It was fairly well-accepted that Wojciech Szczesny’s arrival at Barcelona was to exchange Marc-Andre Ter Stegen as a bonafide starter within the lineup. Hansi Flick, nonetheless, opted to stick with Inaki Pena and the experiment didn’t fail.
Whereas the La Masia graduate didn’t gentle up the world with gorgeous saves, he was promising in flashes and has even stepped up every now and then to provide particular shows. Partly, the supervisor’s gamble did certainly repay.
For Szczesny, who got here out of retirement to play for Barcelona, nonetheless, it has not been simple as he has been compelled onto the sidelines from day one.
Debut incoming
Earlier right now, Barcelona discovered their opponents within the Copa del Rey and can face off in opposition to UD Barbastro early subsequent yr of their first recreation within the competitors.
As revealed by SPORT, that could possibly be the evening the Polish goalkeeper makes his debut for Barcelona formally after what has been a chronic wait.
It has change into a practice, partly, for the second-choice goalkeeper to see minutes for Barcelona within the Spanish Cup and it’s thus extremely doable that Flick persists with the identical.
In contrast to in earlier years, nonetheless, the goalkeeper this time has an actual likelihood of staking a declare to exchange the first-choice shot-stopper.
If Szczesny is wherever near the brilliance he confirmed earlier than his retirement, he might give Inaki Pena run for his cash.
The 34-year-old final featured in a soccer recreation formally within the European Championships for Poland in opposition to Austria again in June. Six months later, he’ll play his first recreation once more and it stays to be seen how ready he’s for the event.