When Barcelona goalkeeper Inaki Pena made his first Champions League start of the season against Swiss side Young Boys, he did so under the watchful eye of the man hoping to claim his spot: Wojciech Szczesny.
Thoughts immediately turned to Pena after Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s season-ending knee ligament injury last month. The 25-year-old reserve ‘keeper stepped up in similar circumstances last season, proving to be a capable understudy to Ter Stegen.
But Barca had different plans this time. This week, they completed the signing of the former Arsenal and Juventus No 1 Szczesny on a free transfer until the end of the season. The 84-cap Poland international has come out of retirement to play for the Catalans.
So what does it all mean for Pena, their former youth ‘keeper who looked set for another chance to prove himself in goal? And how does Szczesny fit in?
Sources around Barca — who, like all those cited here, preferred to speak anonymously to protect relationships — say Pena felt conflicted by Ter Stegen’s injury in Barca’s 5-1 win against Villarreal. It presented him with another first-team opportunity, but it came because of a close colleague’s misfortune.
After that game, Pena began to see media talk of Barca looking to sign a goalkeeper. That night, coach Hansi Flick was asked in his post-match press conference whether he would rely on homegrown players or ask the club to dip into the transfer market.
Pena felt hurt and ignored. Sources close to the player say this frustration was not with the club, who have always kept their word with Pena, but with how the issue was dealt with by the ‘entorno’ — a term used by Johan Cruyff to describe the competing interests around Barca.
Those sources say Pena has always shown calm and professionalism — last season, his team-mates joked he was so cool that he was more stereotypically German than Ter Stegen. Pena understands his role and Barca’s need to reinforce their options in goal. Privately and publicly, however, the club have said he will be the first choice in Ter Stegen’s absence.
“He can be the starting goalkeeper all season,” Flick told reporters before the 4-2 loss against Osasuna.
Pena doesn’t feel he has to fight for his spot, but he knows things could change if he has three or four games like the one he had in that visit to Osasuna, Barca’s first loss of the season.
Born in Alicante, Pena came through Barca’s La Masia academy after joining from Villarreal as a 13-year-old in 2012. He was sent on loan to Galatasaray for the 2021-22 season and, despite only making six appearances in the Turkish Super Lig, his performances as Fernando Muslera’s understudy convinced then-coach Xavi and the board to bring him back as backup. His first real chance came last season when Ter Stegen was out from November to February with back problems that required surgery.
While Pena started well, with confident performances against Atletico Madrid and Porto in the Champions League, he soon dropped off. He played 17 games in all competitions, conceding 32 goals and keeping three clean sheets.
His time in the team coincided with Barca’s worst period of the season, which led to Xavi saying he would resign at the end of the campaign — the former midfielder later performed a U-turn before Barca sacked him anyway.
Despite the turmoil, the club told Pena in May they were not considering selling him and that they wanted him to stay. Pena did not want to leave despite the secondary role he knew he would play. He wants to succeed at the club he joined 12 years ago.
Szczesny had been enjoying his retirement in the beachside town of Marbella when he got a call from Barca. He had decided to hang up his gloves in August but his compatriot Robert Lewandowski put his name in the mix when he became aware the club were considering other options. Barca liked Szczesny’s profile and Lewandowski pushed to make the move happen.
The club were looking for a goalkeeper who could join on a free transfer and, in most of the cases they looked at, players were either without a team because of their level or were considered to be too old. Szczesny was seen as someone with the right amount of experience at 34 and was without a team because he had decided to leave Juventus, not because he had been exposed at the elite level.
According to club sources, Flick insisted the club sign an experienced goalkeeper because he considered there to be little experience going back from Barca’s midfield. He wants more leadership on the pitch when difficult situations arise — which is partly why he was so insistent that the club register 33-year-old centre-back Inigo Martinez this summer.
“Inaki is 25 years old and the rest are very young,” Flick said of Barca’s options in goal. “If anything happens, we need an experienced goalkeeper. (Sporting director) Deco and I have discussed and reflected on this.”
Lewandowski has been helping his longtime Poland team-mate settle in. On the day Szczesny attended the match against Young Boys, he was seen in the company of some of those closest to the striker.
The following day, his signing was made official until June 30, with a salary of around €3million ($3.3m; £2.5m) for the season. He had been training in Marbella as if he were in pre-season anyway in anticipation of the move, but will need time to adapt after five weeks out of the game.
“Lewandowski was the first to call me and explain this possibility,” Szczesny told club media. “It took some convincing because I didn’t know if I was ready for new challenges. But then I spoke with my family and friends and everybody told me how stupid I would be if I didn’t accept this. I agreed with them.”
Szczesny was told he would be competing for a place with Pena.
Whoever plays will have big boots to fill, as shown in the graphic below, which uses the ‘goals prevented’ metric. Goals prevented compares how many goals a goalkeeper actually conceded against the number they were expected to let in, based on expected goals on target (xGOT, which measures the quality of a player’s shot).
Ter Stegen was almost unbeatable in Barca’s title-winning season in 2022-23, preventing more than six non-penalty goals than he would be expected to based on the quality of shots on target he faced. His form has fluctuated since then, which is normal, but overall he has prevented more goals than the statistically average goalkeeper.
With eight months of competition still to come, we’ll see who ends up taking over. Pena will have time to prove whether last season was a fluke — and if he could step up long-term. For Szczesny, it is an unexpected chance to end his career on a high.
Additional contributor: Mark Carey
(Top photo: Szczesny watches Barca’s game against Young Boys from the stands, Pena before that match; by Getty Images)
