Juventus, Perin, Italian Cup man and locker room. And a future from n. 1

In the evenings of the Italian Cup it’s up to Mattia Perin, the deputy Szczesny who is a “second” only for a hierarchy necessary for the purposes of locker room balance. The goalkeeper is an added starter who takes the field when he serves, keeping the level of reliability in defense of goal intact. As well as an important reference within the group, especially for the younger ones. In the past he wore the captain’s armband at Genoa, even facing delicate seasons: the twelfth of Juve knows how to handle difficult moments during the year and is very skilled at transmitting passion and a sense of responsibility.

Deputy Szczesny

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This evening he will be the 14th appearance against Inter. In the more than 1,000 minutes played so far, he has conceded eleven goals, with six clean sheets which above all contributed to raising his average points in the league. Perin gave a big hand at the start of the season, when Szczesny sometimes forfeited due to physical problems. Once normal conditions were restored, the goalkeeper returned to the field to let his teammate catch his breath, with whom he built an excellent relationship, and therefore in the Italian Cup, one of the two trophies that the Juventus team aims to win in order not to left empty handed again this year.

Italian Cup

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The Coppa Italia for Juve could offer a significant summer lifesaver: at a time when the race for the Champions League is complicated by the 15 penalty points (although the club hopes to get them back thanks to the appeal presented to the Coni Guarantee Board ) and from the pitfalls evident along the path of the Europa League (the winner automatically enters the Champions League the following season, but the bianconeri still have to play the quarterfinals and they already know that the semifinal would not be easy) winning the national cup would mean securing a niche in next year’s Europa League.

Prospect

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In all of this Perin, who extended his contract with Juve last summer until 2025, is waiting to understand what his role could be in the near future. Without the Champions League, Juve could find themselves having to do without some valuable pieces of the squad: Szczesny will enter his last year of contract next summer, but he has one of those top signings that the club – without the top European competition – would tend to to save. At that point Mattia could be the first solution for goal, perhaps finding himself next to a new younger goalkeeper to launch.

Life choice

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If Juve participate regularly in the Champions League, however, Perin will keep his leadership role intact in the locker room and will be ready for the opportunities that will be granted to him, as in recent years. “I made a life choice – he often reiterated after his last renewal with Juve -. It might seem like a convenient choice and instead it’s only dictated by ambitions. For me, at this moment in my career, it’s better to play fewer games for Juve but have the opportunity to win some trophies than to play many more games for another Serie A club without goals.”

Market

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Next summer the telephone will continue to ring. And, in the wake of the latest market sessions, the proposal of another Italian top club or in any case an important foreign company cannot be excluded. At the moment, however, there doesn’t seem to be any margin for a sale: the goalkeeper in Turin is experiencing a second youth and the possibility of winning something really stimulates him a lot. Rather, a future as a senator lies ahead for him, alongside the goalkeeper who will take over Szczesny’s legacy: if not next summer, then the next. While the idea of ​​returning to the national team is slowly fading.

Second youth

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Full awareness is the extra quality that Perin is finding in his years of full football maturity. His path in the early years at a high level was conditioned by many, too many, physical problems. However, he has always found the desire to get up again: and now he wants to pass on that mental strength to those who find themselves facing the first difficulties of their career. In the meantime he has also grown a lot on a technical level, improving thanks to the work done with Claudio Filippi, the historic goalkeeper coach of Juventus. Also for this reason he does not take into account the possibility of leaving Turin for Juventus.