Emotional homecoming for Ter Stegen against Borussia Mönchengladbach

This coming Wednesday, Marc-André Ter Stegen returns to Borussia Park to face his old club Borussia Mönchengladbach. The occasion will be a special one for the goalkeeper who spent 20 years with the Germans before joining Barça in 2014.

The second round of Champions League fixtures will be the first time Ter Stegen has played against his old team since his emotional departure from Die Fohlen. In an interview with the German club, the player said he was “looking forward to going back, because Borussia will always be in my heart. However, I'm 100% committed to Barça when I'm on the pitch.”

The team of his youth

Ter Stegen was only four when he joined the M'gladbach academy and was also surprisingly young in 2011, when he debuted with the first team aged 18 in a 5-1 victory over Cologne. He went on to play in 108 Bundesliga and seven Europa League games over four seasons.

And now, excluding preliminary rounds, he will finally make his first Champions League appearance at Borussia Park. But he will be doing so in a Barça shirt, which is sure to be a strange experience for him. “Having to use the away team's changing rooms will be different. But, I'm a professional and I'm only thinking about the game. My teammates and I will do our best to get the three points against difficult opposition.”

A great memory

The returning goalkeeper was given a special send-off in his last game with the team from the North Rhine-Westphalia länder. He stated he “always did his best for Borussia but Barça was the only team I couldn't say no to. It wasn't an easy decision but the fans understand that this was a special opportunity for me and we have won lots of titles in the last few years.”

He has indeed! Since Ter Stegen's arrival at Barça, he has won eight major trophies, including two Ligas and one Champions League.