The goalkeeper has risen another cm in the last year, he is now 2.03 tall. It will extend by two years: until 2026
As a child he played center forward and dreamed of one day becoming Zlatan Ibrahimovic. We’ll never know what striker we missed, but today we know what goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic Savic has become. Behind that beard that heals every morning, and that shows no sign of thinning at least, there is a goalkeeper who is about to set foot in the age of maturity. It was only expected, Vanya. Torino had the patience of the strong and the intelligence of those who saw long and today they are ready to renew the Serbian’s contract: because at 26 (turned in February), Milinkovic has become one of the best goalkeepers in the interpretation modern day of the role of number one. Not only skilled between the posts, but present with personality in the area and excellent in the game with his feet. Many trainers are ready to bet that he still has a significant margin of growth and one that is potentially not fully expressed. Age is on his side, because a 26-year-old goalkeeper can be considered relatively young. This year he is the protagonist of a season with all the trimmings: it is his second consecutive as owner, during which he quickly climbed the hierarchies of Serbia, gluing the number one behind his back. He defended his national team’s goal (well) at the World Cup in Qatar and yesterday evening he restarted the qualification process for the European Championship with the ranks of the owner. An extra satisfaction for Torino, who made a beautiful and fascinating bet on him.
The magician
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Yes, because Toro went to discover him many years ago in the youth team of the Serbian national team. January 2017: the grenade club snatches him from a good competition from European clubs, buying him from Lechia Gdansk. There was already the giant physique given to him by mother nature, there were glimpses of the possibility of growth as a great goalkeeper. Everything else came later. Over the years, Vanya has always felt the trust of society around him, which has never been scratched. “Sometimes I’ve read excessive criticism of Vanya, who is an excellent goalkeeper. He will give us great satisfaction ”, technical director Davide Vagnati said in the summer, in a sentence that he re-read today appears like a prophecy. The club has imagined a path for him made in stages: first the loans to Spal, Ascoli and Standard Liège to allow him to gain experience. Then the club brought him home and entrusted him to the care of Paolo Di Sarno. Not just anyone. Shy character, always away from the spotlight, but a true wizard in the field of goalkeeper training. Di Sarno has been breathing Toro since he was a boy, raised in the youth sector of the grenade. A beautiful and long career in goal (the strikers with Udinese and Lazio), then since 2007 he has been on the technical staff of Toro. Thanks to him, just to cite two examples, Daniele Padelli and Salvatore Sirigu experienced the best and for now unrepeatable years of their careers, respectively with Ventura in 2014-2015 and with Mazzarri in 2018-2019. Now Milinkovic’s talent is also blossoming under his care.
Renewal
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The technical maturation will be rewarded by the club with a nice renewal. The countdown has now started: we are at the very last corners before the official announcements. Only a few bureaucratic formalities will have to be completed, then there will be an extension of his contract which today expires in 2024. Milinkovic will renew for another two seasons, with a new horizon that will go until 2026: the road to renewal had already been traced at the first October with a substantial, first, understanding between the parties, then consolidated shortly before Vanja left with Serbia for the pre-World Cup training camp at the end of 2022. Perhaps for the first time in his career, this 203cm tall boy (who continues to grow: +1 centimetre) will be able to free himself from the definition of always being the brother of… Sergej. Now it’s Vanja: a reliable, tough, constantly evolving goalkeeper. A good one between goal and very useful in team play: he has the record of passes in Serie A among goalkeepers (1082), of which 431 finished in the opposing trocar (another record). Years ago he was talked about as a bet, today Juric doesn’t take him away from the door. And he doesn’t even think about it.
March 25, 2023 (change March 25, 2023 | 07:27)
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