Barcelona signs Wojciech Szczęsny; Fans grapple with his name

Wojciech Szczęsny joined Robert Lewandowski as the second Polish player in FC Barcelona’s men's team. Shortly after signing the contract, the Polish goalkeeper gave an interview to "Foot Truck," during which he mentioned that "Lewy" had a significant influence on his decision to return from football retirement.

It's known that he called me, and we talked. I think the decision would have been similar if Robert wasn't here or if Robert hadn't called. But it's known that he called and tried to convince me, and he finally succeeded. I don't know how much was his influence and how much was some kind of strange destiny, said the goalkeeper.

"Szczena" signed a contract with Blaugrana until June 30, 2025. His role will be to replace the seriously injured Marc Andre ter Stegen as goalkeeper. Catalan fans are excited about the Polish player's arrival, especially given FC Barcelona's challenges in the goalkeeper position. Their biggest issue, however, might just be the pronunciation of Wojciech Szczęsny's last name.

Catalans now have the chance to relate to the experiences of English and Italian fans when "Szczena" played for Arsenal, Brentford, AS Roma, and Juventus. All were tasked with learning the pronunciation of his last name. In response to the FC Barcelona post officially announcing the Polish player's transfer, fans were already asking for pronunciation guidance.

One user on the platform X suggested "SHEZ-NY" as the correct pronunciation of Szczęsny's last name. Another attempted with both the first name and surname, spelling it out as "Voy-chekh Sh-chen-sny". As they say, practice makes perfect, but mastering this name is not an easy linguistic task for non-Polish speakers.