Julián Speroni

Julián Maria Speroni (born 18 May 1979) is an Argentine former professional footballer.

Since joining the club, he quickly became Dundee's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2001–02 season.

Despite Dundee's poor performance for the rest of the 2001–02 season that saw them finish in ninth place, he proved to be one of the positive highlights for the club and went on to make twenty–one appearances in all competitions.

Speroni made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Falkirk in the third round of Scottish Cup on 6 January 2002.

In a follow–up, he kept his first Dundee's clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Hibernian.

During a 2–2 draw against Dunfermline Athletic on 13 February 2002, Speroni was punched in the face by Stevie Crawford after Crawford tried to wrestle the ball from Speroni, resulting him being sent–off in the 74th minute.

The club's owner Peter Marr said about the player: "He has done very well and we will do what we can to come up with a deal that keeps him here."

It came after when Serie A club Inter Milan was interested in signing him earlier this year.

Ahead of the 2002–03 season, Speroni signed a three–year contract with Dundee, keeping him until 2005.

He later spoke out about the departure of manager Ivano Bonetti, who signed him, saying: "Ivano had a huge impact on my career and was very patient with me when I first came to Dundee. Before he brought me here, I was playing in youth teams in Argentina. When Ivano left the club I did wait a while to sign a new contract as I wanted to see what was happening. Teams in Italy were interested in me but I decided to stay at Dundee, and now, even though I am still only 24 years old, I am playing the biggest game of my career."

Speroni continued to be the club's first choice goalkeeper.

He continued to display impressive performances in a number of matches despite Dundee's average results.

Speroni later helped reach the Scottish Cup final after helping the club beat Inverness CT 1–0.

In the event leading up to the final, Speroni helped Dundee finish sixth place in the league.

He started in the final against Rangers, as the club lost 1–0.

At the end of the 2002–03 season, Speroni went on to make forty–six appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2003–04 season, Speroni continued to be the club's first choice goalkeeper despite facing competition from Jamie Langfield.

He played in his first UEFA Cup match against Vllaznia Shkodër and kept a clean sheet, as Dundee won 2–0.

In the return leg, Speroni kept a clean sheet, as the club won 4–0 (6–0 on aggregate) and advance to the next round.

However, Dundee went on to lose 3–1 against Perugia in the next round, eliminating the club from the tournament.

Halfway through the season, Dundee went into administration in November, leading the club expecting to sell him in the January transfer window, but he stayed in the end.

His performance led Herald Scotland commented that Dundee "were fortunate to have him", calling him an "inspirational".

Despite the club were on administration, Speroni helped Dundee finish seventh place in the league.

At the end of the 2003–04 season, he went on to make forty–six appearances in all competitions.

Following this, Speroni was expected to leave the club, with clubs, such as, Rangers, Portsmouth and Crystal Palace interested in signing him.

Initially, Dundee turned down £500,000 bid from Crystal Palace, but they accepted a bid after they increased the offer for him.

Having started his career at Platense, he played three seasons in the Scottish Premier League with Dundee before joining Crystal Palace for £750,000 in 2004.

His first three seasons at Selhurst Park saw him largely play understudy to Gábor Király who made the goalkeeping spot his own.

This was until the Hungarian departed Selhurst Park at the end of the 2006–07 season.

Back in the line-up Speroni flourished and won his reputation back.

He went on to play 405 matches across all competitions for the club.

Eleven years after leaving Dundee, Speroni was rewarded for his years of service to Crystal Palace with a testimonial match against Dundee on 26 May 2015.

Two months later, prior to the testimonial match, he was inducted into the Dundee Hall of Fame picking up the International Award which was previously won by fellow countryman Claudio Caniggia.

Speroni played in his testimonial match against his former club, as the club won 4–3, where it attracted more than 11,000 supporters.

After the match, many past and present players of both Dundee and Crystal Palace paid tribute to him.

On 9 May 2019, it was announced that Speroni would leave Crystal Palace at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Speroni was born in Buenos Aires.

He started his career with Club Atlético Platense, in his homeland, but moved after just one year as a professional and two matches, to Scottish side Dundee.

Dundee manager Ivano Bonetti received advice from an Italian contact to Speroni's potential.

The move to Dundee was delayed for two months, due to administration delays in Argentina, holding up Speroni's application for an Italian passport.