Barcelona superstar can bag prestigious honour if two things fall in place | OneFootball

The 2023-24 campaign has not been easy for Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who was forced to go under the blade for a back injury early on in the season.

The German shot-stopper missed three months out owing to the surgical procedure and recuperation period that followed and returned only in February this year. Since then, however, he has been relatively rock-solid in goal.

While fingers have been pointed at him in recent times, he has maintained clean sheets in his last three games and has taken his tally to 15 clean sheets in 27 appearances. He is, thus, still in contention to take home the Zamora trophy this year.

A hair’s breadth

Having taken home the prestigious goalkeeping award last season, Ter Stegen is not too far off from the pole position one year later. It is, however, not entirely in his hands.

Unai Simon currently leads the pack with 33 goals conceded in 35 games, thus standing at 0.94 goals conceded per match.

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, meanwhile, is on 26 goals conceded in 27 matches, taking his tally to 0.96 goals conceded per 90 minutes.

Ter Stegen can win back-to-back Zamora Trophies. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

A clean sheet against Sevilla on the final matchday, thus, can guarantee Ter Stegen his second Zamora trophy provided Unai Simon fails to maintain a clean sheet. If the Basque goalkeeper goes 60 minutes on the night without conceding, he will be crowned the winner.

A small edge

While the award is not in the German’s control, it will be known by the time Barcelona kick-off their final game of La Liga if he is in contention for the award or not.

After all, Athletic Club complete their campaign at Estadio de Vallecas on Saturday night while Barcelona take on Sevilla on Sunday night.

A clean sheet for Athletic Club on Saturday will thus kill any hopes for Ter Stegen to win the Zamora, but a clean sheet on Sunday will be enough to secure the accolade if Simon concedes a goal.