Even though he had not seen a lot of first-team action until recently, Inaki Pena had always been held in very high regard at Barcelona.
The La Masia graduate made his senior debut only during last season and that too did not get a whole lot of opportunities owing to Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s brilliance between the sticks.
Despite that and the speculation surrounding his future, Pena opted to sign a new contract with Barça and wait for his chance.
And, the 24-year-old’s time has come now with Ter Stegen facing an extended spell on the sidelines due to a back issue that required surgery.
Pena discusses his role in Barcelona squad
Pena has made the most of his chances in recent games and in a recent interview, he discussed what it feels like to be a backup goalkeeper and what sort of preparation goes into his role.
“If you settle for being the second goalkeeper, you end up not even being the second goalkeeper…,” said Pena.
“Everyone wants to play and feel important in the team. On the other hand, I know what my role is and my thinking doesn’t change now that I can get more minutes and play a direct part in the team,” he added.
“In the role of second goalkeeper you need to be patient, because you never know when the opportunity will come your way. You have to be prepared to the maximum to be able to perform if you are needed and always train as if you have to compete,” the man from Alicante noted.
“Suddenly, you can have to compete from one day to the next.”
On the team’s situation
Pena then went on to admit that he was getting a run in the side when Barcelona were in such a delicate moment, with the performances and results before the mid-season break not entirely going their way.
“I would have wanted to play in any circumstances, but it’s true that I didn’t join the team at the best time. In any case, in every season, teams go through better and worse periods,” he stated.
“If you go through a bad one, you have to keep your head down and try to do as much as possible to help the team move forward.”
Pena also discussed his improvement on the physical aspect, with the goalkeeper adding more muscle mass and strength, as he said:
“When you are not competing, you need challenges that push you to the limit on a daily basis, otherwise everything is more difficult. Playing often is incompatible with the gym, but this has not been the case for me.
“That’s why I set myself the goal of gaining power and muscle mass, something that has given me a lot of benefits. I’ve noticed it, in training and in matches.”
