Wojciech Szczesny left the field smiling and waving to the stands.
After his team had just qualified as runners-up in the league phase Champions League after a 2-2 draw against Atalanta, Szczesny’s smiling face contrasted with those of some of his team-mates, who showed more moderate euphoria at having achieved something they already expected to, feeling unsatisfied with not having been able to win the game and finish first.
There was something in Szczesny’s smile which hinted that his place in the starting line-up was finally secure and wouldn’t be changing anytime soon. After four months on the bench, it was his moment.
His starting place was confirmation that Flick now rates him as a goalkeeper.
“Inaki (Pena) is our number one goalkeeper and I’m happy with him,” Hansi Flick said on September 25, a few days after Marc-Andre ter Stegen — the starting goalkeeper for more than a decade — was seriously injured with a complete rupture of the patellar tendon in his right knee.
“Inaki can be goalkeeper all season, why not? That’s good for the confidence he’s going to have in the games”.
Only five months have passed since that statement and yet, it has not aged very well.
At the time, there was speculation about the possible arrival of Szczesny. Barcelona wanted to bring the 34-year-old Pole out of retirement to return him to top-level football — at least for a few months.
With that decision, doubts began to arise. Why sign another goalkeeper when it was time to give minutes to Pena? Flick believed there was a youthful feel about his side and wanted to have an experienced goalkeeper available if needed during the tougher parts of the season.
Even so, he emphasised that Pena was going to be the first-choice goalkeeper. And so it was, until 2025 arrived.
Szczesny started the year playing against Barbastro in the Copa del Rey. That same week, Pena was late for an activation session at the Barcelona hotel prior to their Spanish Super Cup semi-final match against Athletic Club.
Flick’s rules are clear: if a player is late, there is a punishment. Jules Kounde was disciplined when he was late for training and there was also a reprimand for Pena, who did not play in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup. Szczesny impressed in that game and Flick decided to put him back in against Real Madrid in the final on January 12.
Although Real Madrid did not pose too much of a threat, Szczesny was the centre of attention after being sent off in the 56th minute for a foul on Kylian Mbappe outside the area.
Far from that action being considered unnecessary by many due to the superiority that Barcelona were displaying (they were 5-1 up at the time), Flick said that the Polish player’s performance had changed the way he viwed the goalkeeper.
“The situation has changed in goal,” the Barcelona head coach said in a press conference that same week. “Szczesny played very well and it was nice to see after the break. He has an incredible mentality and he helps everyone a lot; the (other) goalkeepers too. He can play at this level.”
Pena was shocked by that statement because initially, it seemed that Szczesny was going to be the goalkeeper for the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey, and Pena for La Liga and the Champions League. However, Pena played in the Copa del Rey round-of-16 match against Real Betis and the next league game against Getafe, before Szczesny was chosen again for a Champions League game at Benfica and last weekend’s 7-1 league victory over Valencia. Against Atalanta, Szczesny started again.
In that extraordinary 5-4 win over Benfica, Szczesny made serious mistakes that cost Flick’s team two goals, and they had to work hard to come back. He comically collided with team-mate Alejandro Balde to allow the Portuguese team to go 2-1 ahead and minutes later, he misjudged his distances again and brought down Kerem Akturkoglu to concede a penalty.
But towards the end of the game, he came out on top in a one-on-one with Angel Di Maria and that save allowed Barcelona to complete their comeback.
In Barcelona, some wondered why, after that match, Flick was still betting on him and whether the decision to leave Pena on the sidelines was definitive or not, as the 25-year-old had gained confidence since taking on the role of first-choice goalkeeper and did not seem to have done anything to deserve being demoted.
When Szsczesny arrived, Pena was not at his best and the former Arsenal and Juventus goalkeeper arrived at Barcelona because he was told he was going to play.
In recent weeks, club sources who, like all mentioned in this article, prefer to remain anonymous in order to protect relationships, say that Szsczesny was putting in some very good training sessions. This caught Flick’s attention and he decided to give him an opportunity.
The German’s confidence in Szsczesny has gone beyond the mistakes he has made in matches.
In recent days, Flick has been asked about this goalkeeping change on several occasions.
“We made the decision to put Tek (Szsczesny) in,” the German told DAZN in the run-up to the game against Valencia. “One of the reasons is because we haven’t lost yet with him.”
In a press conference ahead of the game against Atalanta, he acknowledged that Szsczesny is now his No 1.
“It’s one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make,” he acknowledged. “I know that when I say something good about Tek, it seems like Inaki comes out weakened. I don’t like that.
“My decision is to choose the goalkeeper. They’re both very good goalkeepers, great goalkeepers. We’ve decided on Tek for tomorrow. I always look for the best for the team and at the moment, I see it that way, although Inaki has done very well.”
Inaki Pena has been supplanted by Wojciech Szczesny (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Balde, who also appeared at the press conference prior to the match, recognised that this is not an easy situation for Pena.
“He’s one of the hardest-working players in the team,” said the Barcelona defender. “These things happen when you’re a footballer. The important thing is how you react and adapt and I think he’s doing well”.
Szsczesny had a good first half. One particular save drew applause from the crowd, who chanted his name.
Despite this, he again showed signs of being overwhelmed. In a first-half move, Eric Garcia passed him a ball. The keeper didn’t look comfortable on the ball, however, and deliberately sent the ball out for a corner.
The change of goalkeeper has left part of the Spanish press and Barcelona fans baffled. First, because the Pole’s intention was to be here until the end of the season. Coming out of retirement, his intentions seemed clear and were radically opposed to those of Pena, who is only 25 and has been a product of La Masia since he was 13.
According to sources in the dressing room, the relationship between the two goalkeepers is good despite the competition for the position. Pena is used to living in Ter Stegen’s shadow and already knows how to deal with this kind of situation.
His contract ends in 2026 and sources from the Barcelona board say that no player with one year left on their contract is going to start next season.
The future of Barcelona’s goalkeeper position is anyone’s guess. Ter Stegen should be back from injury in a few months. Szsczesny is thinking of returning to Marbella with his family to enjoy retirement and Pena is realising that he may not be as important to the coach as he would like, even when the first-choice goalkeeper has been seriously injured.
For the moment, Barcelona have made it through to the last 16 of the Champions League and are proclaimed as one of the big candidates to win a competition in which, it seems, Szsczesny is going to be the goalkeeper of choice.
GO DEEPER
Eighteen Champions League games, one unusual assignment: watch every match (in five-minute segments)
(Top photo: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
