Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jan Oblak are among the world's best goalkeepers

Sooraj Kamath - Writer 02:53 03/11/2018
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  • Ter Stegen

    Although neither made it to the FIFA The Best podium, Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen have established themselves as two of the best goalkeepers in Europe.

    Both joined their respective clubs as prospects in 2014 and have scaled great heights in the last four years. The German has fewer caps as he was subject to a “Red shirt year” in his first season when he developed as Claudio Bravo’s understudy.

    Barcelona are currently top of the La Liga table but the Rojiblancos are just two points behind. Ter Stegen and Oblak have been in peach form and deserve a lot of credit for how their teams are faring in the league. Comparing these two is not an easy task but we are making it simple for you.

    SHOT STOPPING

    Both Ter Stegen and Oblak have played all 10 games and hence all 900 minutes in the league. Ter Stegen has failed to keep a cleansheet after conceding two in Barcelona’s opening games. The Slovenian has kept six cleansheets and holds an advantage here.

    Barcelona have conceded 12 goals in the league already while Atletico have let in just five. With defenders of similar quality providing cover to these players, neither can complain of being left exposed on more occasions than the other. However, Simeone’s men employ a deep-block which helps this statistic to lean in Oblak’s favour.

    The Slovenian is significantly ahead of Ter Stegen when the saves per goal are considered. Oblak’s numbers of 0.48 saves per goal every 90 minutes is well beyond Ter Stegen’s (0.23).

    The quality of the chances presented to the opponents by the backline gives a better reading of the quality of the saves that the keepers were forced to produce.

    Barcelona have accumulated an xGA (Expected goals against) of 13.16 this season and have conceded 12 goals. This is an indication that the German has stopped some high quality shots and mathematically put, exceeded expectations by a factor of about 1.1 (xGA/GA).

    On the other hand, Atletico Madrid have conceded just five goals despite accumulating an xGA of 8.95. Oblak has over-performed by a massive factor of 1.8 (xGA/GA).

    Oblak is clearly a better shot-stopper but the German isn’t far behind. Ter Stegen can boast of excellent numbers but this has to be one of those rare occasions where he comes out as second best.

    Shot-stopping scores:

    Jan Oblak 9.5/10

    Ter Stegen 8.5/10

    DISTRIBUTION 

    Ever since the concept of a sweeper-keeper or a ball-playing keeper was popularised, a high bar has been set for the No1. Goalkeepers are now expected to be good with their feet and participate in build-up play.

    Ter Stegen averages about 23.4 passes every game with an incredible success rate of 83.8 percent. His Slovenian counterpart passes the ball about 19.6 times every 90 minutes and every second pass by Oblak fails to reach the intended target.

    The German throws the ball out successfully about 6.1 times every game which is superior to Oblak’s 2.7 throws. This statistic, which puts the German on top cannot be belittled as throwing the ball out accurately amid a crowded box sets off counter attacks and is key to build-up.

    The German’s ‘sweeper-keeper’ traits and the fact that he’s better with his feet places him at a vantage point when the distribution attributes are considered.

    Distribution scores:

    Jan Oblak 7/10

    Ter Stegen 9/10

    COMPOSURE

    How a goalkeeper reacts to the circumstances during a game affects his and the team’s performance massively. The composure and leadership qualities of the man between the sticks is as vital as his shot-stopping and distribution abilities. Players such as Ter Stegen and Jan Oblak who have competed at the top level for a while now are usually calm and composed regardless of the magnitude of the game.

    Ter-Stegen

    On 21st October, when Barcelona faced Sevilla in a top-of-the-table clash, there was perhaps no goalkeeper in the world in the same bracket as Ter Sregen. It was a crunch fixture and Barcelona had lost Messi to an injury in less than 15 minutes. This automatically provided Sevilla a psychological advantage and they did exhibit the new-found grit through a series of attacks from either sides, only to be denied by the man guarding the posts. Ter Stegen was forced to three point-blank saves courtesy of shots from Pablo Sarabia, Wissam Ben Yedder and Andre Silva. Two of those came in quick succession and demanded some unrealistic reflexes from the German and he delivered.

     Jan Oblak

    Jan Oblak

    For any player who has invested emotions on the crest he wears, there’s no game bigger than a derby. And a derby at the Santiago Bernabeu against the European champions is as big as it can get. Jan Oblak stood tall to keep a cleansheet, as did his Belgian counterpart at the other end. Oblak was at the end of no less than 15 shots against Madrid, including a one-on-one situation which Marco Asencio should have converted. The Slovenian was in clutch form to deny his rivals all three points. Oblak has performed consistently throughout the past two years or so and finding a “peak” for such a player is meaningless.

    When two professionals perform as consistently as Ter Stegen and Jan Oblak perform every week in multiple competitions at the highest level, there should be no questions about their mentality or composure. Leadership qualities  are inherent for most goalkeepers owing to the constant need to marshal their defences. Ter Stegen and Jan Oblak are definitely up there.

    Composure scores:

    Jan Oblak 8/10

    Ter Stegen 8/10

    VERDICT

    Both the keepers deserve to be on the podium and are doing exceptionally well for their teams. Barcelona’s style demands for a custodian who can do well as an outfield player and Ter Stegen delivers that.

    Atletico Madrid’s style calls for a shot stopper and distribution skills are appreciated but not mandatory. Oblak is perfect for the Rojiblancos. To pick a clear winner is hard and the question of who is better is open-ended.

    Ter Stegen scored 25.5/30, slightly more than Jan Oblak (24.5/30). However, goalkeeping abilities transcend mere numbers. The digits on top are just for reference and not an inference.

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