Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 8y

Alba backs Ter Stegen to be Barca keeper for 'many more years to come'

Jordi Alba believes there's no better goalkeeper in the world with the ball at their feet than Barcelona teammate Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The German international made his first appearance of the season in Sunday's 1-0 La Liga win over Athletic Bilbao, completing 51 out of 62 passes -- a league high for a goalkeeper since statistics began being recorded in 2005.

Following Claudio Bravo's transfer to Manchester City, Ter Stegen has been tipped to become Luis Enrique's first-choice stopper from now and Alba was full of praise for the 24-year-old's ability.

"I wish all goalkeepers were like him," the Barca left-back said after the game in Bilbao.

"With the ball at his feet he's the best in the world. He's our goalkeeper for the present and for many more years to come."

Ter Stegen missed the Spanish Super Cup win over Sevilla and the first game of the league campaign against Real Betis with a knee injury.

However, he returned to training this week and expects to get better and better once domestic football resumes after the looming international break.

"The first game back is always difficult, but in the coming games I will have more confidence with the things I do," Ter Stegen told Catalan television channel TV3.

"I'm good, though, and the knee is fine. Now we'll see how it goes in the next few weeks."

A lot has been made of ter Stegen's relationship with Bravo, with reports suggesting they didn't get on, but he maintains there were no problems.

"As I've said, our relationship was always loyal," he added. "We both always wanted to play, as did Jordi [Masip].

"There's only one position, so each person fights for their place. It is what it is.

"Now we have another type of competition [with Jasper Cillessen's arrival] and we will see how it goes."

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