Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 3:04 p.m.
Iñaki Peña is here to stay. The 25-year-old goalkeeper had a great game in the Santiago Bernabéu classic and will continue to be a starter for Barça as long as Hansi Flick finds no reason to take over in goal. Neither the initial doubts after Ter Stegen‘s serious injury, nor the arrival of a veteran goalkeeper like Szczesny have been able to quell the promotion to the starting lineup of a goalkeeper who exploded late, but who knows that he has the opportunity of a lifetime before him.
“Leaving a clean sheet is another requirement of the coach, on a personal level I am very happy to be able to play a good game and I hope it continues to be like this,” said Iñaki Peña after the classic against Real Madrid. The Alicante goalkeeper was euphoric after a match that could be a turning point in his career. And at 25 years old he found himself at a crossroads and managed to leave through the front door. The stage was nothing more and nothing less than the Bernabéu and in front were Mbappé, Vinicius and company, a forward that saw in the goalkeeper an insurmountable wall.
It was like this because Iñaki Peña had an outstanding game. He was attentive throughout the game to possible balls behind the center backs and appeared again and again to save the goal against the attacks of the white attackers. He had two hand-to-hand situations with Mbappé in which he spoiled the Frenchman’s party and even pulled out a miraculous hand that finally did not count towards his statistic due to offside at the start of the play. It was an exhibition he will never forget and a way to mark territory with Szczesny, for whom he only has good things to say. “I am very grateful to him, from the first day he arrived he has treated me with a lot of respect and we get along very well and work very well,” he said of his rival in goal.
Impeccable management
Iñaki Peña’s great performance contrasts with the doubts that Barça had about his figure last year. Led by Xavi Hernández, he conceded 33 goals in the 17 games he played in the absence of Ter Stegen and that figure resonated in the offices of the culé team, which also came from being the team with the least goals scored in the League. The arrival of a battle-hardened goalkeeper like Szczesny did not seem to help the team settle in either, but in the middle of all that noise Flick came out and surprised by betting on him as the starting goalkeeper until his performance said otherwise. That day has not yet arrived and the German coach showed his confidence this Saturday once again at a press conference. «It was necessary to highlight it. Having a clean sheet is very important. “He played a fantastic game,” he said.
Ter Stegen’s injury has opened the doors wide for a goalkeeper who was always on the radar of Barça’s first team. He arrived at La Masia at the age of 13 from Villarreal and from very early on he appeared as one of the most promising goals of the Barça youth team along with Arnau Tenas, who came from behind and ended up signing for PSG. His progression was stopped short by the great performance of Ter Stegen and that led him to look for an opportunity at Galatasaray for six months as Muslera’s replacement. He returned in 2022 and since then he has waited for an opportunity like the one he now has in his hands. It’s his time, Iñaki Peña’s time.
