Legendary Bonhoff, 1974 world champ, praises Ter Stegen’s loyalty as a shining example
Marc André ter Stegen is a key player at FC Barcelona, where he joined in 2014, and he is also a key player at the club that helped him rise to fame in the professional soccer world, Borussia Mönchengladbach. At 31 years old, the German international goalkeeper has only regretted not having more consistent playing time in the German team due to Manuel Neuer’s presence. However, it’s clear that his first team in the Bundesliga is grooming him to become a legendary figure. This is quite an achievement considering the legendary lineups of the 70s at that club, with players like Günter Netzer, Hacki Wimmer, Berti Vogts, Jupp Heynckes, Alan Simonsen, and Rainer Bonhoff. Bonhoff, who won the World Cup with Germany in 1974 and later played for Valencia, is now the president of Borussia at 71 years old. In his vision for the club, he mentioned Ter Stegen as a role model to build a strong project. “We want our players to stay with us in Gladbach for longer, just like Marc-André ter Stegen did. We aim to embody reliability and consistency!” Bonhoff emphasized. Ter Stegen joined Borussia’s youth team in 1996 when he was just four years old and stayed with the club until 2014. In 2011, at the age of 18, Ter Stegen made his debut with the German national team, playing 108 Bundesliga games in four seasons and seven Europa League games before moving to Barça in 2014 for 12 million euros. In 2016, there was a memorable Champions League match between Borussia and Barça: Ter Stegen described his return to Borussia Park as reuniting with his “first love.”
It’s no wonder that a respected figure like Bonhoff continues to mention Ter Stegen as a role model for new players. “We need to return to our roots, to what Gladbach has always been: trusting in the next generation, being young and daring, and giving time to our philosophy of having a young and daring team,” the manager commented.
In May 2014, during a match against Mainz, Ter Stegen bid farewell to the Borussia Moënchengladbach fans with tears in his eyes. The goalkeeper was the youngest player to reach 100 games at Borussia Park, taking the team from battling to stay in the Bundesliga to once again dreaming of European success. Barça paid 12 million euros for the goalkeeper, who has now been a part of the culé team for a decade. Recently, he surpassed 400 games as a Barça player, becoming the third goalkeeper in the club’s history with the most appearances, following Andoni Zubizarreta (410) and Víctor Valdés (536).
There are 16 titles in his career as a Barcelona player: five Leagues (2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2022-23), five Copas del Rey (2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2020-21), three Spanish Super Cups (2016-17, 2018-19 and 2022-23), one Champions League (2014-15), one European Super Cup (2015-16) and one Club World Cup (2016). Ter Stegen has a current contract as a culé until 2028.
This content has been translated and adapted from the Spanish version of the digital newspaper
