After enjoying his first starting position against Barbastro in the Copa del Rey, Wojciech Szczesny will once again wear the FC Barcelona jersey from the start against Athletic Club. The Pole was chosen by Hansi Flick to protect the culé goal in the semifinals of the Supercopa de España 2025, and there would be a compelling reason behind it.
According to the journalist from 'Cope', Helena Condis, Iñaki Peña was supposed to be the starting goalkeeper for the Catalans against the team led by Ernesto Valverde, but the Alicante player will ultimately start from the bench for arriving late to the activation session prior to the match at the hotel.
Flick remains firm in his stance
According to the aforementioned source, the youth player did not oversleep or anything like that, but he did miscalculate the time. Flick is aware of this incident, but he remains firm in his stance regarding punctuality within his squad.
This episode is not new for the blaugrana team, as Jules Koundé has already suffered firsthand the inflexibility of the German for the same reason. The coach considers it a lack of respect to arrive late to commitments, and even if it is a matter of minutes, he does not give an inch when it comes to taking measures regarding it, and Iñaki Peña is the latest victim.