Did you Know?
Despite his large stature and imposing physique, which make him effective at handling crosses, Handanović is an extremely agile and athletic goalkeeper, who is renowned in particular for his outstanding reflexes, acrobatic saves and excellent shot-stopping abilities, as well as his positional sense, leadership, and ability to organise his defence. Although he was not initially known for being particularly adept with the ball at his feet, during his time under managers Roberto Mancini and Luciano Spalletti, he was also able to improve his ability to play out and start attacks from the back, and successfully adapted to the team’s more patient build-up play, while also allowing the team to maintain a high line; his change in playing style also continued under Inter’s subsequent manager Antonio Conte. Regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe and Italy due to his performances, he is also known for his speed off his line and anticipation as a goalkeeper, as well as his ability to get to ground quickly, which make him particularly adept at stopping spot-kicks, and, as a result, he has developed a reputation as an exceptional penalty-kick saving specialist, having stopped an Italian record of six consecutive penalties between 2013 and 2015. With 24 saves, he shares the record of most penalties stopped in Serie A with Gianluca Pagliuca although Handanović has a superior success rate. Former Inter goalkeeper Giuliano Sarti has also praised Handanović for his consistency. In a 2016 interview, Handanović stated that his main influences as a goalkeeper were his cousin Jasmin Handanović and Peter Schmeichel. In 2020, Pasquale Marino described Handanović as “one of the best goalkeepers in the world.”
