1 - Marc-Andre ter Ansplant

[Flavia]

@Flavia I agree with that.. I was under the impression that everyone was so against Courtois because of his footwork and passing ability vs what he has achieved.. How much is the estimated price of Courtois?

Chelsea and mou wouldn't want to sell. I doubt he'd cost less than 30m, probably more.

 

[Chainsaw]

I agree Flavia. Courtois is one of the most expensive GKs around.

 

[spark]

Well this thread really blew up today

 

[Vilarrubi]

 

[darthvader7888]

Chelsea and mou wouldn't want to sell. I doubt he'd cost less than 30m, probably more.

This. He'd probably cost 3 times as much as Ter Stegen, possibly more. If Chelsea/Mou were even willing to sell, which I doubt. Trying to get him would have been foolish. Even Zubi could see that, I don't know why the fanboys at MD/Sport couldn't.

 

[BorussiaBarcelona]

@Flavia I can't speak from experience of watching either but how do you justify 9 clean sheets in 34 games? For a Barca team who needs to tighten up at the back.. and Mönchengladbach can't be THAT BAD if they came 6th? How does his qualities outshine those stats?

What's that with your clean sheets stuff?

MATS had the 3rd most saves of the Bundesliga, only being beat by the goallkeepers of Nuremburg(relegated) and Freiburg(nearly relegated as well).
He had one bad moment when he let that thing slip in against Braunschweig and other then that saved loads of points for Borussia. Just ask Dortmund, Schalke or Mainz fans, when we beat them at home and ter Stegen killed off attempt after attempt by those teams.


BTW: He's also not your typical 22 year old keeper having already played over 100 Bundesliga games and he's also got some international experience playing four times for Germany, two CL qualification matches and seven games in the Europa League against teams like Lazio, Fenerbahce or Marseille.

He's also played in the german relegation, which is pretty much like a CL tie in the knockout stages, but way more important given that it decides if your club stays in the 1st division or gets relegated into the 2nd divsion. And that was at age 18 with just a couple matches under his belt.

The guy's been predicted to be a future great goalkeeper ever since his younger days and has been scouted especially by Barca since he won that under 17 european championship with Germany in 2009.

 

[Vilarrubi]

@BorussiaBarcelona I'll admit I don't know my stats on Stegan.. 9 in 34 just looks bad when I don't personally watch Bundesliga and never have! I just thought they would have gone for a more experienced GK like Courtois but obviously he is way too much money

@BorussiaBarcelona I'm guessing you watch him a lot from Germany?

 

[BorussiaBarcelona]

@BorussiaBarcelona I'm guessing you watch him a lot from Germany?

I'm a fan of Borussia Mönchengladbach and have watched nearly every game of ter Stegen.

 

[Vilarrubi]

@BorussiaBarcelona Do you think his goalkeeping qualities outweighs what I mentioned? I hope he does succeed it just seems a risk that's all..

 

[BorussiaBarcelona]

@BorussiaBarcelona Do you think his goalkeeping qualities outweighs what I mentioned? I hope he does succeed it just seems a risk that's all..

You've mentioned his clean sheets and him being young.
So yes, his goalkeeping qualities outweigh those things.

BTW: He had 139 saves this season. The great Manuel Neuer had 72 of those and is considered one of the best in the world.
And just two years ago, at age 20, he only conceeded 24 goals in 34 matches, playing behind the second best defense of the Bundesliga. So he pretty much did what Courtois did this year just two years ago playing for a club that had just avoided relegation one year earlier.

This year Gladbach played a lot for ballposession(2nd highest percentage only trailing Bayern) and very high, which created chances and some easy goals for other teams.

Anyways, he's got all the tools to become one of the best keepers and it's up to him to prove it.
Though, anyone supporting Barca should do the same for him(or at least give him a chance9, given that it's way easier to produce when people around the club don't always talk about other players being a better fit for your popsition.

 

[Vilarrubi]

That sounds good.. I always give chances to players which I will do with Stegan.. I just feel after last season the GK and defensive roles were vital next season and buying relatively unknown players wasn't the right thing.. I will take your word for it and hope that he is a massive success for Barca.

 

[Blaugrana Bull]

Believe in him. MAtS is one of the most talented goalkeepers in the world and he has some qualities that e.g. Courtois does not have and that are vital for our playing style. He is incredible with his feet and very confident also (not absolutely crazy like Pinto though).
Yes, he made some mistakes in his career but that is absolutely normal when you give a young player so much responsibility. He learned from them and will continue to learn.
MAtS will be an important part of Barca's future!

 

[Vilarrubi]

@Blaugrana Bull I'm glad so many people believe in him he sounds the part I hope he succeeds in such an important role!

Question: Will Pinto get another team after his antics? lol

 

[barcanuck]

You've mentioned his clean sheets and him being young.
So yes, his goalkeeping qualities outweigh those things.

BTW: He had 139 saves this season. The great Manuel Neuer had 72 of those and is considered one of the best in the world.
And just two years ago, at age 20, he only conceeded 24 goals in 34 matches, playing behind the second best defense of the Bundesliga. So he pretty much did what Courtois did this year just two years ago playing for a club that had just avoided relegation one year earlier.

This year Gladbach played a lot for ballposession(2nd highest percentage only trailing Bayern) and very high, which created chances and some easy goals for other teams.

Anyways, he's got all the tools to become one of the best keepers and it's up to him to prove it.
Though, anyone supporting Barca should do the same for him(or at least give him a chance9, given that it's way easier to produce when people around the club don't always talk about other players being a better fit for your popsition.

Thanks for this input! Bright things are in the future for MatS for sure. I just worry about playing balls back to him and how he deals with passing. We need perfect passing otherwise we saw what happens with Pinto's giveaways.

 

[khaled_a_d]

Is it me or MATS looked clearly shorter than Zubi in the presentation? he is listed 1.89m while Zubi is supposed to be 1.87m .was Zubi wearing his wife shoes or I am missing something?