Media Figure: Ter Stegen is Just Continuing Barcelona’s Most Traditional Style of Play; García as a makeshift defensive midfielder is not up to the mark

In the first round of the new season’s Champions League group stage match held in the early morning of September 20, Barcelona lost 1-2 to Monaco away. Shortly after the start of the game, Barcelona defender Eric García was shown a red card for a foul. After the game, goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen stated that this mistake was mainly due to insufficient coordination between him and García.

Media figure Mickeytu Liu Shizhi said, “Barcelona had less than ten minutes into the game when a backfield passing error led to García’s red card, and they ended up losing 1-2 with ten men on the field. This actually reveals a truth: not everyone can play as Barcelona’s defensive midfielder. In this mistake, Ter Stegen was just continuing Barcelona’s most traditional style of play; it’s García, who was playing as a makeshift defensive midfielder, who was not up to the mark. Even if the ball was intercepted, it wasn’t certain that the opponent would have a clear chance at goal, as the goalkeeper had already rushed out in time. The foul was too obvious, further exposing García’s lack of athletic ability.”

Additionally, the media figure added, “Ter Stegen, as a goalkeeper, may not be the very top tier, but he is at least a qualified starter for a major club. The one truly holding Barcelona back is a player like García, who shouldn’t be wearing the blaugrana jersey. If Barcelona wants to stick to an attack-oriented style of play, then they absolutely cannot afford any weak links in such a key position as defensive midfielder. Passing from the goalkeeper to the defensive midfielder is a crucial step for Barcelona in drawing the opponent’s defensive focus and completing lateral shifts, which can subsequently accelerate the team’s progression. This is what sets Barcelona apart from other teams and is also a unique charm point of Blaugrana football.”