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Well, it’s confirmed; despite a high-profile error in his first and thus far only appearance for FC Barcelona, Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo will start the season as Barça’s number one as the club today confirmed that fellow summer signing Marc-André ter Stegen faces 2-3 weeks on the sidelines with a fractured back. Thankfully, the fracture is only minor and therefore will not keep ter Stegen on the treatment table for long – but with this golden opportunity for Bravo, he may find that by the time he recovers, the damage may have already been done.
While Bravo faced a lot of criticism for his mistake against Napoli, the Chilean was having a good match up until that point – and thanks to his years of experience, both in general and in La Liga, Bravo may only a few matches to establish himself as Barça’s undisputed number one. Certainly, from a neutral perspective, one would argue that Bravo is the better suited of the Blaugrana’s summer signings to start between the sticks.
Technically adept, a superb passer of the ball and above all an instinctive shot-stopper, Bravo will provide leadership that may otherwise be desperately lacking from the Barcelona backline and while he will be disappointed to have been handed the starting berth as a result of his "rival’s" injury, he will be intent to prove that he deserves this role after a number of impressive seasons for Real Sociedad.
What do we think Culés? Is Claudio Bravo the right man to start in goal next weekend against Elche, and do you think he has what it takes to establish himself as Barça’s number one in ter Stegen’s absence?
