Lorenzo Torriani spoke after his heroics in the shootout win over Barcelona about seizing an opportunity, and it is one that he has worked very hard to gain at AC Milan.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Torriani is probably the biggest positive surprise from the USA tour after Paulo Fonseca threw him into the fray following Marco Sportiello’s injury. Against Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona he looked at ease, making big saves and ending a penalty shootout win.
The land of opportunity
A quick look at social media shows that Torriani’s Instagram feed has recently started to fill up, with many photos from the pitch. Number one is emblematic: it is dated July 21 and shows his first time with the senior side, in the friendly a few weeks ago against Rapid Vienna. It is accompanied by a caption that tells his story: ‘Carpe diem’, seize the day.
Many fans wondered where he had come from, but with his display against Erling Haaland and Manchester City and then against Real Madrid he announced himself. He made a big stop in the latter game to deny Alvaro Rodriguez.
This was followed by the third outing in Baltimore against Barcelona. A match decided by penalties, which gave Milan an unbeaten run in a difficult tour as the 19-year-old thwarted Quim Junyent and Faye.
🦸♂️ Lorenzo Torriani: penalty shootout hero!
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) August 7, 2024
The journey so far
Born in 2005, Torriani arrived at Milan in July 2013, at eight years old. Before that he was with Città di Cologno, a small team a stone’s throw from home that had been affiliated with the Rossoneri for years.
The curious thing is that in a tournament, as a child, he was also noticed by Inter. The Nerazzurri took information, but Lorenzo chose Milan (a bit like what happened to Gianluigi Donnarumma). In Rossoneri he started with younger age groups, then slowly rose through the ranks.
Last year he was called up to the bench for two first team games by Stefano Pioli, against Genoa and Cagliari in May, without debuting. Over the course of the last season, however, he was mainly third choice in the Primavera, behind Raveyre and Bartoccioni, playing a few times in the U18s.
Those who saw him up close tell of his great dedication despite the few chances he had in games, and above all his great attachment to the shirt. Lorenzo always worked behind the scenes, as a team player, cheering on his colleagues and friends.
The future
The right word for Torriani is ‘reliability’, It is with this that he has earned the trust of the many coaches he has had, up until the call of Paulo Fonseca for the tour in the States.
Lorenzo has convinced the Portuguese with his skills between the posts, technical potential – given he can also play well with his feet – and his physical attributes. Standing at 1.97m tall, he rises above virtually all of his peers.
A role with Milan Futuro or with the senior team as the third choice goalkeeper seems obvious. Fonseca after Barcelona had his say: “He played with great personality and courage. It’s too early, but I have no doubts. We have a goalkeeper for the future, this goalkeeper will have a great future.”
Can’t praise this kid enough, he’s looked so assured in pre season against three of the biggest teams on the planet…When he walked out next to Rafa against Barca you can see just how young he is. He made some great saves in that match and once again couldn’t do anything about the goals. Lewandovski’s first goal was a superb strike by one of the all time greats, he took the shot early which gave him the advantage.
Well played Torriani..he looks a superb talent
Gotta agree. For how young he is, he looked pretty good. For the most part, confident with his feet but, in the second half against Barca he kept turning the ball over a lot. It’s an aspect he needs to improve.
I hope Milan hold on to him for time to come.
He rejected Inter? Smart guy! Hope he gets more chances. He did look really good in the games he played.