Wojciech Szczesny signed a new contract with Barcelona earlier this week, extending his stay until 2027. He has now looked back on his first nine months at the club, which have been rather special for him.
Szczesny waxes lyrical about Pedri
Speaking on “Foot Truck” (via MD), Szczesny discussed Barcelona teammates Pedri, whom he has been very impressed by.
“Pedri is the player who has impressed me the most in my life: I see him control the game, both in attack and defence, he never loses the ball. If you asked me who was the best player this year, I would personally say Pedri.
“He embodies the spectacle that football should be and encourages young people to practice this sport. There are players who don’t lose the ball, but they play with relative confidence, but he, on the other hand, starts dribbling even when the opponents have him on top of him. He plays through the centre, and you know that when you pass the ball to him, he will retain it.”
Szczesny on playing at Barcelona compared to Juventus
Szczesny also discussed the differences between playing at Barcelona and Juventus, whom he was with prior to signing in Catalonia. He explained that his role at the two respective teams was very different.
“At Juve, everything was different. Here you play and train in a completely different way. In small games, everyone is close, you can predict in advance where the player passes and the position of the defenders. These games can be useful to improve footwork, because it is much easier there, since everyone wants the ball. There’s also a cultural shift: I’m under constant pressure during training, everyone runs towards me. You can’t waste time, because if everyone wants the ball, someone is open.”
“Here, I have the impression that even when I make mistakes, the team plays so well that I can look forward. Did we concede a goal? Okay, now we need to score two. The weight of each defeat is completely different. Last season, Barcelona seemed to be the team that cared least about the number of goals conceded.
“At Juve, if I received the ball with my left, the defender was five meters away from me, but he would already turn to the other side, as if he wanted me to clear it long instead of passing it to him. Here, however, everyone comes to me and shouts at me to pass the ball. For example, sometimes Pedri wanted the ball even with seven opponents around him: I had Íñigo Martínez on one side, who is a very technical defender; Cubarsi to the other; there was also Balde; then De Jong would come short too.”
