Last season, we got our first look at Mattia Perin.
The promising young goalkeeper got his first crack at Serie A on loan at Pescara from Genoa. Despite a leaky defense that was poorly prepared for the heights of Italian football, Perin demonstrated his talent and has since returned to Genoa and become the undisputed first choice goalkeeper. At the halfway point of the campaign, it’s time to access the youngster’s credentials.
But firstly, it’s worth looking at what exactly he achieved with Pescara. Despite his relatively young age and the competition from Ivan Pelizzoli, Perin only missed ten games all season.
In the latter half of the campaign, he lost his place to Pelizzoli but soon retook it. The keeper had a total of three clean sheets and was on the winning side on five occasions. Though this looks like a meagre return for Perin, it makes more sense knowing Pescara could only manage to win six of their Serie A fixtures all season. The defense could not handle the weekly onslaught and regularly asked a lot from the young man in goal, which in fact worked to Perin’s benefit. Blame could be shifted to the team’s overall quality and any stellar performances from the goalkeeper were applauded.
One such match came against Fiorentina in one of Pescara’s rare wins. At the Artemio Franchi, Perin demonstrated his talent in what could easily have been his best game to date. With 64% of possession, 17 attempts at goal where 15 were on target, Fiorentina were completely dominant at their home ground.
Perin had clearly not read the script, and despite the efforts of Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic, managed 15 saves keeping a clean sheet. His hyperactive movements in the penalty area could have betrayed a nervousness, but he defied the attackers again and again. He halted Luca Toni from point-blank range, deflected Juan Cuadrado from long range, parried Borja Valero’s close-range curling effort and plucked Alberto Aquliani’s dangerous free kick out of the air. The young man seemed invincible.
Naturally, these performances would be something Genoa are hoping he can repeat. So far this season he’s had six clean sheets; already double what he managed at Pescara. He’s picked up three man of the match awards, including one against AC Milan who are apparently so impressed they are looking to sign the player next season. It hasn’t all been clear sailing for Perin as he conceded a howler against Fiorentina from a low-driven effort from Giuseppe Rossi. He would end up conceding five and inevitably he’s ability to perform at the highest level came into question.
Compared to his closest rival in Serie A, Francesco Bardi, Perin seems to have narrowly edged his fellow countryman. Despite the fact Bardi has the advantage of representing Italy regularly at Under-21 level, Perin’s baptism of fire with Pescara has prepared him for the gruelling nature of Serie A.
So far Bardi has just three clean sheets in his third spell with Livorno, which, like with Perin, could be attributed to the standard of defending. However, Bardi has conceded in total 35 goals compared to Perin’s 22. In match-by-match analysis, Perin has shown greater conviction and assurance in his penalty area. Bardi less so, opting to use his legs or feet to parry the ball out of the goal-mouth. However, the differences are minimal and it will be a few more years it seems before we can properly judge them.
As for the future, Perin may have the opportunity to catapault himself into the major European scene with a move to AC Milan. Though at this stage it remains purely speculation, it could be his best chance to compete with his rivals. The Rossoneri are beginning to show a willingness to play younger players and Perin appears to be singled out as a successor to veteran Christian Abbiati. Better yet, former World Cup winning goalkeeper Dino Zoff sees Perin as Gianluigi Buffon’s understudy for the Italian national team.
To make these claims a reality, Perin will need to finish the season on a high and make careful decisions for the future benefit to his career.
Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156
I have never seen the reason for the enthusiasm regarding Perin. His is a decent keeper, but not great. His performance against Roma was horrific, and over the years he has shown moments of quality but not consistency. I hope he’s as good as everyone claims, because Gigi Buffon isn’t getting any younger.