Szczesny talks Ter Stegen, Barcelona debut, first Clasico, dealing with mistakes | OneFootball

The past six months have been nothing short of a whirlwind for Wojciech Szczesny. Having announced his retirement in the summer, the 34-year-old veteran decided to make a U-turn and sign for Barcelona as a replacement for the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen in September.

After having spent the first three months of his stint with the Catalans on the bench, the former Juventus and Arsenal shot-stopper made his debut in January this year and has since gone on to establish himself as Hansi Flick’s preferred choice in goal.

In a recent interview with Barça One, Szczesny reflected on his journey so far at Barcelona and how Ter Stegen has been a major help in his early months at the club.

On his Barcelona debut

Szczesny made his Barcelona debut in the Copa del Rey clash against minnows UD Barbastro, away from home. Talking about how he handled the pressure leading up to the moment, he said:

“It’s very different from when I was younger, there’s always that level of uncertainty about the result, about how the game is going to go, because you want to do your best, you don’t want to embarrass yourself. But there’s no stress.

“I think there was only one game in my life where I was really stressed and that was my first game with the national team at Euro 2012 and I ended up getting sent off. That’s when I realised that stress is not my friend.

“So now I don’t feel stress. I’m not stressed, it’s just a bit of adrenaline that helps you to stay focused and give your best.”

Reminiscing the game where he made his maiden appearance against Barbastro, the 34-year-old noted:

“‘It was strange because of the atmosphere of the game, the pitch, the stadium. We’re talking about Barbastro, it’s not how you imagine your first game with Barça. In Barbastro, on a terrible pitch. But I was focused.

“I try to concentrate by meditating before the games and did the same against Barbastro and Real Madrid. It doesn’t change.”

Continuing, he added: “The only thing that was special about it was that it was my first game for Barça, but there were a lot more emotions after the game because I was able to put on this shirt for the first time.”

Szczesny has become the first-choice goalkeeper at Barça. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Szczesny then touched upon his first El Clasico appearance, which came in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia, saying:

“The truth is that it will be quite disappointing for you. ‘I’ll be honest with you: I expected to be a bit nervous because it was a Clasico, a big stage and a cup final.

“But probably subconsciously, knowing that stress is not a good friend of mine, I was more focused than stressed.”

On Ter Stegen

Szczesny also spoke about his relationship with Ter Stegen, the man he has replaced in the squad currently, saying that the Barcelona captain has been a big help for him.

“He’s been a great help: even before I signed he sent me a message saying that if I needed him he was there for whatever I needed,” said Szczesny.

Regarding the German international’s recovery from injury, which is progressing very well, Szczesny added:

“I’m very happy to see that his recovery is going very well. So everything is very friendly: there’s no competition because there can’t be right now, I just hope he comes back and helps us as soon as possible so I can relax a bit (laughs).”

On how meditation helps him

The veteran goalkeeper also discussed in detail how he practices meditation before matches and how it helped him while surprising a few of his teammates.

“I feel comfortable meditating in the locker room in front of everyone. The truth is that I don’t mind,” he said.

Recalling a funny anecdote, he stated: “I had a funny situation with Ter Stegen: he told me that his son had come into the dressing room before the game and everyone was doing their thing and I was meditating. And he said, ‘Dad, why is Szczesny sleeping?’”

Szczesny has not lost a single game with Barcelona yet. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Continuing, Szczesny added: “But nothing, I’m quite comfortable. It actually helps me because there is a lot of noise around me and I can switch off from that noise and be in my head. I don’t need the silence to meditate.”

Touching upon how people react to him meditating, he remarked:

“I do it sometimes on the bus on the way to the match. Many people don’t know what I’m doing and they probably look at me for the first time and think: what’s going on? Not many of them have the courage to ask me what I am doing.

“But some teammates in the past have asked me and I have explained it to them. I haven’t seen anyone do it with me but it’s really very useful.”

On his mistakes

Soon after he started playing for Barcelona this year, Szczesny went on to make a slew of errors on the field, raising concerns about his suitability in the side.

But the veteran star noted that he does not let it affect him and remains focused on being level-headed through good and bad moments.

“That’s the part that helps me the most: being very present in the moment and seeing the situation as it is,” he said.

“So I don’t mind mistakes too much, no matter how bad they seem. I’m not depressed by the big mistakes, I’m not too happy about the big moments either. I’m never in a state of euphoria, but I let myself enjoy it when the games are over,” Szczesny concluded.