Giovanni Galli and the other goalkeepers: “Who sees Donnarumma the most in France?”

Put Giovanni Galli at Cit Turin one day, for once the home of goalkeepers. The former number one of the national team, of Fiorentina, Naples, Milan and Toro provided his invaluable advice to the young extreme defenders who are training this week in Turin in Corso Ferrucci in the internship organized by Willy Vignati of the La Cruz school. Anecdotes and suggestions for those who one day will follow his path but also opinions and opinions on today’s goalkeepers: «I always return to Turin willingly: I remember my year in the granata with affection. In fact, I’m sorry that my experience at Toro only lasted one season. It’s a shirt that stays with you and I don’t forget Philadelphia: mine was the last Toro who trained in that stadium and seeing the propeller of the Superga plane engine, those lockers in the changing rooms makes you feel part of the history of this sport. And it’s not just rhetoric.”

Turin has always been home to great goalkeepers: «And it continues to be. Milinkovic Savic has had a great championship, over the top compared to past years. He has finally shown what is worth also because it seemed to me that he has achieved greater tranquility with ownership. I’ve always liked Szczesny. He covers the goal very well and is incredible in one-on-ones. Perhaps he still needs to improve a bit in the high exits and show more courage. In any case Juve have Perin that he could play as a starter in most of the A teams: when he was called into question he has always done very well and it is the demonstration that by now the top teams must have two number ones in the squad ». Perin is also the example that the Italian school of goalkeepers is always at the top: «Today, the physical structure is sought in the extreme defenders but it is the technique that makes the difference. Foreigners want to come to us because they know that they improve with our trainers. We take them and make them grow: think of the steps forward that Onana, Allison or Neto have made».

Vicario, on the other hand, took the opposite path: «I think it is a defeat for our movement. The Italians must stay in Italy, they must be the reference for the goalkeepers of the future. It’s true that football is now global, but who does Donnarumma see in France? The healthy spirit of emulation is lost». Galli was the one who almost thirty years ago allowed Buffon to start his career in Parma’s Primavera side and to defend the goalposts of the ducals: «It seems that Gigi at 45 has the desire to move from goal to retirement. If this were the case, our sport loses a lot: Buffon is an institution, in my opinion the strongest goalkeeper in Italian football also because he has gone through eras in which regulations and techniques have changed and he has always adapted to the great».

However, the legacy he leaves is in good hands: «In terms of personality, I like Maignan but for me the strongest is still Courtois, decisive in decisive moments. Real Madrid’s last Champions League is largely thanks to him. On the other hand, I’ve always supported it: the goalkeeper is just as important as a striker who scores 20 goals a season».