Ivan

Career Story

As a child, he scored goals. His dream, however, was to defend the goal he so often found the back of. Ivan Provedel, born in Pordenone on March 17, 1994, was building a reputation as a striker on the local pitches of Friuli. First at Visinale, a small village south of Pordenone, then at Treviso and eventually in the Pordenone youth academy.

At the age of 15, he finished the season in the regional championship with Pordenone’s Giovanissimi side having scored 27 goals. Everything pointed towards a career as a striker, but his ambition was different: he wanted to become a goalkeeper.

At the age of six, he fell in love with Francesco Toldo’s heroics at Euro 2000. He became a fan of the Nerazzurri goalkeeper and was fascinated by the idea of following in his footsteps.

He became a goalkeeper at Liapiave, from where he joined the youth academy at Udinese and then Chievo in 2013. Provedel played for several teams in the lower divisions, including Pisa, Perugia, Modena and Pro Vercelli, before joining Empoli, where he made his Serie A debut in 2018.

The goalkeeper then moved to Juve Stabia and subsequently to Spezia, where he established himself as an important player. In 2022, he joined Lazio.

His first season in Rome was historic: Provedel recorded 21 clean sheets in the league, matching the all-time record set by Gianluigi Buffon (2011/12 and 2015/16) and Morgan De Sanctis (2013/14). His outstanding performances earned him the Serie A Best Goalkeeper award for the 2022/23 season.

On September 19, 2023, on his Champions League debut, Provedel scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Atlético Madrid, becoming only the second goalkeeper to score from open play in a Champions League match.

After four seasons with Lazio, Ivan Provedel finally fulfilled his dream: wearing the Nerazzurri shirt and guarding Inter’s goal, just like Francesco Toldo, whose saves had inspired him to become a goalkeeper in the first place.