£2.8 million Ex-Southampton star gives La Liga master-class
- Southampton signed Paulo Gazzaniga for £2.8 million in 2012.
- Gazzaniga saved three important penalties for Girona in 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.
By Aakash Desai
Southampton have a reputation of developing several young talents at the club due to their incredible recruitment over the years. While several of them such as Matt Le Tissier, Francis Benali and Theo Walcott have made their name at the Saints, others such as Alan Shearer, Dennis Wise and Gareth Bale have showcased their huge potential at other clubs. One of them is former Southampton goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who joined the Saints from Gillingham for a £2.8 million transfer fee in 2012.
Although the young goalkeeping prodigy couldn't become a starter for Southampton, Gazzaniga spent some time in the Premier League playing for Tottenham Hotspurs and Fulham before joining La Liga side Girona, initially on a loan move in 2022 before joining them on a free transfer last year. Recently the 32-year-old Argentina international gave a goalkeeping master-class in La Liga as he saved three penalties for Girona in their 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao. The former Southampton goalkeeper became the first keeper to make a hat-trick of penalty saves in a match and Christian Stuani's last-minute penalty goal rewarded Girona with a memorable 2-1 win.
£2.8 million Ex-Southampton star gives La Liga master-class
In the first half, Gazzaniga saved Alex Berenguer's attempt to give Athletic Bilbao the early lead, a huge penalty save which kept Girona in the match level at 1-1 going into half-time. In the second half, Bilbao had another penalty awarded around the hour mark and Gazzaniga again denied Bilbao from taking the lead first on Inaki Williams's penalty attempt. However, the referee decided to allow Bilbao to retake the penalty but Gazzaniga kept his composure and kept Ander Herrera from scoring as well.
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This was a commendable performance from Girona's number one, who laid the foundation for a thrilling 2-1 win for Michel Sanchez's side. Girona are playing in the UEFA Champions League this season and Gazzaniga will want to keep his prolific form going as Michel's side aim to reach the Round of 16 in Europe's elite competition in this season.
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