Hans-Dieter Flick

[DonAK]

It will be more than that if Tek fucks up and does a blunder say vs PSG in CL.

Yeah, but do you trust Inaki Pena to not do it? At least Tek has shown he can make big saves and be clutch throughout his career in big games.

Meanwhile Inaki couldn't even bench Muslera in his mid 30s at Gala.

Flick is making a calculated bet I'd say. Might still backfire because who knows?

 

[serghei]

Yeah, but do you trust Inaki Pena to not do it? At least Tek has shown he can make big saves and be clutch throughout his career in big games.

Meanwhile Inaki couldn't even bench Muslera in his mid 30s at Gala.

Flick is making a calculated bet I'd say. Might still backfire because who knows?

I don't know. But I wouldn't have dropped Pena based on his performances on the field.

 

[JamDav1982]

It will be more than that if Tek fucks up and does a blunder say vs PSG in CL like he did vs Benfica. They must have a lot of trust in him.

More trust than in Pena is all it takes.

Xavi trusted Araujo. Can backfire.

 

[DonAK]

I don't know. But I wouldn't have dropped Pena based on his performances on the field.

Yes, but if you don't trust him then you also don't wait for a disaster to hit you at the worst moment to make that decision.

 

[serghei]

Yes, but if you don't trust him then you also don't wait for a disaster to hit you at the worst moment to make that decision.

Except the keeper you picked ahead of him has more than a promise of a disaster. He has already caused some. It's ok to trust a player, totally fine, but the player has to respond.

 

[JamDav1982]

Except the keeper you picked ahead of him has more than a promise of a disaster. He has already caused some.

So too does Pena.

Thats the choice.

This is being framed as Flicks error of 'trust' if goes wrong.

Apply that to Xavi and Araujo..or any of the other players that made mistakes.

 

[DonAK]

Except the keeper you picked ahead of him has more than a promise of a disaster. He has already caused some.

That same keeper has proven himself to also come up big in Europe.
Inaki should be lucky to even be at Barcelona at this point of his career.

Flick is betting on experience.

 

[serghei]

So too does Pena.

Thats the choice.

This is being framed as Flicks error of 'trust' if goes wrong.

Apply that to Xavi and Araujo..or any of the other players that made mistakes.

It's not the same situation. Again, Flick forced a decision based on simply his intuition. Man likes to gamble. Big balls.

 

[JamDav1982]

It's not the same situation. Again, Flick forced a decision based on simply his intuition. Man likes to gamble. Big balls.

Not really a gamble as Pena was not performing.

Barca had won 1 of last 8 he started and won 8 out 8 he hasnt.

Not all his fault clearly but experience and trust at the back make a difference.

Every player can argue is chosen on 'trust'. Likes of Araujo included.

 

[MonteCuler]

It's not the same situation. Again, Flick forced a decision based on simply his intuition. Man likes to gamble. Big balls.

Flick has reshaped his system in 2025. Like many have noticed and pointed out, our backline is now slightly closer to goal and we rely less on sweeping actions. Peña is a much better sweeper than Szczesny, but it's arguable if he's a better shot stopper. So maybe now, in a different setup, shot stopping matters more and hence Flick wants to give Tek the advantage.

I mean we can only guess but it looks more likely to me than intuition or feeling.

 

[DonAK]

I mean I would understand either decision.

Inaki hasn't really done anything to be benched like this, but he's also a 25 year old small goalkeeper who's lucky to even be #2 at the club considering he has underwhelmed for years and couldn't grasp the one shot he had on a loan to make something off himself. Salary cap issues among other things is why the club haven't prioritized a more proven backup for ter Stegen or even legit competition.

Then you have the guy coming out of retirement who might or might not get back to his old level. If he doesn't he will cost us a game, but if he does he might be the one who saves us in a KO match, and he has gradually gotten better too.

It's not a perfect decision either way, but he's essentially betting on the guy who has proven he can be *it* instead of the guy who has proven nothing in his career apart from this recent good run which might be a false dawn for all he knows.

 

[serghei]

Let's hope Tek is rusty and Flick saw something some of us are not seeing with him. God knows I miss having a keeper that is not a total clown in CL.

 

[JamDav1982]

Let's hope Tek is rusty and Flick saw something some of us are not seeing with him. God knows I miss having a keeper that is not a total clown in CL.

Like Pena was last season...

He could fuck up in CL and still be the correct choice. None of them are immune from it.

What were you seeing in Pena? Club were faltering badly with him in goals.

 

[DonAK]

The decision might end up being wrong for all we know, but I don't fault the process.

 

[serghei]

The decision might end up being wrong for all we know, but I don't fault the process.

I'm the opposite . The decision might be right, but I fault the process. Pena is a risk also, but he played in a Clasico and had a top performance. He deserved to stay on.

But it's not a big deal. In the end, the manager is the boss and he has the prerogative to make moves based on projections into the future. That's why he has the main responsability of results. Players have to accept this and continue to work to change the manager's mind.