Sport
Euro 2020 hero Gianluigi Donnarumma entering unchartered territory in Paris
There was one moment, more than any other, which signified that England were in trouble on Sunday night. Wembley was in full swing and, after an unpleasant and difficult night off the pitch, ready for a fitting conclusion to the Euro 2020 final. It was a fitting meeting of the two best teams in the tournament who couldn’t be separated in normal or extra time, so penalties would have to do. England’s main focus for concern wasn’t their terrible history of losing in that fashion; it was the opposition goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
When Jordan Pickford embraced Donnarumma before the tension reached fever pitch, the task was laid bare. Pickford had already shown his credentials in a shootout, although most of the reported 60,000-strong crowd were dreading what was to come, and England had twice conquered their demons in this scenario twice with him in goal.
The Everton man had turned around public opinion of him throughout the tournament, showing up his critics who fixate on his tendency to lose concentration. At 6 foot 1, he isn’t the average height for a player in his position but, unfortunately for Gareth Southgate and his team, neither is Donnarumma at four inches taller.
Penalties aren’t a lottery and it is a myth to say they are. What is true is to say the skill is more psychological than it is technical and it is the walk that makes you or breaks you. Survive it in your own head and the chance of scoring is higher than if your mind races and wanders, throwing up countless scenarios within a matter of seconds.
With millions and potentially even billions watching across the world, that is enough to make anyone change their mind, which is the one thing you must never do. By the time the England players reached the spot, Donnarumma ensured the old cliché rang true: the goal shrunk and ‘keeper loomed even larger than normal.
Donnarumma arguably caused England the most problems on the night. Each cross, either from open play or a set piece, had to be hit with pace or driven into the near post to avoid an easy claim. His stature ensured that the margin for error when it came to penalties reduced significantly, while simultaneously adding another bitter ingredient to the cocktail of fear as a player was stepping up. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed and the latter pair saw their efforts saved by Donnarumma. Pickford blocked from Andrea Belotti and, against all odds, Jorginho as he looked to win it but Italy were still able to capitalise on England’s misery.
One of many stand outs for Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri over the past few weeks, Donnarumma was named Player of the Tournament. His penalty heroics may well have tipped the balance, but the truth is in a team geared towards a more attacking and open philosophy than any previous Italian side had a strong base to build from with him in goal.
He has athleticism and superb positional sense but it is height which makes the difference for him. Aged just 22, he hasn’t long stopped growing but, after six years between the sticks for AC Milan, he leaves having never looked out of his depth at San Siro.
When players settle at the top level so young, it can become easy to forget just how remarkable their stories are. Donnarumma was always built like a man, and always played like it, too, even when most of his school friends will have been planning their next stage of their education. He quickly became viewed as the man to replace his namesake, Gianluigi Buffon, who is still going despite being almost double his age, as the next big hope in goal.
There were rightful fears over the Italy number one shirt when Buffon stepped away from the international game in 2018 but Donnarumma has allayed them emphatically. Now, after his contract expired, he’ll leave his homeland in search of a new challenge with Paris Saint-Germain.
It is a crying shame that Donnarumma, a Neapolitan by birth, will step away from Milan just as they are beginning to find an identity as a domestic and European force again, after so many years of struggle. But even if he had to leave, with Mino Raiola as his agent it always seemed likely, PSG is hardly the most fitting move, especially when he would so clearly have improved Juventus in their time of need had be followed Buffon’s lead and headed to Turin. Perhaps the offers just weren’t on the table when it mattered.
From PSG’s perspective, Donnarumma represents a fourth very smart and genuinely exciting arrival after Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi. His signing will be completed and confirmed in the coming days or weeks after his Euro exertions but Mauricio Pochettino now has a huge decision to make. Starting in goal for PSG is not as straightforward as it is for Italy.
Donnarumma will rightly back himself but Keylor Navas is someone who left Real Madrid over a lack of playing time and there is no real reason to take his place away from him. Fascinating as it will be to see what happens from here, Donnarumma has made his life harder than it needed to be by heading for Paris.
There is no doubting it now, if there ever was, Donnarumma is a world-class goalkeeper. He is already a seasoned professional but, like Buffon, could dominate the landscape for another 15 years. Having left Milan at a crucial and exciting juncture to join an impressive but rather hollow and oversaturated project, he runs the risk of not enjoying the career and legacy he deserves in Italy.
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