Germany's ter Stegen is happy the wait is finally over

"Of course it is a different feeling," Marc-André ter Stegen told reporters at the Germany camp in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria on Thursday. He was referring to the fact that this is the first international break he's gone into as the Nationalmannschaft's clear No. 1, as confirmed by coach Julian Nagelsmann.

"Marc-André ter Stegen deserves to be the new first-choice goalkeeper," Nagelsmann told reporters in Herzogenaurach on Monday.

"He has delivered outstanding performances at Barcelona over a number of years and simply has earned that right."

Ter Stegen described the impact of the coach's words on him in a very German way, calling them "Balsam für die Seele" ("balm for the soul").

Ambition fulfilled

"My aim has always been to be No. 1, the 32-year-old stressed.

"I am happy that the spell of waiting is now over. Yes, I am happy about the new task, about what is to come. I want to be successful."

The Mönchengladbach native, who made his debut in the national team in 2012 also admitted that all those years as Neuer's understudy were sometimes frustrating.

"To be honest there were always these moments when you say: 'Wow, that was another blow.' The decision mostly went in Manu's (Manuel Neuer's) favor. But I dealt with it in a professional manner," he said.

Paying tribute to Neuer

"Unfortunately, I had a goalkeeper in front of me who always managed to jump ahead. Congratulations to him on what he has achieved with the national team."

In that No 2. role, ter Stegen had already made 40 appearances for his country as the understudy to the recently retired Neuer before finally getting the top job on a more permanent basis.

Ter Stegen's only tournament as a starter was the 2017 Confederations Cup which Germany won – as then-coach Joachim Löw rested Neuer and a number of others a year before the World Cup in Russia. Apart from that, most of his starts came either in friendlies or when Neuer was injured.

He's set to embark on what he hopes will be several years as Germany's first-choice keeper as the national team kick off their Nations League campaign by hosting Hungary in Düsseldorf on Saturday.

Germany will do so with a new captain, Joshua Kimmich, who Nagelsmann has named to replace Ilkay Gündogan, one of four veterans who retired from international football following this summer's home Euros.

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