Szczesny: After winning the championship, Laporta gave me a good cigar, and that moment was so satisfying

Football 9:39am, 7 October 2025 114

In an interview with Polish media Sportpl, Szczesni told some celebrations after Barcelona won the championship last season.

"The cigar in the locker room perfectly sums up my story, the smoke brought me away from Arsenal, it accompanied me for many years, and finally, Laporta gave me a good cigar, I lit it in the locker room, watching my teammates celebrate the La Liga championship... That moment was really incredible satisfaction for me, and this picture perfectly connected my career."

Schchensni also revealed that his adaptation to Barcelona was actually very difficult, but in the end everything went smoothly: "When facing this challenge, I knew I was not suitable for Barcelona's style...I knew I was the best substitute at the time, but I was definitely not a goalkeeper who could adapt to this style. I knew I had to adapt, not just play conservatively. I knew I had to do more meaningless attacks, understand where my limits were and how much risks I could take, which meant I had to make some mistakes."

Although he was initially unfit for Barcelona's tactical system, he finally successfully integrated into the team. "I wasn't comfortable at first, but I saw that the program was working and the team was doing very well, so I had to adapt to this style of play, not to let the team adapt to me. I was really not used to it, but I was very willing to learn and also had to let go of my personal self-esteem. Everything got better afterwards, and I felt quite comfortable in this system."

"I know there are some levels that I can't achieve, I'm old, which limits me to learn everything quickly. I just did my job as much as I can, and it turned out not bad, and we won three trophys. I understand the excitement that this story brings, but I've always been calm and knew that everything was achieved by hard work. , I was prepared for it, reached a certain level, and had a great story. But I wouldn't deceive myself, I had an incredible season, my team had an incredible season, and I didn't ruin it all."

Schchensni also admitted that he hoped to win the Champions League, but he was not obsessed with it: "I am a Barcelona player, and it is natural to want to win the Champions League, but I wouldn't feel that my career was incomplete if I didn't win the Champions League. I felt very satisfied, both as an individual and as a football player. Today, what I want to do most is to give back to those who have given me great support and valuable experience in my career."

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