Since the Thomas Strakosha era has begun, the young Albanian goalkeeper has never given up – not even for a single minute – his starting position in defending the Lazio goal. However, this is all set to change today.
Strakosha has not been summoned by Simone Inzaghi for the match against Cagliari, thanks to a problem to his Achilles tendon. Managing to grit his teeth and play through the injury against Atalanta last weekend, management thought it would be best to rest the 24-year-old for the away trip, so he is close to 100% for the Coppa Italia final this Wednesday. Therefore, this means that there is space in the starting eleven for another goalkeeper, one who Laziali and calcio fans alike have been unable to observe much of this season – this is the experienced Silvio Proto. Joining the club this summer for free with the role of being a substitute for Thomas, the Ital-Belgian will become the 57th goalkeeper in the Biancocelesti history to play in the Serie A TIM; the 35-year-old will finally obtain his first start in the top flight of Italian football with just three matches remaining in the season.
On the podium of this particular recognition of ‘matches played’ in the Serie A, Marchegiani ranks first with 243 appearances, Peruzzi ranks second with 192 appearances, and Sentimenti IV ranks third with 170 appearances. Strakosha currently stands in 13th place with 94 appearances, just two away from Fernando Muslera and the 12th spot.
So far this campaign, the player has only been seen from his four appearances in the UEFA Europa League. A 2-1 victory against Apollon Limassol, a 4-1 loss against Eintracht Frankfurt, a 2-0 loss to Apollon, and a 2-1 loss to Eintracht. Nine goals conceded, it was hard to criticize Proto for mistakes in any of them. Corners, breakaways, wonder-goals – he was unable to catch a break, especially with Inzaghi mixing up the lineups on several occasions in the competition, thanks to their early qualification to the next round.
