He Classic puts the focus back on the goal. Beyond the usual names, the final pits two goalkeepers at very different times of his career: Thibaut Courtois, a world reference for years, and Joan García, who will experience his first duel against Real Madrid with the Barcelona shirt. Contrasted experience against an irruption that asks for passage. For this reason, the history of this final is also written behind bars. Belgian and Spanish lead a silent battle between experience and growth that can mark the development of the Classic.
The World Cup is not a goal, but every player likes it…
Joan Garcia
The Belgian goalkeeper continues to be, by far, one of the most decisive goalkeepers on the football planet.. His figure explains a good part of the recent successes of the Real Madridespecially in Europawhere he has signed performances already inscribed in the history of the Champions League. However, Today he will once again find himself in the path of his ‘black beast’. Barcelona is the team that has scored the most goals throughout his career: 54 goals in 29 games, in which he kept a clean sheet in only 6 of them. This time, however, the challenge will not only be to stop the Barça attack, but also to prevail in a direct duel with a goalkeeper who arrives without complexes. Protect a throne that has dominated with an iron fist in the last Classics.
The applicant asks the King for passage
In the other goal it will appear Joan Garciawho will experience his first Clásico defending the Barça shirt. For him it will be much more than a game: It will be the opportunity to definitively appear in the elite, to face the goalkeeper who has marked an era and to demonstrate that his emergence is not a coincidence.. And to continue knocking on the door of the National Team in a match that all of Spain will see. “The World Cup is not an objective. The plan is to improve and continue playing with Barça. We would all like to go to the World Cup and if it happens in the future, then even better.“he acknowledged.
Joan García: “Every player wants to go to the national team”
The particular ‘match’ between Joan and Courtois could be decisive in the outcome of the final. The image of the face to face symbolizes the clash between the best goalkeeper in the world and the contender to occupy the throne which has been key in the last Classics. And the numbers support the idea of the culé goalkeeper.
Best percentage in Europe… before the definitive test
Joan García is, this season, the goalkeeper in the five major European leagues with the highest percentage of saves, with 83%. They follow him Jean Butez (How) and Mile Svilar (Rome). Courtois, the undisputed reference between the sticks, has 76%. Besides, Joan also leads the percentage of clean sheets, with 54%, compared to the Belgian’s 42%. Data that explains why, since Flick’s arrival, Barça has gone three consecutive games without conceding a goal for the first time… although now comes the final test: Real Madrid.
Although it will be his debut in a Classic, Joan García is not a stranger to the white team. It will be the third time they face Madrid, after playing the two League games last year with Espanyol. In the duel played in Cornellà, the blue and white won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Carlos Romero, with Joan as the main protagonist. He stopped seven shots and made several decisive interventions against Mbappé and Rodrygo that were decisive for the victory. His greatest statistical display came in the Santiago Bernabéuwhere he made ten stops, his highest record in a single matchdespite Espanyol’s 4-1 defeat. That night, even in adversity, he made it clear that he was prepared for the most demanding scenarios. Two different profiles and the same responsibility. Because in this final, the goal is once again decisive.
