Italy's 'new prodigy' who never stopped studying Gianluigi Buffon

In football-mad Italy, the pain of missing three consecutive World Cups has left deep cuts. Now a new generation is ready to strike back, and Lorenzo Palmisani (22) is leading the charge. The youngster is wowing Serie A on his debut and surely an international debut is on the cards for GOAL's latest Hidden Gem.

Every time Como manager Cesc Fàbregas sees one of his players take a shot at goal, he's already counting the goal. His folded arms unclench and begin to form two fists. But then Frosinone goalkeeper Lorenzo Palmisani (22) makes yet another fabulous save. It's certainly driving Fàbregas mad. Whoever shoots, whether it's Argentine prodigy Nico Paz or notorious scorer Anastasios Douvikas, Palmisani produces an answer.

"Palmisani has made so many saves. If we'd won 4–1 today, it wouldn't have been undeserved," Fàbregas sighs afterwards. The actual final score: 2–0 to Frosinone. For Como, it was their first defeat in five months; for newly promoted Frosinone, it was a third win in five matches. 

Massimiliano Alvini's side has now won three of its first five matches, and Palmisani has been central to that impressive start, keeping two clean sheets. His second, against Como, earned him a thoroughly deserved Man of the Match award.

In Italy, the national press awarded him the highest of scores. "Has Italy really produced another wonderkid between the posts?" asks Sportmediaset after the game versus Como. Italy does not fall shy in the legendary goalie department. Just ask Dino Zoff, Gianluigi Buffon or even current Manchester City number one, Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The comparison with Buffon, in particular, will flatter Palmisani. The legendary goalkeeper is his great idol. "Lorenzo always had Buffon in his mind," his father Piero tells Tuttosport. "I don't even want to know how many videos of Gigi he's watched in his life."

For the Palmisani family, Lorenzo is the youngest, these have been emotional weeks, or months. "We're experiencing some truly wonderful moments right now. We're a simple family and it's not easy for us to cope with all these emotions, especially after the match against Como."

The Palmisani family lives in the modest yet historic town of Alatri, home to around thirty thousand people. "All our fellow citizens are incredibly happy for us. Here in Alatri, they're absolutely mad about Lorenzo," smiles his mother, Graziella. "Some even come to our house to meet him." 

"It gives me goosebumps to see people walking around in Palmisani shirts," Graziella says. "But he mustn't let this go to his head", she warns maternally. "I'm sure he won't. He did well at school, completed a technical study, and we've never had any problems with him." 

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Two years ago, only a very select few in Alatri wore a kit with Palmisani on the back. The 22-year-old was then playing his loan games in the Serie C, with Lucchese, his second loan spell after a failed stint at a financially plagued Olbia.

"We were worried about him," recalls Piero. "Things weren't going well in Olbia and it was a difficult experience in Lucca. That's when Frosinone decided to let him develop within the first team." It has most certainly paid off for them.

Palmisani joined Frosinone from youth side Mole Bisleti at the age of nine, having been introduced to the game by his parents: Piero coached a small women's team in Alatri, and his wife played in goal. 

Though it took some time for the goalkeeper genes to manifest themselves. "We often took Lorenzo to matches, and he gradually fell in love with the game. But he didn't start as a goalkeeper right away," his father explains. 

"He preferred midfield, but one day he said he wanted to play in goal. I warned him he'd need mental strength—at some point you're on your own—but he was stubborn." Bolstered by that stubbornness, Palmisani joined Frosinone's youth setup in 2013, yet he did not get his first-team chance until he was twenty, right after those two tough loan spells.

He started last season as first choice goalkeeper and no doubt seized that chance, playing a key role as Frosinone finished second in Serie B to earn promotion to the top flight. He kept 15 clean sheets in 38 matches and finished with an impressive 80% save percentage. That form prompted several new chapters in Palmisani's success story.

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First came his Serie A debut, then the Italy Under-21 coach came calling, and soon after the interim senior Azzurri boss, Silvio Baldini, did the same, although that first international call-up did not yet lead to a senior cap.

His Serie A debut comes, of all teams, against Juventus. Not only the club of his idol Buffon, but also the club of Piero and Graziella. Black-and-white blood runs through their veins. And Lorenzo certainly is no different.

"We're all Juventus fans. And to think that fate gave him the chance to make his Serie A debut against Juventus…", Piero's eyes sparkle. The fact that La Vecchia Signora has Palmisani at the top of their wish list makes it all the more special.

"Juventus is, of course, a dream," says Piero, flattered by the interest from 'his' Juve, who, like Inter, are keen to strengthen their squad with Palmisani. "The most important thing for us is that our son is always happy. But yes, Juve comes first, and then the rest. That's how it's always been in our family: Juve first, and then everything else."

The endless watching, studying of Buffon compilations certainly appears to have paid off. A move to Juventus could mark the start of something special. Perhaps the youngster will one day follow in the grand master's footsteps. But for now - spot on Graziella - it is best to keep both feet on the ground.