Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has settled the controversy surrounding the identity of Barcelona’s goalkeeper for Sunday’s El Clásico against Real Madrid in the 35th round of La Liga.
Marc-André ter Stegen returned to Barça after recovering from a torn cruciate ligament and participated in the last La Liga match against Real Valladolid, while Szczesny was the Blaugrana’s goalkeeper in the two Champions League matches against Inter.
Who will be Barcelona’s goalkeeper in El Clásico?
In the press conference before El Clásico on Saturday, Flick announced that Barcelona’s goalkeeper in El Clásico will be Szczesny.
The German coach said, “Szczesny is our goalkeeper tomorrow. We are happy with what he has done this season.”
He added, “Whether he continues with Barcelona? That’s Deco’s business, but I’m very happy with him. He has a great personality, very positive, calm, and balanced. Everything is going well for him.” He concluded, “I think he wants to stay in the city and continue defending the shirt. Szczesny is a quiet person, sometimes he smokes a little, but he’s a good player.”
Szczesny this season with Barcelona
The 34-year-old Szczesny moved to Barcelona last October following Ter Stegen’s injury, despite announcing his retirement from football last August.
The Pole remained on the bench until the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, when Flick decided to drop Iñaki Peña and bring Szczesny in against Athletic Bilbao in the semi-final. Since then, he has become the Blaugrana’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Szczesny has made 28 appearances since last January, conceding 33 goals and keeping 13 clean sheets.
This will be Szczesny’s third Clásico. The first was in the Super Cup, which Barça won 5-2, the second was in the Copa del Rey final, which the Catalans won 3-2, and the league match in which Barcelona kept a clean sheet, Peña was the goalkeeper.
