For a man out of time, it might again be the right time. Gianluigi Donnarumma has felt football’s youngest anachronism, the type of player who had fallen out of fashion. Now he stands 90 minutes – or, given, his skill set, perhaps 120 and a penalty shootout – from a second achievement that would be out of keeping with the modern footballing world.
If Paris Saint-Germain win the Champions League on Saturday, their often tragicomic quest to conquer Europe would suddenly bring fulfilment. The 6ft 5in shot-stopper can seem the giant figure for the huge occasion. Rewind four years ago and his penalty saves from Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka enabled Italy to win Euro 2020, a feat rendered more extraordinary as it was surrounded by the failure to even qualify for the preceding or following World Cup, while the Azzurri still have not played a World Cup knockout game since 2006.
