There's a reason why this guy has never cut it for Germany...nor he looks particularly likely to do so in the near future.He can't even be their third goalkeeper let alone coming close to Neuer.
The obsession with him is easily the most inexplicable movement in these forums...he has never done anything remarkable,nor has achieved anything on an individual or club/country level but reading this thread you would think we have a prime Buffon in our hands.The same thing with Bartra,when your most often mention attribute is your age,you know you're being terribly overrated.
He was the least valuable member of that CL winning starting 11.You can replace any one of the other 10 and the team will suffer,replace TS and we still we the CL.
And a big
at him stopping Kun's horrendous penalty being some majestic feat.
An even bigger
for mentioning the clean sheet against Bayern when they had ZERO shots on goal.But great job Ter Stegen!
Your post is lacking of any semblance of reasoning.
For starters, it's a bit too early to write off his NT career. His showings at the youth level has been a mixed affair, whilst his appearances for the NT have been few and far between to draw any def. conclusion. In contrast, his peer in Leno hasn't even received a senior call-up. Löw continues to call up the likes of Roman and Zieler, even when they have not been particularly gr8 with their respective clubs. The former's club for instance has now moved on to Bürki.
Elsewhere, DDG is unable to dislodge old man Casillas, whilst VV failed to get in to SPA despite making a case for himself for years. Rulli had a great club season, but Tata went with two mediocre back-ups. Not holding a regular NT spot is not a testament of lack of quality, for more often than not experience and dressing room harmony are characteristics valued more by NT coaches. Regardless, his time shall come.
There is no obsession with MAtS, more of support and desire to see him succeed. Barca's keeper position is amongst the hardest to replace, given the constant media/fan scrutiny and nature of our style of play. It's only natural Barca's long serving VV's potential replacement is bound to generate discussions. Nothing inexplicable about it. Besides, no one claimed he's the next superstar in goal. The praise has been warranted likewise the criticism despite some overboard reactions on both fronts. Looks to me you have an irrational dislike of the player, and were waiting for the opportune time to vent out.
As for his individ. achievements, he made it to UEFA's CL team of the season, and before you say it was by virtue of lifting the CL, courtesy his teammates, Casillas the year before won it and still failed to make the list. Secondly, his save vs Lewa has been selected amongst the top 10 from last season. Not sure what more you want from a keeper of his age playing his debut CL season.
Replacing him would still get us the CL you say. But that only reflects a limited understanding of Barca's game on your part. But sadly, perception these days is reduced to mere golazos and making saves.
Barca dominates its opponents through possession at all times. It necessitates technically adept players not excluding the keeper. The latter is integral to Barca's build up play. The ability to find an open teammate under high pressure may not look as dramatic as making a save, but it amounts to retention and facilitates Barca's transitional play. The keeper in MAtS maintains the Barca advantage like no other. I recall a piece of play in the CL final where he translated our defense to attack with a single intervention. I can only think of two keepers in the world who
may be can replicate it. And MAtS has consistently done that in high octane fixtures while playing sporadically. A diff keeper in similar circumstances ---> less ball retention----> more shots on goal. A player y replacing player X changes the dynamics of play. Let's not disregard his vital saves at the Allianz Arena without which Barca gets knocked out. I'm not convinced that without tS, Barca would still def. win the CL. What Barca keepers do may look easy to the eye but it's a challenging and tricky task. A lot of his peers have tried and failed in similar occasions.
MAtS' ball distribution is such an underrated aspect of his game that it's almost taken for granted. It was this ability on the ball what earned him the Barca ticket, where his max utility lies, and will go on to determine his Barca's long term future. Which is why as BB said, the fact that aspect went missing last night is a cause for worry more than anything. And no denying there are other GK areas which he must improve.
I agree with Kuchi, but if I may add the stiffness and poor decision making is characteristic of keepers of his age (may be a bit prominent in his case). It's just that Barca fans don't watch other young keepers on a regular basis. All said and done, he needs to be played more regularly in order to fine tune his game, and I don't think he'll get it here. I'm gonna reiterate that he'll be gone next summer. Would thrive under a coach like Frans Hoek.
