Marc-ed men: Bartra and Ter Stegen left in the cold by Lucho
The Club World Cup has left two FC Barcelona players in an uncomfortable situation.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and centre-back Marc Bartra did not play a single minute in either game, and have been singled out by their coach Luis Enrique.
The two players are the main players condemned by the coach, who did not follow his usual policy of rotations to manage the Barca dressing room, which he has until now.
For the first time, Luis Enrique made it clear that his No. 1 goalkeeper is Claudio Bravo, and Ter Stegen his back up. Until now, the Barca coach had played the Chilean in the league and the German in all over competitions, except to give the occasional opportunity to third goalkeeper Jordi Masip, who has played in the odd Copa del Rey game.
Everyone expected Luis Enrique to stick with this tried and tested policy in Japan, but he picked Bravo for both games. He didn’t even alternate between the two custodians for the semi-final or the final. Bravo was the chosen one, and from now on he appears to be Barca’s No.1 stopper.
What happened in Japan is a big setback for Ter Stegen, who since the day he arrived at Camp Nou has always insisted he is not happy to play in just the Champions League and Copa del Rey, and wants to play more minutes. He even cut short his holiday in the summer to come back early and train in order to be in peak condition and fight for his place in the starting line-up.
The situation will no doubt feed rumours about the German’s future and will put him on the market next summer. It should be remembered that German coach Jurgen Klopp, now in charge of Liverpool, has long been an admirer of the Barca goalkeeper. Liverpool’s current No. 1 Simon Mignolet has had another inconsistent season and the club are on the lookout for a replacement.
Bartra meanwhile is getting used to having an ever more testimonial at the club. In the final, for example, Luis Enrique put on Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu over the Catalan defender, and it’s clear that the coach prefers the Frenchman and the Belgian when it comes to rotation, a reality that makes it likely that Bartra, who is under contract until 2017, could seek a way out in the summer transfer window.
