If no operations are accelerated in the coming days, Hansi Flick will begin his second preseason as Barça's head coach with four goalkeepers on the roster. The German coach and his specific trainers, José Ramón de la Fuente and Toni Tapalović, will work starting next week with captain Marc-André ter Stegen, the eternal substitute Iñaki Peña, the newcomer Joan Garcia, and the recently renewed Wojciech Szczęsny. Only the latter two are included in the plans of the sporting directorate headed by Anderson Luís de Souza, Deco. However, The harsh reality of League registrations It represents the paradox that only the first two would be able to get playing time if the competition were to start tomorrow. There is work to be done in the offices before mid-August so that the coaches' intentions can be translated into consolidated measures for the squad.

Wojciech Szczesny was playing golf with his son when his phone rang. It was his agent, offering him the chance to play for Barça to replace Marc-André ter Stegen, who was injured. The surprise was huge. He had retired in the summer and was enjoying retirement with his family in Marbella, but the challenge of playing again and doing so for a team that was promising—Hansi Flick's project had just begun but was making a good start to La Liga—also appealed to him.

Ter Stegen hugged Szczesny with a dazzling smile after the 4-0 against Borussia Dortmund. As if after a few weeks they couldn't become the two protagonists of Hansi Flick's latest happy headache, because football has the annoying peculiarity that only one person per team can touch the ball with their hands. If Ter Stegen is fit to compete again in May, the coach will have to make one of the most delicate decisions since arriving in Barcelona: continue to trust in a goalkeeper who retired in the summer, but with whom Barça has yet to lose thanks to his solid performances, or trust the Barça first-choice goalkeeper of the last decade. With two titles at stake, the Champions League and La Liga (the Copa del Rey final will be played on April 26).

"Pedri was the MVP, but I think I can take half the trophy," said Wojciech Szczęsny in Lisbon with the confidence of an extraordinary player after completing His best game since wearing the Barça shirt. The goalkeeper, who had already excelled in a first stoppage of merit just seconds after the start, kept the team unbeaten in a duel in which Barça played 68 minutes with one man down after Pau Cubarsí was sent off. Barça broke the record for winning a match playing more minutes with one less player, surpassing the feat achieved by Juve at Valencia in 2018, when Cristiano was sent off in the 29th minute. Curiously, in that 0-2 the goalkeeper was also Szczęsny.