Federico Marchettia goalkeeper who is currently a free agent, spoke to Radio FirenzeViola commenting among other things on the double penalty saved by David de Gea on Sunday evening against Milan, the first to do so in Serie A since 2016, when Marchetti himself saved two from Mbakogu during Carpi-Lazio: “I wasn’t the only one there he managed to save two penalties. Consigli had also done so a few years earlier, for example. We are few but I’m happy that an international level goalkeeper like De Gea has reached us, even in an important match like Fiorentina-Milan. I did it on a different stage, it wasn’t such an important match for us, it was for Carpi but not for Lazio. That double save was especially useful for Palermo, who were saved by Carpi’s defeat, in fact every time When I go to Sicily they welcome me like a hero.”
In that Carpi-Lazio game you saved two penalties but against the same shooter, Mbakogu. De Gea did it with two different shooters, what changes?
“As for my perspective in saving penalties, I had more difficulty facing the same penalty taker. In that case Mbakogu appeared on the spot twice and I remember I made a feint. De Gea had two different penalty takers and he was prepared on what their solutions were. Then he was also lucky and obviously very good.”
De Gea arrived in Florence after more than a year of inactivity, did he already expect it at this level?
“A goalkeeper of this level just needs to play. Last year he will have had greater financial demands than this year. It’s not easy to sit still. After a few months many doors close on you and I’ve experienced it on my skin.”
At Genoa, he also played six months with Albert Gudmundsson (from January 2022 to June 2022), a semester that ended with relegation to Serie B.
“Those six months he spent with me were unjustifiable because it was a haunted year, he arrived in a context in which any player would have had difficulty. But his qualities were evident and I remember that at the end of training we often stopped to do an exercise : he made this challenge against us goalkeepers, crossed from the flank and had to control and shoot within two touches, I almost always lost against him, he was infallible.”
What does the future hold for you?
“For now I still live in Malta, I’m waiting for a possible call until December then I’ll evaluate whether to stop, in the meantime I’m thinking about studying to be a coach. Even though I’d like to beat Pierobon’s longevity record. To do that I’d have to return to Italy, let’s see.. .”.