Anyone who passes through Murphy on National Route 33, about 160 kilometers from Rosario and 380 from Buenos Aires, will see that colorful sign under the motto “Ambassadors of Good Football.” It is the pride of the small town of Santa Fe, of about 4,000 inhabitants, which has 12 soccer players who reached the elite. The reference is Mauricio Pochettino, who had a career at Espanyol and PSG, also with Argentina, now a renowned coach who directs the American team after passing through Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea among others. But there are more, like Caffa (Boca, Betis and Zaragoza), Bisconti (Rosario, Yokohama, Badajoz) or Leandro Desábato (students story). Although there are also three who share the surname and the gloves: the Gazzaniga. None like Paulo, 33 years old and Girona goalkeeper, the best penalty saver of the season, also the goalkeeper who will try to stop Milan tonight to validate the team’s limited chances of getting past the European round.
The Gazzaniga are a lineage of goalkeepers, since Mario, the grandfather, the patriarch, Cholo, was a goalkeeper in the area where the family lived (Venado Tuerto). “Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it. He played in the town and everyone always spoke wonderful things to me about him,” explains Paulo in an interview with Clarion. He was followed by Daniel, who emerged from River’s youth academy – he was a substitute on the first team that won the Intercontinental in 1986 against Steaua Bucharest – and arrived at Instituto, in addition to Slovakia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. And after him, the sons: Gianfranco (plays for Murcia, Primera RFEF) and Paulo. “From the first day I saw my dad save, I liked what he did so much that I wanted to be a goalkeeper. What I paid most attention to was the clothing, because they are always different,” explained the Girona goalkeeper, now capital of the team, even though he saw them in all colors to make a name for himself.
When he was 14, Paulo’s parents separated. Daniel, attached to the children and forging their dreams under the sticks, offered them to join him in Valencia a year later. They didn’t think about it, they went straight to Spain. Paulo signed for Torre Levante and after two years, he reached the youth ranks of Valencia, where he was in the Juveniles, although he barely played. In 2011, he had an offer from a Tercera team in Valencia and another from Gillingham in the English League Two. “I chose England because it was opening a bigger door. “I grabbed my bag, my boots, my pair of gloves and I went on the adventure with 50 euros in my pocket,” he remembers. So much so that the club put him in a room in the cleaning lady’s house. But it was done at footballand a year later he arrived at Southampton, which had just been promoted to the Premier. There he coincided with Pochettino, as he would do years later at Tottenham, after passing through Rayo in the Second Division, even in Scaloni’s team. He went through Elche, Fulham and, finally, in 2022, he signed with Girona to take over the goal and achieve promotion to First Division. Since then, he has never taken off his gloves, as he played every minute of the previous season as in this one, the only one that has completed the calendar year of 2024 without failure. And his numbers are excellent: he has kept a clean sheet six times in the exercise – he is surpassed by Oblak (9) and Remiro (11) -, gigantic in the face of the challenge of 11 meters.
Gazzaniga is the goalkeeper who has saved the most penalties in the major leagues and counting all competitions (four out of five) —two plus one because the last one was repeated against Athletic, another against Sevilla the previous day and one more in the Champions League against Feyenoord; only surpassed by Mo Salah—, followed by Rulli (Marseille), with three. He is also the only goalkeeper who has saved a maximum penalty in the First Division with the Girona shirt, since Bono, Iraizoz and Juan Carlos were left wanting in previous seasons. Sensational at short distances, Gazzaniga’s strength comes with his shots from outside the area, because he is the second who has conceded the most (nine) behind Patrick Drewes (10 with Bochum). Although with his feet, even though he sometimes risks more than necessary and has cost the team some goals, he is a certainty, since he is the third with the most passes – 619, behind Hein (676 with Valladolid) and Remiro (629 with Real)—and the third with the highest success (80.45% success), in the shadow of Courtois (84.31% of 529) and Iñaki Peña (86.96% of 514).
“He’s a locker room leader,” says a voice from the dressing room; “And he is very kind to everyone, but he is also a super competitive guy.” This explains why sometimes in games he has it out with Mr. Míchel, both of them effervescent. “It’s usually because he dribbled instead of passing it…” they wisely joke from the locker room. And they add: “But he has incredible cold blood, the pressure does not affect him.” Addicted to mate because there is no photo during the day in which he does not have the concoction in his hands, he creates pineapple and grows on the field with the role he has, essential for the coach. But his gesture changes quickly if he is asked for an interview; He doesn’t like them at all. When he stopped Athletic’s three penalties they had to almost drag him out in front of the media. “But then, when things go wrong, he is the first to say that he doesn’t mind going out,” they clarify from the club. Gazzaniga and his things, the locker room loudspeaker when it’s time and not when you want him to, the goalkeeper who has turned maximum penalties into minimum ones.
