Barcelona coach Hansi Flick confirmed that the decision to include Szczesny as a goalkeeper is only related to the El Clasico match against Real Madrid, on Sunday evening, in the Spanish Super Cup final, at the Jewel Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Szczesny came out of retirement and joined Barcelona on a free transfer last October, after German goalkeeper Andre ter Stegen was injured and absent until the end of the season.
But Iñaki Peña has been Barça’s first-choice goalkeeper throughout the past period, while Szczesny played against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, in addition to the Athletic Bilbao match in the Super Cup semi-final, and was relied upon as a starter in today’s Clasico.
“We are in the Super Cup and we will finish the tournament with Szczesny as goalkeeper. This is not a decision for the future, it is just about tonight,” Flick said, as quoted by Spanish newspaper Movistar
. “Dani Olmo is always a player you think about playing because he is great, but we decided to keep the same starting lineup that we played against Athletic Bilbao,”
he added. “Real Madrid are a great team with great players, and we will have to give our best. We showed that in Madrid (winning 4-0) and we hope to prove it today as well.”
Barcelona are looking to continue their dominance in the Spanish Super Cup, as they are the most decorated club with 14 titles, while Real Madrid are second with 13.