Mattia Perin

Mattia Perin (Italian pronunciation: [matˈtiːa peˈrin];[2][3] born 10 November 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team.

Mattia Perin

Perin in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Mattia Perin
Date of birth	(1992-11-10) 10 November 1992
Place of birth	Latina, Italy
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Juventus
Number	22
Youth career
2006–2008	Pistoiese
2008–2010	Genoa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2018	Genoa	148	(0)
2011–2012	→ Padova (loan)	25	(0)
2012–2013	→ Pescara (loan)	29	(0)
2018–	Juventus	9	(0)
2020	→ Genoa (loan)	21	(0)
National team^‡
2009	Italy U17	12	(0)
2009	Italy U18	4	(0)
2009–2010	Italy U19	6	(0)
2011–2012	Italy U20	2	(0)
2010–2012	Italy U21	3	(0)
2014–	Italy	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:37, 8 August 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 June 2018

He began his career with Genoa in 2010, and, aside from two season-long loan spells with Padova in 2011–12, and Pescara in 2012–13, he then remained there until the summer of 2018, during which he was sold to Juventus. He won the league title with the club during the 2018–19 season, although he primarily served as a back-up. At international level, he was an unused member of the Italy national team that took part at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and made his senior debut later that year.

Club career

Genoa

Born in Latina and a product of the Genoa youth system, Perin was promoted to first team squad in January 2010, as a third-choice goalkeeper, and received the 88 jersey. He appeared on the bench in the matches against Grosseto (20 October 2010), Vicenza (24 November), Inter (12 January 2011) and Lazio (14 May). He made his professional and Serie A debut on 22 May 2011, playing as a starter in the 3–2 home victory against Cesena.[4]

In July 2011, he was loaned to Serie B club Padova.[5][6] He made his Serie B debut on 1 October 2011, playing as a starter in the away match won 4–2 against Empoli.

In the 2012 summer, he was loaned to Pescara, newly promoted in Serie A, obtaining 29 league appearances at the end of the season.

On 8 January 2017, Perin tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a 1–0 home defeat to Roma, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2016–17 season.[7]

Juventus

On 8 June 2018, Perin was signed by Juventus on a four-year contract for a fee of €12 million plus €3 million in bonuses;[8][9] he was initially expected to compete with Wojciech Szczęsny for a starting spot, following the departure of Gianluigi Buffon.[10] Perin made his Juventus debut on 26 September 2018, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 home win over Bologna.[11] However, he only made a total of nine competitive appearances for the club throughout the season, all of which came in Serie A, as Juventus finished the season as league champions.[12]

In July 2019, Perin was linked with a move to Portuguese side Benfica; however, he failed his medical, due to a shoulder injury, and the transfer was not completed.[12][13] Due to the return of Buffon as a back-up to Szczęsny, Perin was relegated to the role of the club's fourth goalkeeper, behind Carlo Pinsoglio; as such, in September, he was subsequently excluded from Juventus's 22–player Champions League squad by manager Maurizio Sarri.[14][15][16]

On 2 January 2020, he rejoined Genoa on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.[17] He made his first appearance since his return three days later, in a 2–1 home win over Sassuolo in Serie A.[18]

International career

Youth teams

Perin lining up for Italy U19 in 2010

With the Italy U17 he played as the first choice keeper in both the 2009 European U17 Championship, and the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria.

As a member of the Italy U19 team he took part as the backup goalkeeper at the 2010 European U19 Championship.

He made his debut for the Italy U21 team on 11 August 2010, aged only 17, in a friendly match against Denmark.

In 2011–12 season Perin played once for Italy under-21 Serie B representative team and twice for Italy national under-20 football team, both feeder teams of U21.

