Iñaki Peña spoke with 'Mundo Deportivo' about his present at FC Barcelona. The Spanish goalkeeper has taken over the Barça goal after Marc-André ter Stegen's injury, responding to Hansi Flick's trust with good performances against Bayern Munich and, above all, in the Clásico against Real Madrid.
Although many thought that the man from Alicante would return to the bench after the signing of Wojciech Szczesny, Flick has kept him in his eleven in both the League and the Champions League. The Pole, for his part, has not made his debut so far, although he has been training normally with the rest of the squad.
This was the first conversation between Iñaki and Szczesny
When referring to his relationship with the former Juventus and Polish national team goalkeeper, Iñaki was surprised by the humility and warmth of the Warsaw player. "As a person he is spectacular, as can be seen from the outside. The first day he started talking to me and told me that he didn't come to compete with me, that the only competition I have is with myself and it shocked me," commented the '13' culé.
In that sense, he valued having a partner with that attitude and experience on a daily basis. "In a position like goalkeeper that is so competitive that only one plays, he showed great respect that perhaps he did not deserve. He is 34 years old and helps a lot," Peña explained.
The confidence of Hansi Flick, key to the settlement of Iñaki Peña
On the other hand, the man from Alicante gave details about the impact of the arrival of Hansi Flick to the Barça bench. The squad knew that this was a coach who liked high pressure and always played face to face, without fear of any rival.
In that sense, Iñaki explained that, beyond the risks posed by this scheme, the Heidelberg scheme has given them the necessary confidence so that the week's work translates into good results.
"The coach told us that he doesn't care if we fail, that he doesn't care if they score a goal over the goal because, being ahead, we avoid a lot of one-on-ones. In the end you end up comparing the results. It's all balance," he explained. .
Furthermore, he added: "Some will put us in and they will catch us in others, but in the end all the dangerous plays that you avoid make you a winner," the Spanish goalkeeper pointed out in his talk with 'Mundo Deportivo', on a Friday prior to the Catalan derby against the Espanyol where several culés players had contact with the local press.