Klopp makes decision on Germany's new first-choice goalkeeper: "A team needs stability and a spine"
| Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images |
After coming out of international retirement to play for Germany at the World Cup, Manuel Neuer has now definitively retired from international football.
As a result, new Germany coach Jürgen Klopp has had to identify a new first-choice goalkeeper, and his decision has fallen on Marc-André ter Stegen, who is playing for Ajax on loan from FC Barcelona after working his way back from an injury.
“Yes, for the moment, there is one, Marc-André ter Stegen,” Klopp confirmed when asked if he has a first-choice goalkeeper.
“A team needs stability and a spine, and then you can add a lot of youth around that. I’ve known him for ages. Manuel Neuer was the best goalkeeper in the world for a long time. Nevertheless, everyone knew that ter Stegen was world-class too. He then suffered an injury at an unfortunate time. At the moment, he is fit and the same goalkeeper he was before. He brings experience with him. He is making a very good impression. Everything depends on performance.”
In terms of the goalkeepers, Finn Dahmen (Augsburg), Alexander Nübel (Besiktas) and Marc-André ter Stegen (Ajax) have been included in the squad for the first two games.
Dahmen is the only goalkeeper included in both squads, with Noah Atubolu (Freiburg) and Jonas Urbig (FC Bayern) joining him for the latter two games.
