GdS: Diavolo relying on a ‘Saint’ – Terracciano called to show experience in first start

Pietro Terracciano is a goalkeeper with plenty of experience, and he will have to instantly channel it in tonight’s game against Udinese.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, at 35 years of age it’s unlikely that there will be butterflies in the stomach of Terracciano, but making a first start for a club like Milan is bound to have a certain effect on anyone. Just look at how Luka Modric celebrated his first goal as an example.

Deputy to starter

Terracciano made his competitive debut for Milan against Bologna, when Mike Maignan sat down on the San Siro pitch at the start of the second half, touching his calf.

Coming on as a goalkeeper is more complex than for an outfield player: you have to get into character even quicker, manage the adrenaline rush wisely, and connect immediately with your team-mates. It is tough for any substitute, but as a deputy keeper the plan is for you to rarely ever come on.

Against Bologna, everything went smoothly. Pietro kept the door locked, which is exactly what will be asked of him in Udine. Terracciano is the last line of defence in a rearguard that, as was predictable, is destined to become the cornerstone of Allegri’s Milan.

When Maignan is back, Terracciano will retreat to being the back-up again. He’s always done it this way, even in Florence when David De Gea emerged. To say that Pietro was secretly toying with the idea of ​​remaining a starter even after the Spaniard’s arrival is probably a stretch.

What’s certain is that he accepted the ‘relegation’ with great professionalism and integrity. Is this the reason he left Tuscany? Yes and no. First of all, given equal status, it’s normal to aspire to a higher-tier club.

Then there was also a well-defined project at Fiorentina: developing Tommaso Martinelli alongside De Gea and then the former replacing the latter when the Spaniard departs. In short, Pietro would have risked slipping further down the pecking order.

And so he said goodbye, without controversy, and he said goodbye as a player highly regarded by the management and the club. Terracciano’s career during his five and a half years in Florence was unusual because every time he seemed to start in the second row, he became a starter.

He was often among the best on the pitch under Vincenzo Italiano, so much so that he earned the nickname ‘Saint Pietro [Saint Peter]’, as an ecstatic Rocco Commisso remarked after a Viola victory against Atalanta in September 2021.

“Being here is the culmination of a journey that began many years ago, and I’m incredibly curious to meet Maignan,” Terracciano said on the day of his presentation. Now, not only has he met him, but he has to replace him. It’s a Devil who prays to the Saint.