Marc-André ter Stegen of FC Barcelona has not only been voted the best goalkeeper of the past season in La Liga – but the best player ever
Every year, the Madrid-based sports newspaper “Marca” awards the coveted prizes. Ter Stegen received the Alfredo Di Stefano Trophy for best player and the Zamora Award for best goalkeeper. “It’s a proud moment to receive both the Zamora Trophy and the MVP for the 22/23 La Liga season,” commented the 31-year-old on the X service, formerly Twitter.
The 31-year-old conceded just 18 goals in the past LaLiga season and kept a clean sheet in 26 games. He is also the first goalkeeper ever to be voted best player
Which striker annoyed ter Stegen the most
“I think there have been a lot of goalkeepers who have done a great job. These awards are very nice, but they are achieved thanks to the team,” said ter Stegen at the gala. He said he had made some saves to remember, but also praised his team-mates once again. “The defensive stability was spectacular, we tried very hard.”
Ter Stegen also revealed which striker has caused him the most problems in his career. “Aritz Aduriz hurt me a lot in the past, it’s better that he’s retired,” he said with a grin about the former Spain international, who ended his career in the summer of 2020.
No commitment to Rayo
The DFB keeper also explained that it is not yet clear whether he will play in Saturday’s away game at Rayo Vallecano. He had been forced to leave the German national team’s training camp early due to lower back pain. Barcelona then announced their squad for the league clash on Friday afternoon – ter Stegen was missing from the line-up
Teammate Robert Lewandowski was named top scorer by Marca with his 23 goals for the season. “It was very important to adapt to the team quickly, everyone helped me right from the start. We’ve won LaLiga, the Super Cup and now the Pichichi. I’m very, very happy,” said the Pole.
Lewandowski goes hunting for Bellingham
This season, the striker, who has been injured for some time, is only fourth in the goalscoring charts with seven goals, while Real’s Jude Bellingham is ahead with ten. “The season is long,” said Lewandowski, leaving no doubt about his ambitions. He also had a few words to say about ter Stegen: “It’s not easy to score against him in training. But then it’s easier to score in the game. If we have more problems in training, it’s better in the game,” he said.
