Milan-Tottenham, challenge in seconds: Tatarusanu against Forster

As a boy he left the door disconsolate. “Go in attack”, “play in the middle”, “serve in defense”. Everywhere, but not between the posts. So Fraser Forster put down his boxing gloves and ran headlong out of the dream, discouraged and dejected. “Too low,” they said. He who now exceeds two meters in height and defends the Spurs posts as a second.

Too short

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“At 13 I was the youngest, then I grew up in two summers.” Hence the metamorphosis: from center forward to goalkeeper. On Tuesday he will start against Milan due to Lloris’ injury. He is 34 years old. An opportunity that he knows of revenge and redemption. In those days no one believed it, now he will have his chance in the Champions League in a duel between goalkeepers that smacks of redemption: Tatarusanu plays because of Maignan’s long ordeal, so the round of 16 first leg will have a challenge within a challenge. The second against the second.

There is Forster

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Ten years ago, 2013-14, Forster conceded five goals from Milan in the Champions League group stage, two in the first leg and three in the second leg. He played for Celtic, he was 24 and he was talked about well. The beauty is that as a kid he was divided between football, rugby, cricket and books. Forster was studying at university, but dropped out to pursue football full-time. His father didn’t take it well, so much so that every now and then he picked up the phone and called the director of the Newcastle Academy, the first team to trust him after doors in the face and life’s slaps. “How is my son doing?” asked the father. Everyone was happy, but the debut for the first team never came. Spurs signed him in the summer after around 150 Southampton appearances. In 2019 he beat Lazio twice in the days of the Europa League. In 2014 he took part in the Brazilian World Championship as third, in 2016 he went to the European Championship as second to Joe Hart. This year he has played five games. In the last he conceded four goals. Ten years later there is Milan again.

The Nanny

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The quiet man. Someone who takes a step back when he sees the spotlight. “I’m not a disco guy,” he said years ago. Tatarusanu is like that. The antithesis of the slightly crazy and unpredictable goalkeeper. He lives in a villa outside Milan and posts few photos. In Romania they call him “spider-man”, 73 appearances for the national team before leaving in 2020. He has been playing since the beginning of October due to Maignan’s injury, but unlike last year – a penalty saved from Lautaro in the derby – he made some mistakes. Against Inter he kept the game afloat with a great save on Toro, but at the first wrong exit he found six index fingers pointing at him, as if to say “What are you doing? What are you up to?”. Tata is not having a good time. He played 21 matches and conceded 31 goals. He needs a jolt. In Europe he played 70 games, three of these against Tottenham: two draws and one defeat between 2015 and 2016 with the Fiorentina shirt, with which he reached an EL semi-final. Kane was on the field in both games. Fate gave him another chance.