Senior team

Perin received his first call up for the Italian senior team by head coach Cesare Prandelli, for the friendly match against England held on 15 August 2012 in Bern; seven other new faces were in the squad.[19] He was included in Prandelli's provisional 30-man squad ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil,[20] and then confirmed in the 23-man squad as the third choice goalkeeper behind Gianluigi Buffon and Salvatore Sirigu. He became the youngest player of the squad and the only one who had no previous caps.[21]

He made his debut with the national team on 18 November 2014, in a 1–0 friendly win against Albania, replacing Sirigu for the last 17 minutes at his club ground of the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.[22] On 9 April 2016, he suffered an injury with Genoa in which he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and damaged his meniscus in his right knee, which would cause his absence as Italy's third goalkeeper at the UEFA Euro 2016.[23]

Perin made his first start on his second cap on 4 June 2018, a 1–1 friendly draw against the Netherlands in Turin.[24]

Style of play

Considered one of the most promising young Italian players of his generation in his position, Perin is an agile, athletic, and dynamic keeper, who is highly regarded for his excellent reactions, shot-stopping ability, positional sense, bravery, and consistency; possessing good technique, he is gifted with strong all-round fundamental goalkeeping skills, and is also known for his speed to get to ground and ability to come off his line to collect the ball. Standing at 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in), although he is not the tallest shot-stopper, he is gifted with an excellent spring, a large frame, and a long reach, which aids him in commanding his area, claiming or punching out crosses, and also enables him to produce spectacular, acrobatic, diving saves. Due to his attributes, movements, and playing style, he has been compared to Walter Zenga. In spite of his talent, however, he has struggled with injuries on occasion.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]

Controversy

Perin had several run-ins with fans of Frosinone, the local rivals of his hometown of Latina.[37] In May 2016, during an Instagram argument with a fan of the latter team, he wrote "your grandfather speaks Arabic", in reference to the Marocchinate atrocities in the region in 1944.[38] The insult was condemned in the Italian Senate by the city's senator Maria Spilabotte.[39] In September 2018, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri benched Perin for the club's game away to Frosinone.[40]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 August 2020[41]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Genoa	2010–11	1	0	0	0	–		–		1	0
	2013–14	37	0	1	0	–		–		38	0
	2014–15	32	0	1	0	–		–		33	0
	2015–16	25	0	0	0	–		–		25	0
	2016–17	16	0	0	0	–		–		15	0
	2017–18	37	0	1	0	–		–		38	0
	Total	148	0	3	0	–		–		151	0
Padova (loan)	2011–12	25	0	0	0	–		–		25	0
	Total	25	0	0	0	–		–		25	0
Pescara (loan)	2012–13	29	0	1	0	–		–		30	0
	Total	29	0	1	0	–		–		30	0
Juventus	2018–19	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	Total	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Genoa (loan)	2019–20	21	0	0	0	–		–		21	0
Career total		232	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	236	0

International

As of 4 June 2018[42]

Italy
Year	Apps	Goals
2014	1	0
2015	0	0
2016	0	0
2017	0	0
2018	1	0
Total	2	0

Honours

Club

Juventus[41]

• Serie A: 2018–19
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2018

Individual

• UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Team of the tournament: 2009[43]

