FC Barcelona and Wojciech Szczesny reached an agreement for the goalkeeper to join the Club until 30 June 2025. Szczesny came out of retirement to play for Barcelona at the highest stage. Here are few incidents on why Szczesny should be the second choice goalie.
Why was Szczesny signed?
Barcelona had two main goalkeepers in the squad for this season, Ter-Stegen and Iñaki Peña. Ter-Stegen was the first-choice keeper for the Catalans and was in great form. The German goalkeeper suffered an injury on 22nd September 2024, in a game against Villareal where Barcelona won 5-1 away from home.
Marc-André ter Stegen, the German goalkeeper for FC Barcelona, tore his patellar tendon in his right knee during a La Liga match against Villarreal on September 22, 2024. The injury required surgery and is expected to sideline him for eight to ten months. Credits: FC Barcelona
Barcelona needed another goalkeeper as Iñaki Peña was still young and inexperienced. For the next few games, Peña started for Barcelona and the club reached an agreement for Szczesny to join the Club until 30 June 2025.
Szczesny’s Barcelona Journey
Debut against Barbastro
Szczesny was benched in the first few weeks of his arrival, upon asking why wasn’t called for the the starting XI, the Polish replied he didn’t see any reason to replace Peña. Szczesny made his debut for Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey, Round of 32 against Barbastro where the Polish kept a clean sheet on his debut impressing many.
Clean Sheet against Bilbao
Szczesny then also featured in the semi-final of the Super Cup against Athletic Bilbao, where Barcelona won the game 2-0 and Polish was patted for keeping another clean record.
Red Card against Real Madrid
When Barcelona went up against Madrid in the Super Cup final, Szczesny received a red card for a late 1v1 tackle on Kylian Mbappe. Many fans let that mistake go as the keeper had a good game before that incident.
poor performance against Benfica
In the 22nd minute of the game, Barcelona lost possession in attack and Benfica’s defense casually cleared the ball away into Barcelona’s half. Balde was confidently heading towards the ball to control it, on the other hand, Szczęsny came out of the box as a sweeper keeper looking to clear the ball. Both Balde and Szczęsny bumped into each other which led to Benfica’s second goal as the ball went through into goal.
As Barcelona were looking to get back in the game and score the equalizer, things took a turn. Benfica was attacking at 30 minutes of the game, Barcelona was unable to clear the ball properly and it fell into the feet of Benfica’s Aktürkoğlu, Szczęsny dived in to claim the ball but Aktürkoğlu was smart, and capitalized on the goalkeeper’s error and claimed a penalty off a soft contact.
Almost Penalty against Valencia
The Polish almost gave a penalty in a similar way against Valencia in La Liga tackling Hugo Duro, luckily the penalty was denied because of a foul on a Barcelona player in Valencia’s buildup.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Szczęsny is not the best choice to start in every game. He is old and not in the best shape of his career and must be avoided in big games. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.