Mattia Perin Makes His Case to Be Considered Gigi Buffon’s Heir

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: October 31, 2014

commentComment        

Mattia Perin will never forget his 20th birthday. That was the day when he spoke to Gigi Buffon, his goalkeeping hero, for the very first time. Sadly, the circumstances were not quite what Perin had been hoping for. He had just endured one of the worst afternoons of his young career, conceding six times as his Pescara team was routed by Buffon’s Juventus.

Although hardly the chief culprit in this defeat, Perin should have done better on at least a couple of the goals. He left the pitch in a daze, but as he did so, Buffon came over for a hug. The Italian No. 1 told him not to give up after one little setback, encouraging him to stay “spensierato”—carefree. (Quotes in Italian, via Eurosport.) 

It is a mindset that comes naturally to Perin, a man with a well-earned reputation for mischief. He told Gazzetta dello Sport (quotes in Italian) with some delight in 2012 about the time when he lied to his dad that he had got a girl pregnant. One of his earlier posts on Twitter featured a photo of a newspaper article claiming that people who make more jokes are more intelligent. 

Still, he did not have much to laugh about during that painful 2012-13 season with Pescara. This was his first full campaign in the top flight, and it went disastrously. Perin conceded 66 goals in 29 games before losing his place in both the Pescara team and Italy’s Under-21 side. Adding insult to injury, his replacement at club level was Ivan Pelizzoli—a man who had been his backup the year before at Padova in Serie B.

And yet, even in the midst of those struggles, Perin still offered glimpses of his talent. Light on his feet and blessed with exceptional reflexes, he has always been a brilliant shot-stopper. In February he made a jaw-dropping 15 saves during Pescara’s smash-and-grab win away to Fiorentina.



Performances such as that one convinced his parent club, Genoa, to g...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!