For once, it’s better not to ask him how it will end. This quote from Motta, obviously the singer, fits perfectly to describe the evening of another Motta, Edoardo. Until a year and a half ago, he was little more than a stranger, and now he is the hero of Lazio in the Coppa Italia, the man who sent Sarri’s team to the final by saving four out of five penalties against Atalanta.
Looking at the serenity with which Motta celebrated, it seems like he has been doing this for a lifetime and not just for a little over a month. That is, since early March, when he had to replace Provedel against Sassuolo. Seeing him so calm, even when teammates throw him in the air or fans swarm him at the airport, he seems like a veteran. Yet we are talking about a goalkeeper who arrived in Rome during the January transfer window, in exchange for a million paid to Reggiana, after a training path spent in the youth teams of Monza, Alessandria, and Juve – who did not keep him to make room for Vinarcik, a Slovak who now plays for Arouca in Portugal.
Saving four penalties out of five, as Motta did, is not just a rare feat: it is something that rightfully enters the history of the Coppa Italia. No one before him had managed to achieve such a result in the second national tournament. Each intervention was a concentration of technique, reading, and personality, qualities that are rarely seen in such a young goalkeeper. On every penalty shot from Atalanta players, except for the initial one by Raspadori, it was clear that Motta had what it took to psychologically dominate his opponents: a confident posture, a fixed gaze on the executor, movements calibrated until the last moment. Lazio’s goalkeeper seemed to have total control of the situation, as if every shot from his opponents was already written in his mind before the ball was kicked. And when the sphere was launched, he was already there.
The fourth penalty saved from De Ketelaere marked the definitive breaking point. At that point, it was no longer just about skill, but something that bordered on the incredible. The Atalanta players began to feel the weight of his presence, while his teammates found in him an almost unreal security. The last attempt, the fifth, definitively sealed his feat: saying that Motta gifted the final to Lazio is not an exaggeration, it is the simple truth of the facts. In such a balanced match, where every detail can make a difference, he was the decisive detail. Without his interventions, the fate of the match could have been completely different. Instead, thanks to his saves, Lazio was able to celebrate, aware that they had an extraordinary talent between the posts. Long before the penalties, in fact, Motta denied Scamacca a practically already scored goal: it was the 95th minute, and the Atalanta striker perfectly volleyed the ball from a soft cross coming from the left; Motta stretched to his right, clawed the ball with his fingertips, and literally pushed it towards the crossbar.
What makes this story even more fascinating is the journey that brought Motta to this night. Just a year and a half ago, in fact, Lazio’s goalkeeper had not yet made his professional debut. His debut would come in the Coppa Italia, at Marassi against the Genoa, when he wore the jersey of the Reggiana: a first appearance that, at the time, seemed just a small step in a career yet to be built. From that moment on, however, the growth has been constant, albeit silent, until the definitive explosion. Motta has worked away from the spotlight, improving game after game, training after training. And when he found himself in front of the most important opportunity, he did not falter. On the contrary, he demonstrated a surprising maturity, worthy of a veteran. His performance against Atalanta is not just an isolated exploit, but the peak of a journey that has been ongoing for years.