Following the EFL Cup qualification against Norwich City, Leeds United goalkeeper Marco Silvestri has spoken to the Italian media about his heroic performance.
After the match ended 2-2, the keeper saved three penalties during the shootout, assuring the Whites’ 3-2 win on penalties in order to give them a place in the tournament’s quarter-finals.
And it was not pure luck, according to him. In an interview with Gianluca Di Marzio.com after the match, the 25-year-old revealed he was well prepared for the penalties shootout: “It’s difficult. And they also had some good shooters. But I was prepared before them, I watched the videos and I had an idea on the penalty takers.
The player recalled his first days at the club, when he struggled with a bit of prejudice: “At the beginning here, we had a little difficulty in the first year. We were many Italians and there were a few bad looks because there was the president who was Italian. So the British thought we were the ‘godchildren’ of the president.
“It wasn’t easy. When you have fellow countrymen in a country that is not yours, you end up always speaking your language with them. Last year, it got better, and this year I am left alone as an Italian, but we are working very well with the whole group.”
When comparing England to Italy, Silvestri had to say the difference between Leeds fans and the others he had during his career: “From the footballing point of view, Leeds is great, different to how we live in Italy. Fans are passionate, there’s a lot of them. This is one of the few cities where there’s only one football club, so they are very close.”
Asked to give an example, he said: “When playing away, there are five thousand tickets available, the visiting sector will have five thousand fans.”
Silvestri signed for Leeds in 2014 from Bologna. Despite having 95 appearances for the club, he isn’t being used in the Championship, making all of his three games this season in the EFL Cup only under Garry Monk.
