Watch either of Genoa’s first two fixtures of the season – especially their 5-2 humiliation at the hands of Fiorentina – and one of the most obvious things that could be seen was that Mattia Perin looked out of his depth.
Since those dreadful performances from the 21-year-old, the Italian shot-stopper has done little wrong. Genoa have only lost twice in their last ten matches, and Perin has been the catalyst that propelled the once hapless Grifone to ninth in Serie A.
Routinely Perin has made outstanding acrobatic saves when needed, while at the same time, he has learned to command his area like a goalkeeper with far more years under his belt. His play has made Genoa look brilliant on the field and in the board room, two things that don’t happen often; especially at the same time.
Last season, Perin suffered through a term with Serie A’s worst team Pescara. His poor start to 2013/14 can be attributed to a hangover from the previous year, and now he can be forgiven for the mistakes he made in August and September.
Currently, Perin sits second in Serie A with 73 saves and has kept five cleansheets. Not bad for the Italian U-21. Though Gianluigi Buffon is still the benchmark on the peninsula, Perin should be considered his heir apparent both with the Azzurri and possibly with Juventus. As matter of fact, Perin’s form should make him a candidate for the Italian World Cup team, though he will probably be overlooked due to his youth.
When Parma sold Buffon to Juventus for €51 million, a world record fee for a goalkeeper, he quickly became renowned as the best goalkeeper in the world. Unlike Perin, Buffon had accumulated three trophies with Parma to help boast his credentials. Yet, in this day and age of large transfer fees paid every summer by the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea and Barcelona, it wouldn’t be unfathomable nor impossible for Perin to fetch a similar fee to that of Buffon in 2001. Fortunately for other clubs, Genoa aren’t at the same level Parma was in the early 2000s and will be happy to make a solid profit off their No. 1.
Routine or acrobatic, it’s all the same to Mattia Perin.
Still, with Perin’s fantastic form this season, he seems to be a player that is flying under the radar with clubs inside and outside of Italy. AC Milan seem to have the upper-hand in signing him, due to Inter currently being set with Samir Handanovic between the posts and the Bianconeri, a natural fit for Perin, looking set to make a deal for Newcastle’s Tim Krul.
Outside of the peninsula, Perin has received no fanfare and is a relative unknown. Obviously, he is only 21 and of course goalkeepers don’t usually hit their peak until they are in their 3os.
Buying the Italian now is a purchasing him based on his potential rather than the finished article. When Buffon signed with Juventus he was closer to being the finished article, if not the complete package.
Perin still has a way to go, but he is the future of Italian goalkeeping and when he leaves Genoa – most likely next summer – one team will be getting the next great Italian goalkeeper for the next decade.
