The first goalkeeper to save a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty in Serie A, Stefano Sorrentino, has explained to Football Italia what it’s like to face a spot kick from the Juventus forward.
Sorrentino, who also played with Paulo Dybala at Palermo and weighed in on the Argentine’s future at the Juventus Stadium, credited his pre-match preparation with helping him stop Ronaldo from 12 yards when Chievo played Juve in January 2019.
Did you study the possible penalty takers before games?
The first goalkeeper to save a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty in Serie A, Stefano Sorrentino, has explained to Football Italia what it’s like to face a spot kick from the Juventus forward.
Sorrentino, who also played with Paulo Dybala at Palermo and weighed in on the Argentine’s future at the Juventus Stadium, credited his pre-match preparation with helping him stop Ronaldo from 12 yards when Chievo played Juve in January 2019.
Did you study the possible penalty takers before games?
“Yes, all the time. It was a massive job. I studied during the week and we used to watch a clip before the game, with the staff and the other goalkeepers. We looked at so many things: how the players moved, which one was the goal, how many steps they took for the run-up, the result of the game, so many things. At the end we decided one strategy.”
So, you did the same with Ronaldo…
“The morning before the game I had told my best man Ronaldo would kick to the left, if there would be a penalty for Juve. He was at the stadium that day and he recorded a video of my save, saying I would pick the left-hand side.”
And he didn’t swap shirts with you after that game…
“There’s a back story. I was hospitalised after an on-field collision with Ronaldo in the first leg. He texted me to ask me how I was feeling and we said we would swap shirts in the return leg. When the game finished, he told me he had already swapped it with another teammate of mine and I swapped my shirt with my friend [Paulo] Dybala.”
With no crowd in the stadiums, we can hear almost everything goalkeepers say before penalty kicks. Most of times they try to irritate the taker. Was it something you used to do as well?
“Oh yes, now we hear everything, but the same things happened before. With Ronaldo, for example, I told him nothing. He tried to look at him in the eyes, but he didn’t looked at me. He never does it. I liked to watch the penalty kick takers in the eyes, trying to understand where they would kick. Penalty kicks are also about psychology. If they get irritated, they can change something and do something favourable for you.”
You played with Dybala at Palermo. Were you surprised by the back-and-forth with Andrea Agnelli about his contract extension?
“No, I think it’s just role-playing. It’s normal. Dybala’s position gets stronger as days pass by because the expiration of his contract approaches. A player like him, at his age, can join any team on his own terms. On the other hand, Juventus have their strategy, if the President of Juventus says they want Dybala to become the captain of their future, I think they’ll find an agreement.”
Would you advise him to stay at Juventus or move on?
“These are personal things. When we were at Palermo I suggested him to sign for Juventus and this time, once again, I would tell him to stay. He is part of one of the best teams in the world, wearing the No 10 shirt and he could become the captain.”