coach have said to me. That’s balm for the soul. My aim has always been to be number one. Unfortunately, I haven’t managed that over the last decade. With Manuel Neuer, I had someone in front of me who had a great career and who managed to withstand the pressure. Congratulations again to him for everything he has achieved – with the national team and at club level.”

ter Stegen made his debut for Germany back in 2012 while still at home town team Borussia Mönchengladbach, since then he has never appeared at a major international tournament and has only made 40 appearances. There have also been times where ter Stegen has been in better form than Manuel Neuer but the latter was always chosen ahead of him. On these times, the 32-year-old said:

There are always moments and situations where you think that it won’t work out. In recent years, there have always been close decisions that usually went in Manuel Neuer’s direction. I think I handled it professionally, but of course it was often very disappointing. It’s a path that you have to take and that you have to accept. There have been many discussions in recent years, and I was sometimes frustrated, but I never let myself get down, and my teammates felt that too.

If all goes to plan, ter Stegen will be Germany’s number one for the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026. On the tournament, the keeper said:

“No matter what tournament, we want to be successful. The most important task for us is to prepare ourselves to be successful. We saw that at the European Championships and it really got people going. It was a great atmosphere and we want to keep it that way. We want to play a very good role at the 2026 World Cup and be competitive, but we’re still a little while away from that. (laughs)”

However, there is a strong core of keepers waiting in the wings. Oliver Baumann, Kevin Trapp and Bernd Leno have all been around the Germany first team for a while. Alexander Nübel has also recently received a call-up and waiting in the wings are the likes of Noah Atubolu from Freiburg, Jonas Urbig from 1.FC Köln and even Felix Gebhardt of Jahn Regensburg who are all beginning their careers.

On the competition, ter Stegen commented:

“We are in a good position at the moment. We have a lot of good goalkeepers in Germany who can play for a long time. Right now we are spoiled for choice, but we will see in the future. At the moment we don’t need to worry too much about it.”

GGFN | Jack Meenan