Julián Maria Speroni (Spanish pronunciation: [xuˈljan espeˈɾoni]; born 18 May 1979) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

[2] He started his career with Club Atlético Platense, in his homeland, but moved after just one year as a professional and two matches,[5] to Scottish side Dundee.

[6] Normally what happens with footballers is you tend to play first in your country and then after a while, say a year or two, and then you have a chance to move on to Europe, which is what most South American players want to do.

[13] 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.

[27] 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.

[34] 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.

[54] As Speroni continued to play understudy to Király, he found himself competing with new signing Scott Flinders over a spot in the substitute bench, as well as facing his own injury concern.

[57] After the match, newspaper Your Local Guardian praised his performance, saying: "he instilled confidence in his defence, made some crucial saves and kept a clean sheet".

[64] During a 1–0 loss against Ipswich Town on 26 August 2007, he was given a yellow card in the 43rd minute after "handling on the edge of his box"; after the match, the opposition team felt that Speroni should have been sent–off, which manager Taylor disagreed.

[65] In a follow–up match against rivals, Charlton Athletic, Speroni was at fault when he "rushed out to deal with a hopeful long-ball in the 74th minute - only for substitute Svetoslav Todorov to nip in and score the only goal of the game", in a 1–0 loss.

[67] In a match against Sheffield United on 22 September 2007, Speroni was at fault once again when he conceded two goals, in a 3–2 win; leading to suggestions that Taylor could re–sign Iain Turner, which he denied, though the possibly was not ruled out.

[68] Following this, Speroni managed to bounce back with impressive displays and helped the club go on a fifteen matches unbeaten run between 3 November 2007 and 28 January 2008.

[77] Reflecting on his performance in the 2007–08 season, Your Local Guardian said: "Julian Speroni had a tremendous campaign, increasing his authority and presence alongside his already technically excellent game.

[87] But Speroni quickly recovered from injury, returning to the starting line–up against Derby County on 18 April 2009 and helped Crystal Palace keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win.

[93] Despite the loss, Speroni's performance was praised by Your Local Guardian, saying: "His kicking was a bit off but the defence looked a lot more secure with him behind them" and named him Man of the Match.

[98] Halfway through the 2009–10 season, Crystal Palace entered administration during the January 2010 transfer window, and the consequent ten-point deduction left the team in danger of relegation, just Speroni experienced this situation once again like his time at Dundee.

[108] After the match, manager George Burley praised his performance, calling him "a top class keeper" and "an important player" for Crystal Palace.

[110] Speroni found himself booked on two occasions throughout the 2010–11 season that saw the opposition team scoring at the last minutes of the game; the first one came against Queens Park Rangers on 2 October 2010 and the second one came against Bristol City on 28 December 2010.

[112] Speroni made his 200th appearance for the club against Norwich City on 29 January 2011, as he helped Crystal Palace keep a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw.

[121] However, in the return leg, he was unable to help Crystal Palace reach the final after the club lost 3–1 after Cardiff City was able to overcome deficit and played throughout extra time.

[72][133] In the Football League Championship play-off final, Speroni started in goal throughout the match and played 120 minutes, as Crystal Palace beat Watford 1–0 to seal their promotion return to the English top tier after an eight-year absence.

[135] Despite the club's poor start with just three points from the first eight games, he continued to regain his first team place, as Crystal Palace's first choice goalkeeper role.

[148] After the match, manager Warnock questioned the official's failure to take action against Dawson, calling it "an assault almost" and that Speroni could have been injured.

[172] Following the injury of Hennessey, Speroni was named a starter in Crystal Palace's match day squad again, helping the club win 2–1 over the defending champions Chelsea on 14 October 2017.

I want to be enjoying it as long as I can compete at this level but you can never put a time limit on it because you never know what is around the corner but if I keep feeling like I am at the moment then I will be looking to play for a few more years yet.

[181] Following the injuries of Hennessey and Guaita, Speroni made his first appearance of the season against Liverpool on 19 January 2019 and was at fault when he conceded the fifth goal of the game, in a 4–3 loss.

[182] After the match, both manager Roy Hodgson and chairman Steve Parish defended Speroni's performance, while the player acknowledged his mistake on the third goal.

[183] Despite this, he continued to keep his place in goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup and kept a clean sheet, in a 2–0 win, which eventually turned out to be his last appearance in his career.

[189] Manager Hodgson said he offered Speroni a starting place in the last game of the season against Bournemouth as a wonderful gesture but he rejected a chance at his own request.

[190] On the day of the match, Speroni received a guard of honour from his team-mates and made a farewell speech, thanking the club and will never forget his time there.