Football
9y

Marc-Andre ter Stegen hoping to catch the eye of Barcelona boss Luis Enrique

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is hopeful that his performances in the Champions League are impressing coach Luis Enrique.

Ter Stegen, 22, picked up a minor back injury soon after joining Barca for 12 million euros from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer, and then saw fellow new arrival Claudio Bravo establish himself as first choice in La Liga games.

The Germany international has, however, been picked for all Barca's Champions League games to date, and he told Sport1 in quotes reported by Mundo Deportivo after keeping a clean sheet in Wednesday's 2-0 win at Ajax, that he has no issues with the current situation.

"I must show my best in training and in the games," ter Stegen said. "I believe I did that again in Amsterdam. I am trying to make the decisions as hard as possible for the coach. I respect the coach's decision, absolutely -- I got injured at a bad moment. Now I am trying to impress with my performances. I have settled well at Barca and am happy to play for this club."

Ter Stegen said criticism for his mistake which cost Barca a goal during the 3-2 loss at Paris Saint-Germain earlier in September had not affected him.

"I can handle the criticism well," he said. "In Paris I made a mistake, but I did not play a bad game, everything was just reduced in that one error."

Meanwhile, Blaugrana midfielder Ivan Rakitic has told AS that Enrique's half-time team talk on Wednesday was vital in putting right what had been a less than perfect first-half performance.

"We were a bit jammed up in the first half, but the coach knew to tell us some things, and his half-time talk was right," Rakitic said. "We understood his advice and were able to resolve well a game which was not an easy one at all."

The Croatia international was signed for 20 million euros last summer from Sevilla, and began the season as a key part of Enrique's plans.

However, he has featured less regularly following a poor performance at PSG, and did not start the recent clasico defeat at Real Madrid.

Having returned to the team for Barca's last two games -- with Andres Iniesta currently injured -- Rakitic said he had viewed recent events as a learning experience.

"These are things that can happen," he said. "You learn from everything. The best thing is that every three days there is another game, to lift up your spirits and to look to turn things around."

^ Back to Top ^