Filip Stanković’s save earned him Calò’s praise

Usually, when a striker sees the goalkeeper save a shot that he thought was bound to go in, he complains, swears, hurls curses – in short, he seethes with frustration. Some stop there. Others treat the goalkeeper wearing a different shirt with total, icy indifference. Then there are those who, on the other hand, are genuinely surprised and, with a certain dignity, congratulate their opponent.

Giacomo Calò is not a striker, but a midfielder. He’s the sort who runs quite a bit but not too much, is skilful but not too much, is physically strong but not too much; yet he’s able to spot his teammates without even looking at them and pass the ball to them without seemingly exerting himself too much. Above all, he is from Trieste and, like most people from Trieste, he carries within him that peculiar, somewhat Habsburg-like aplomb and grace – à la ‘Viva l’A e po bon’ – the sort that remains hidden beneath the surface and emerges when you least expect it. This was evident when he walked over to congratulate Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stanković, who had just deflected one of his shots—destined to find the net and give Frosinone the lead, while granting him the joy of his first Serie A goal on the day of his third match in the top flight—into a corner.

Giacomo Calò was correct to congratulate Filip Stanković, because the Venezia goalkeeper’s save was one of those that do not go unnoticed, one of those for which the term ‘miracle’ is often overused. A save that, over the course of the ninety minutes, proved not to be decisive, as Frosinone won the match anyway, but here it is the individual moment that counts, and that is that.

1. Filip Stanković in the first minute of Frosinone v Venezia 3–2 – 5 points

2. Josep Martínez equalised in the 5th minute of Inter v Napoli (3–2) – 3 points

2. Alex Meret, formerly of Aequeo, in the first minute of Inter v Napoli 3–2 – 3 points

3. Chrīstos Mandas in the 10th minute of Udinese v Lazio 1–2 – 1 point

1. Chrīstos Mandas (Lazio), 7 points
2. Filip Stanković (Venezia) and Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus), 5 points
4. Edoardo Corvi (Parma), Josep Martínez (Inter), Alex Meret (Napoli) and Maduka Okoye (Udinese), 3 points
5. Elia Caprile (Cagliari), 1 point

 

What you have just read is "Guanti sporchi", a light-hearted football-themed piece about Serie A’s number ones and the save that somehow made the football weekend better – at least from the perspective of that minority who dress differently from the others on the pitch. You can find all previous instalments here.