References

1. "Mattia Perin, Portiere". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Milan: RCS MediaGroup. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
2. Luciano Canepari. "Mattia". DiPI Online (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
3. Luciano Canepari. "Perin". DiPI Online (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
4. Genoa vs. Cesena 3-2
5. "Il portiere Mattia Perin in biancoscudato". Calcio Padova (in Italian). 7 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
6. "ALTRA TORNATA AL CALCIO MERCATO". Genoa CFC (in Italian). 8 July 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
7. "Official: Season over for Perin". Football Italia. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
8. "Official: Perin joins Juventus". Football Italia. London: Tiro Media. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
9. "Mattia Perin signs for Juventus!" (Press release). Turin: Juventus F.C. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
10. "Perin transfers to Juventus to replace departed Buffon". www.sportsnet.ca. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
11. "Juventus 2 - 0 Bologna". Football Italia. 26 September 2018.
12. "Perin: 'No Juventus regrets'". www.football-italia.net. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
13. "Juve, bomba dal Portogallo: Perin non supera le visite mediche, Benfica a rischio" (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
14. Pavese, Michele (13 September 2019). "Juve, Rugani nella lista Champions. Fuori Perin, Pjaca e due big" (in Italian). www.tuttomercatoweb.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
15. "Juve, Perin può ancora finire al Benfica" (in Italian). JuveNews.eu. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
16. "La confessione di Perin: "Quando ero alla Juventus ho pensato al ritiro. Non ne potevo più"" (in Italian). Mediagol. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
17. "E' UFFICIALE IL RITORNO DI MATTIA PERIN" (Press release) (in Italian). Genoa. 2 January 2020.
18. Tripodi, Marco (6 January 2020). "Genoa, Perin festeggia il ritorno: 'Splendido! Assieme possiamo farcela'" (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
19. "Tanti giovani, novità El Shaarawy". La Repubblica (in Italian). 10 August 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
20. World Cup 2014: Striker Giuseppe Rossi in Italy's provisional squad; BBC Sport, 13 May 2014
21. "World Cup 2014: Italy omit Giuseppe Rossi from final squad". BBC Sport. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
22. "International friendly: Italy edge to narrow 1-0 victory over Albania in Genoa". Sky Sports. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
23. Ben Gladwell (12 April 2016), Mattia Perin injury opens Italy door for AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma, espnfc.com, retrieved 14 May 2016
24. "Perin erede doppio la rivincita del n° 1 scartato per l'altezza". La Repubblica (in Italian). 6 June 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
25. "Febbre da '90: i talenti italiani" (in Italian). Sport Mediaset. 29 December 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
26. "Genoa, Simone Braglia: "Bene Perin, mi ricorda Zenga"" (in Italian). CalcioNews24.com. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
27. GESSI ADAMOLI (23 September 2014). "Il volo di Perin vale venti milioni" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
28. Giovanni Battista Terenziani (29 November 2012). "Serie A: Italia, che scuola di portieri" (in Italian). Calciomercato.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
29. Valerio Albensi (3 June 2015). "Ecco i portieri che accendono il calciomercato" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
30. Andrew Gibney (24 February 2015). "Five young goalkeepers who'll soon be eyed by bigger clubs". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
31. "Made in Italy stats duel for week 19: Sirigu vs. Perin". vivoazzurro.it. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
32. Matt Smith (10 March 2016). "The best 14 young goalkeepers in the world right now". www.squawka.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
33. Richard Hall (25 March 2016). "OPINION: Buffon may never be bettered... but Italy can replace him!". www.calciomercato.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
34. Dave Taylor (20 January 2015). "Serie A Team of the Season so far". Football Italia. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
35. Richard Hall (30 March 2018). "Race is on to fill Buffon's gloves". Football Italia. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
36. Hall, Richard (19 July 2019). "The many problems of Mattia Perin". Football Italia. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
37. "Perin incendia la rivalità Latina-Frosinone: "Chi nasce pecora non muore leone"" (in Italian). Goal.com. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
38. "Perin choc su Instagram, cita gli stupri del '44 per insultare i tifosi del Frosinone". Il Quotidiano (in Italian). 3 May 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
39. "Spilabotte in Aula: Portiere Perin infanga Italia, ora punizione esemplare" (in Italian). Senatori PD. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
40. "Serie A – Niente Frosinone per Perin. Il portiere pontino domani sera resterà in panchina" (in Italian). TG 24. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
41. Mattia Perin at Soccerway
42. "Mattia Perin". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
43. "Team of the tournament UEFA European Under-17 Championship". UEFA.com. Retrieved 6 August 2018.

External links

• Mattia Perin at TuttoCalciatori.net (in Italian)
• Career summary by aic.football.it (in Italian)
• Career summary by legaseriea.it
• Mattia Perin at Soccerway
• "International summary by FIGC" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2011.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)