Salvatore Sirigu had no right to make that save. As Inter were pushing for an equaliser in San Siro during the last round of games, they won a corner. The ball was powerfully driven in and Milan Skriniar met it with a fierce header. The Torino keeper changed his footing and seemed to hang in the air almost as if the entire sequence was anticipated, then with a strong hand he turned it around the post. That stop was just another example of why Sirigu has been so important for Toro this term and why he is knocking on the door of the national team again.
Before the Euro 2016 Salvatore Sirigu was still tipped to be Gigi Buffon’s immediate replacement. This was before Gigi Donnarumma came onto the scene and Mattia Perin was still seen as the long-term replacement. The choice that Salvatore would bridge the gap made sense, despite even to this day having only played 17 times for the Azzurri he has been in the squad for seven years, not many get games when Buffon is around. His experience at the top level is also in abundance, the custodian played superbly for Palermo before he moved to Paris St Germain and went onto appear 145 times for the club. In the French capital things started well, he rarely made errors and was a safe and confident stopper, even being named Ligue 1 goalkeeper of the year twice in is six-year stint.
In 2016 however, Sporting director, Olivier Letang, decided that he was free to leave, this was a decision based on the fact that Kevin Trapp had forced himself to the number one spot relegating his predecessor to outings in the French Cup. During last season, he spent half the season as a substitute at Sevilla, before having a successful spell as Osasuna where he found his form again, notably saving two penalties in one game against Atletico Madrid. This brought the eyes of Torino upon him as they were looking for a replacement for Joe Hart. Incredibly the Parisian outfit ended the keepers contract by mutual consent, a move that stunned everybody but at the same time delighted the fans of the Granata.
Talking to the PSG website before he returned to Serie A it was obvious that Sirigu was happy with his choice stating that. "I am very happy to be part of this club," Sirigu told the PSG website. "I chose Torino because they wanted me strongly and for years have been pursuing a concrete project with exponential growth. The club and the president have made me feel important and I thank them for that. I am honoured to be part of a club that has a unique story." Since then he hasn’t looked back and has been an integral reason why Torino lie in eighth place despite not having a great campaign.
The more the season goes on the more this looks like a masterstroke. It was how the Joe Hart move was meant to be. There has never been any doubt over his technical ability, his handling, distribution and shot stopping are excellent, he is composed, and whilst mistakes will happen they slight and the mental recovery is lighting quick after them. He has been criticised for his positioning, but his reflexes make up for this. He has been compared to Walter ‘The Spider’ Zenga for his dives, as his ability (as was shown against Inter) to produce the spectacular is evident.
His former Cremonese coach, Emiliano Mondonico, compared him to Dino Zoff due to his calmness under pressure. Whilst he cannot be likened to him for much else as, Zoff’s positioning was superlative, he a keeper who has a mixture of excellent traits. Angelo Peruzzi also noted how is technique and catching ability was worthy of credit, fine praise from such a keeper.
With the World Cup on the horizon there is little to no chance that he will replace Donnarumma as number two and he certainly won’t steal Buffon’s final farewell. Mattia Perin is the other man who is supremely talented and playing well as his side Genoa endure a tortuous season near the bottom. This, and Sirigu’s good performances, mean that if Italy make the World Cup then he is a solid option. Calm, experienced and well thought of, he could be the experienced option after Buffon is gone. In the meantime, he can enjoy his football at Torino and this is a love affair that could go the distance. He knows he has a club that love him and if he keeps playing like this, they know they have a man they can trust.
