This season of Russian Serie A is not only represented by Alexei Miranchuk. The 28-year-old goalkeeper of Russian origin, Ivan Provedel, settled in the heart of Lazio. The goalkeeper is spending his third season in the top Italian league, but it is his current campaign that can be decisive for him.

A chance helped Ivan make his debut for Lazio. Initially, the head coach of the Romans, Maurizio Sarri, saw Provedel as a substitute for Portugal’s Luis Mashimiano, but he retired within the eighth minute of the first-round match. Provedel saves – several spectacular saves allowed Lazio to score three points against Bologna. Since then, Provedel has played five games in a row – Mashimianu received a penalty, but sat on the bench.

Ivan has Italian citizenship, but his mother, Elena, is a former Russian. Together with him, as a child, Provedel often visited his grandmother in the Moscow region, where he learned the story of his grandfather’s friendship with the legendary Lev Yashin. It turns out that Provedel’s grandfather served in the same military unit as the famous goalkeeper. Ivan strengthened his desire to become a goalkeeper, inspired by Francesco Toldo’s match against the Netherlands in the Euro 2000 semi-final in 2000.

Provedel did not stop at the door immediately. The coaches of the youth teams “Treviso” and “Pordenone”, in which Ivan played, stubbornly attacked him. Provedel scored and assisted players under the age of 15. They didn’t let him through the door, they say, too late to retrain. For the sake of such a radical reshuffle, Ivan had to attend a small football school in the state of Treviso, where he was recruited as a goalkeeper immediately after watching.

At the gate, Provedel felt confident and received an invitation to see Atalanta, but failed to pass. A little later, the man was invited by Udinese. At the age of 19, Ivan transited through Chievo in Serie C and switched to Serie B a year later. It settled in the heart of Empoli in 2017.

With this club, Provedel won Serie B and was preparing to debut in the top division, but everything was disrupted by a serious fracture of the lower leg. After a long recovery, he still played in 16 Serie A games, including a meeting against Juventus Cristiano Ronaldo, but the following season Empoli sent Ivan to Serie B.

One of the brightest episodes in Provedel’s career is linked to a loan at Juve Stabia. His team was losing to Ascoli, and in the final minutes of the match, Ivan went into someone else’s penalty area for a free kick.

In 2020, the goalkeeper was invited by Spezia, a new entrant to Serie A. Provedel established himself on the ground and spent two seasons with the team at the top level. For Ivan, the number of matches in the top league has already exceeded 80.

Provedel warmly remembers trips to Russia, although visiting the country in adulthood is quite rare – the goalkeeper said that he last came to Moscow for the Confederations Cup in 2017. However, Ivan is studying Russian, and in 2021 his son, named Alexander, was born. Provedel noted that it was important for him that his son also respect his roots.

Ivan did not play for the Italian national team, and Gianluigi Donnarumma cemented the place at the gates of Azzurra for a long time. Perhaps Provedel will get a chance to play for the Russian national team – the football player himself admits that the hope attracted him.