The 34-year-old briefly hung up his boots this summer but received an unlikely opportunity to come out of retirement after Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. Szczesny, who spent the last seven years with Juventus, agreed to return to football and sign for the Catalan club earlier this month.
The former Poland No. 1 began his professional career with Arsenal, spending nine years with the Gunners and winning two FA Cups. Before leaving the club, Szczesny had a two-year loan spell at Roma, where his stellar performances convinced Juventus that he was the right goalkeeper to succeed the legendary Gianluigi Buffon.
This helped Szczesny prove his doubters wrong after being allowed to leave Arsenal, who even attempted to bring him back as second-choice to David Raya this summer. While he has enjoyed a hugely successful career, the new Barcelona signing has confessed that Messi is the only player to have intimidated him every time their paths crossed on the pitch.
“I was always scared to play against Leo. There are probably other players who have scored more against me,” Szczesny told Mundo Deportivo. “But he was the only one I was actually afraid to play against. Because he was that good.”
The goalkeeper has played against the Argentinian icon on six occasions, winning once with Arsenal in 2011 and going off injured twice. Messi has scored three goals against Szczesny but was also responsible for what the goalkeeper classes as his biggest-ever save. He denied Messi from the spot in a 2-0 group defeat at the 2022 World Cup, with Szczesny’s penalty stop being vital as Poland reached the knockout stages on goal difference.
“The best or the biggest? That changes,” Szczesny explained. “The most satisfying save was Messi's penalty in the Qatar World Cup, but it wasn't the best save in my career. The stadium and the rival made that moment very special for me.”
Szczesny may have walked into a new dressing room at the Nou Camp but he is joined by a familiar face in Robert Lewandowski. The pair have played for Poland together on 71 occasions and Szczesny revealed that Lewandowski sounded out the goalkeeper after Ter Stegen’s injury.
“No, no, he was the first person to call me to say, ‘look, if there is a possibility, would you come out of retirement?’ And I spoke to him for a while and we didn’t get anywhere,” Szczesny admitted. “I would say that my wife was the one who had the most influence but I can’t say that it was just one person.”
When Barcelona boss Hansi Flick finally reached out to Szczesny, the goalkeeper had made up his mind, adding: “When the coach called me, I was already 99% decided. So he just called me to congratulate me and explain how he sees football
0 Comments