David De Gea and the goalkeepers' revenge

Last night, Fiorentina beat Milan 2-1 in a crazy match, where the undisputed protagonists were the goalkeepers of both teams. A penalty saved by Mike Maignan and even two by David De Gea, first against Theo Hernandez and then against Tammy Abraham. It's really rare to see two penalties denied in the same match by the same goalkeeper, in Serie A it hasn't happened since the 2005/06 season with Federico Marchetti, even though the record still belongs to Andrea Consigli: in the 2012/13 season, he saved two penalties in Atalanta-Cagliari, earning a total of 14.5 points. Additionally, in the last round of LaLiga, Paulo Gazzaniga of Girona managed to neutralize three penalties from players of Athletic Bilbao, winning the game single-handedly. Returning to De Gea, after a year of being a free agent, following 12 seasons at Manchester United marked by more disappointments than successes, and with more goals conceded (446) than games played (415), he arrived in Florence during the summer transfer window. After initially being benched in the league to make room for Pietro Terracciano, he finally took control of a defense that was in desperate need of a leader.  

De Gea's commendable performances are part of a context that has very few precedents. The last month of football, in terms of athletic feats and dynamics of the transfer market, has been nothing short of crazy for some European goalkeepers, giving back honor to a position whose importance is often underestimated. If De Gea and Gazzaniga have hypnotized attackers from the penalty spot, the miraculous save by David Raya on the tap-in by Mateo Retegui, after saving the same player's penalty, has gone around the world. Not to mention the fairy tale of Wojciech Szczęsny. Less than a month after his retirement, the Polish goalkeeper accepted Barcelona's offer following Marc-André ter Stegen's injury, which will keep him out for the entire season. Apart from a few subpar performances that led to unfortunate mistakes, it seems to be a golden year for those who play in this difficult position. On the other hand, among the most unlucky and disappointing goalkeepers of this early season in Europe, there's Jesse Joronen. The Venezia goalkeeper has made headlines for his blunders between the posts, but also for the beautiful jerseys made by NOCTA for the Venetian club's goalkeeper. Who knows if, at least, the Finnish goalkeeper will manage to bring back attention to the importance - and for football nerds, the necessity - of interesting uniforms for goalkeepers, as it used to be.

De Gea's recent performances show how the golden contract he had at Manchester United (£19.5 million per season) unfairly influenced criticism towards him and perhaps made people forget what a sensational goalkeeper he was. Even in difficult times and moments of glory (3 Community Shields, 1 Premier League, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cups), he was one of the best in terms of performance. In addition to praising the work of sporting directors Goretti and Pradè, we must apologize to De Gea, who was held prisoner for 12 years in a cage called Manchester United, a reality that is more of a meme factory than a team, where too many talents continue to fail. "It ain't over till it's over" sang Lenny Kravitz, and David De Gea is preparing to wave the flag of goalkeepers high, in Serie A and throughout Europe.