The 37-year-old has been at Selhurst Park for 12 years and will etch his name into the history books with an appearance at St Mary’s.
Long-serving Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni will become the club’s most played goalkeeper of all time if he takes his place between the sticks in this evening’s EFL Cup tie with Southampton.
The Argentine stopper equalled the club record for goalkeeping appearances at St Mary’s last year, and could be set to break it at the same venue if he is chosen ahead of Wayne Hennessey tonight, with both vying to deputise in place of Steve Mandanda.
Speroni has played 388 times for Palace since arriving in 2004, a record he currently shares with John Jackson, who represented the club between 1963 and 1974. He had prior experience of British football before signing for the Eagles, having represented Dundee in the SPL in the early 2000s, and he is still very highly regarded north of the border – the Scottish side provided Palace’s opposition for Speroni’s testimonial last summer.
It has not all been plain sailing for the goalkeeper in south London. His debut saw him concede a penalty against Everton after dithering for too long with the ball, and Palace went on to lose 3-1. He started only five more times for the Eagles in their Premier League campaign, being replaced by the pyjama-clad Gibor Kiraly as Palace were relegated back down to the second tier after just a solitary season in the top flight.
After just 11 league appearances across the next two seasons, Speroni finally got his chance after Kiraly took his jogging bottoms elsewhere. From there he didn’t look back and became a virtual ever-present in the Palace goal; he missed just 10 league games between the start of the 2007/08 campaign and the end of the 2014/15 season.
Throughout this period, Speroni was an integral part of the club’s rise and stood out in some of the club’s most memorable matches. He was in goal for the dramatic relegation decider at Hillsborough in 2010, when Palace avoided dropping down to League One by the skin of their teeth after a 10-point deduction had plunged them into trouble.
Just three years later, Palace made their way back to the Premier League, helped along the way by a number of fine Speroni saves. His experience was vital as the Eagles overcame bitter rivals Brighton in the play-off semi-finals, and he made a superb stop from Troy Deeney to help preserve a clean sheet in the 1-0 victory over Watford in the final.
His second spell in the Premier League was far more successful than his first, and Speroni was an important figure as Palace established themselves in the top flight. After two seasons as first choice, however, he found himself behind both Wayne Hennessey and Alex McCarthy in the pecking order last season and made just four appearances in all competitions.
This season has been more of the same, as French international Steve Mandanda has been brought in as first choice. Speroni and Hennessey are now battling it out to play in the cup fixtures, and Speroni will be hoping he gets the nod tonight to leave his mark in the Palace history books.
Whether he breaks the record this evening or further down the line, Speroni’s legendary status at Selhurst Park will never be in doubt. If it does happen this evening the visiting Palace fans will give their goalkeeping star a rapturous reception, and the Argentine will be hoping for a clean sheet to round off what could be a memorable occasion.
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