Barcelona moved swiftly to bring in goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen was ruled out for much of the rest of the season with a knee injury, persuading the Polish shot-stopper to come out of retirement. Many expected him to walk into a starting role once fit, but manager Hansi Flick has kept faith in Inaki Pena so far.
Szczesny told the press that he was not coming in to take Pena’s spot on arrival, although he would be competing for it, and understands Flick’s thinking so far.
“He hasn’t given him any reason to leave him on the bench. We’ve talked a lot. I’ve already told the coach that I’m at one hundred percent, but the team is working well. If it’s not broken, don’t touch it,” told Eleven Sports, as quoted by Marca.
Dani Olmo: “Playing against Real Madrid? I feel good and the coach knows it, but it depends on the coach. Whether I play as a starter or a substitute, I will work to give the best for the team. It’s a very important match and whoever plays will be 100% ready.” @esport3
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 25, 2024
The 33-year-old reasoned that he would likely do the same were he in that situation.
“If I were in the coach’s place, I wouldn’t play now either. I will have the opportunity to play later. Right now the team is working very well, that’s the important thing.”
The Catalan goalkeeper spent around three months in goal last season too, when ter Stegen went down with a back injury, and after several initially promising performances, attracted plenty of criticism. If it comes down to CV and experience, then Szczesny would be assured the number one spot, but it seems Flick has full faith in Pena, with games hardly coming bigger than Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. All the same, Szczesny’s words hint that he has been promised game time at some point.
