Controversy in Germany where they claim Ter Stegen is challenging Neuer

The goalkeeping position in the German national team has long been a touchy subject between Ter Stegen and Manuel Neuer. As the country approaches the European Championship and with coach Hansi Flick in the spotlight due to poor results, the German media is analysing every detail, whether it is a fair subject of debate or not. 

The latest attention-grabber is not so much the long-standing differences between the protagonists in the past, but the bizarre interpretation of what appears to be a simple anecdote. Under the headline 'Provokation gegen Neuer' ('Provocation of Neuer'), Bild highlights the fact that FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc André ter Stegen has played the two recent international matches against Poland and Colombia clearly wearing the number 1 on his kit. Seeing is believing.

"Surprising: Ter Stegen wore the number 1 on his playing kit in seven places during his appearances: twice on the shirt, gloves and boots and once on the shorts. A challenge for Manuel Neuer after the former 'Gladbacher' recently emphasised several times that he wanted to take his usual place in the DFB goal from the Bayern star," explains the aforementioned media outlet.

The Bavarian goalkeeper is still recovering from the fractured tibia and fibula he suffered in December 2022. The injury also caused a lot of controversy in Germany at the time, as it was sustained while skiing. In the same vein, Bild recalled statements made by Ter Stegen to the 'Süddeutsche Zeitung', in which the Barça goalkeeper said that "at the moment I am number one and I intend to remain so".

The German outlet also claims that "when he was still wearing the number 22 with the DFB it was not so clearly shown on his gloves" and that the gloves with the number 1 were made in a hurry for the last two games with the national team.

Marc André Ter Stegen's big moment

The 31-year-old Ter Stegen completed the most remarkable season of his career by winning his first Zamora in La Liga, with the best record in the history of this prestigious goalkeeping award: conceding just 18 goals in 38 La Liga games and keeping 26 clean sheets. 

Despite all these achievements, it seems that he does not receive the same recognition in his home country as he does in Spain. In Germany, Neuer's shadow, even at the age of 37 and having suffered an injury due to a forbidden activity for a footballer, is still very long.