Szczesny and Araujo in the spotlight as FC Barcelona return to competition
As storm clouds gather around the club, FC Barcelona kicks off the sporting year with one of those cup debuts where victory is taken for granted by everyone: almost nothing to gain and everything to lose.
This Saturday’s trip to Barbastro (the 32nd finals of the Copa del Rey) should be a simple meeting for Hansi Flick in order to energize the bench, by bringing in little-used players and, above all, by allowing those returning from injuries serious to show their progress.
With the exception of LaLiga, the Federation, the Board of Directors and several other stakeholders, today’s spotlight should be on Barbastro, and more specifically on the figures of Szczesny and Ronald Araujo.
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After a little over three months of waiting, the Polish goalkeeper, unless otherwise advised by Flick, is ready to take his place between the poles, demonstrating that he has regained his physical form and that he can be a reliable replacement for Iñaki Peña in case of physical incidents. The German coach, for the moment, is being discreet. “What I can say is that Tek is training very well, but the decision has not been made yet; we will have to wait until tomorrow. We will see,” Hansi confirmed at the conference. pre-match press.
On the other hand, the situation of Ronald Araujo is quite different. The Uruguayan central defender has been training with the rest of his teammates for weeks, waiting for the opportunity to get back into competitive rhythm. With a busy schedule, he is expected to enjoy his first minutes of the season today, whether as a starter or as a substitute.
On the other hand, Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor will not be available for the German coach, because the RFEF has not yet approved their registrations. As a result, they were not included in the group and are added to the list of absentees, alongside the injured Ferran Torres, Andreas Christensen and Lamine Yamal, as well as Raphinha, who is ruled out for technical reasons.
It is a blow, especially for Pau Víctor, who, with the uncertainty surrounding his registration, now faces the additional disappointment of missing minutes in a scenario where he could have shown that he deserves more protagonism in second half of the season.
