The goal and dream of every Barcelona player is to become an undisputed starter. La Blaugrana, as blessed with quality as they are, continue to have a competitive squad from end to end. Ultimately, not every Barcelona player gets to be as cemented in the first team as they’d hope.
This has been the case, more or less, for Barcelona goalkeeper Inaki Pena. Having been second-in-command to Marc Andre Ter Stegen for a few seasons, the Spaniard has finally gotten his opportunity in the 2023/24 campaign. Due to Ter Stegen’s untimely back injury, Pena has been allocated the goalkeeping duties.
Moreover, he has been doing justice to the role that has been given to him. Making crucial saves in important moments, Pena has done quite well by himself. As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, he even spoke about his ambition to continue progressing in Barcelona:
“We all want to be starters and train with that goal in mind. If you settle for being the second goalkeeper, you end up not even being the second goalkeeper. I know what my role is in this team right now; if in the future I can become the undisputed starter, even better.”
He also spoke about the unique experience of being a second goalkeeper in a team like Barcelona. Knowing that opportunity is never guaranteed, he highlights how he still has to remain prepared for it:
“In the role of the second goalkeeper, you need patience because you never know when your opportunity will arise. You have to be fully prepared to perform if needed and always train as if you were competing. Suddenly, you might find yourself competing from one day to the next.”
For this reason, Inaki Pena remains determined to always be ready for a chance:
“That’s why, from the very beginning, I’ve wanted to make the most of every training session to improve. Being alongside my teammates and a goalkeeper like Marc, you learn a lot. With patience, everything comes in due time.”
Speaking about Ter Stegen’s injury, the La Masia keeper highlighted his regret of hearing about the German’s unfortunate problem. However, he assures that his goal remains to help the team moving forward. He also stated that he would like to gain more strength and muscle mass, two things that have massively helped him.
“I will do the maximum possible to help the team move forward. I set the goal of gaining power and muscle mass, something that has provided me with many benefits.”
Regarding the Champions League campaign this season, Pena believes that they are on the right path:
“At the beginning of the season, we would have accepted the most challenging opponent because that would have meant that, after two years, we made it through the group stage. The goal was to top the group, and we achieved that. We’ve proven to ourselves that we can compete and take Barcelona where it should be, among the best.”
Lastly, the Barcelona keeper was asked about the prospect of facing Napoli. Talking about needing to make a strong impression at home, Pena looks fondly at this Champions League campaign:
“Napoli? We’ll see how both teams arrive. I think it will be important to make ourselves strong at home.”
Barcelona return to action against UD Las Palmas in La Liga on the 4th of January. That will be Barça’s first game following the start of the new year and Inaki Pena will be expected to start. Both the keeper and Barcelona will hope to start off the new year with a victory to their name.
