Barcelona is an honored football club that has conquered Europe for years. The club has a structured history, culture, and a well-decorated trophy cabinet. They have produced some extraordinary names in this game, coming from their well-known football academy, La Masia. A few famous names produced by La Masia at every position are Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, and many more. The recent talents with bright ends include Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Pablo Gavi, Alejandro Balde, and many more.
In this list, there is a certain noticeable pattern; the players mentioned are all outfield players. Positions being defense, midfield, or attack, we have rarely seen a proper shot stopper rising from the ranks of La Masia and making a name for himself at the club.
Now, this statement might be contradictory, and some people might argue that Victor Valdes was a La Masia graduate. Yes, Valdes rose from the ranks of La Masia and played for Barcelona for many years, excelling in the goalkeeper position, but he wasn’t the character a winning team needs. Valdes was an extraordinary goalkeeper, there is a specific reason why he was overhyped. Valdes was overly protected by Barcelona’s system. The team at that time was at its golden era period, and Valdes got appreciation because of Barcelona’s highly maintained back-line at that time.
It was quite evident that he was inconsistent in significant moments, which led to him not being the starter of the national team. Compared to his competitors at that time, like Buffon, Casillas, Cech, Courtois, and Valdes lacked the same global reputation for reflexes, positioning, and leadership. Barcelona had a team full of stars with a proper personality and recognition, but Valdes never deserved or achieved that status.
Whenever Barcelona needed to strengthen their outfield game, they never hesitated to step into the transfer market. We have witnessed some fantastic names who played for Barcelona and were brought in as replacements for major positions. But a world-class goalkeeper was never on the cards for us.
Barcelona have been playing with Marc Andre Ter Stegen for more than a decade now, and the goalkeeper position is worsening with time. There is no hiding in the fact, Stegen only had a few good seasons with the club, which overshadowed his errors and basic weaknesses. Now, as Barcelona are back to a stable position in terms of performances, Stegen’s place looks fragile. A consistent goalkeeper is an extremely important factor for any team. Barcelona is a club that plays in European competition every year, they need to be the best at every position.
Nowadays, in modern football, the Champions League and Cup games usually go to extra time, and fatigue plays a big role in these games for the outfield. The deciding element of these games is always the goalkeeper, especially in a penalty shootout. If we take a look at this year’s Champions League finalists, Inter and PSG, both have world-class goalkeepers. Sommer and Donarumma have been consistent over the years, and this year’s Champions League campaign is a testament to how important a goalkeeper is in the team. Sommer’s decisive saves against Barcelona in the semi-finals decided that tie, which earned him the MOTM award as well. For PSG, Donnarumma’s saves made things easier for the French team.
If we compare the history of goalkeepers with our rival Madrid, they are clear winners. Their Iker Casillas era was purely redefining. Iker was a Real Madrid academy product who dominated the best goalie spot for years. After Iker, Madrid found Navas, who served them for years and was crucial in their three-peat Champions League record. Now, they have Courtois, who was signed for only 30 million Euros from Chelsea. Courtois earned himself the MOTM award in the Champions League final against Liverpool. Another example of Courtois’ class is, he was out with an ACL injury last year and didn’t play football for more than 6 months. The first game he played last season was against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final, where he made crucial saves and earned Madrid their 15th title.
Barcelona has never dominated the goalkeeper position. In my opinion, it’s high time we get rid of Ter-Stegen; he deserves a grand farewell because he was good for us. Barcelona needs to sign a goalkeeper who can be a dominant personality in every game and can be clutch in big games. A target Barcelona are eyeing this Summer is Espanyol’s Joan Garcia. Hansi Flick has worked with experienced goalkeepers like Neuer, and Flick’s guidance could really boost performance of a youngster like Joan Garcia. Many clubs have eyes on this exciting youngster, but the cool fact is he is a Barcelona fan, and he knows it well, if you have second thoughts about Barcelona, you are not needed.
