He remains Argentina’s first-choice goalkeeper, but for the second summer running Sergio Romero is preparing to head into a major tournament with virtually no competitive football under his belt.

Since the turn of the year, the 28-year-old has played just 90 minutes for his club side Sampdoria.

That solitary appearance came on January 21 – fully four months ago – when he was selected for the Coppa Italia quarter-final tie against Inter Milan.

Romero was a busy man that night and saved a penalty from Mauro Icardi, but Samp still slipped to a 2-0 defeat at the San Siro.

Indeed, the Argentine was at least partially to blame for the concession of Inter’s second goal as he raced from his line only to be beaten to a back-pass by Icardi who was left with an empty net in which to score.

Romero promptly found himself relegated back to the bench by coach Sinisa Mihajlovic and has remained there ever since, with Emiliano Viviano preferred as the club’s starter.

It’s not like there has been much international action for Romero to enjoy either, his only other first-team appearance of 2015 coming in Argentina’s 2-1 friendly victory over Ecuador at the end of March.

However, despite his inactivity, the ex-Racing Club keeper is still very much the preferred option of Albiceleste supremo Gerardo Martino who named four keepers in his preliminary Copa América squad last week; Romero, Agustín Marchesín, Nahuel Guzmán and Mariano Andújar.

Speaking at the start of May, Tata said: “Romero is good with his feet. Right now he’s my first-choice goalkeeper. Up until now, it’s not worried me that he has not been playing at his club. But we will watch closely what happens next season as that would be a lot of time without playing.”

He reaffirmed his support for his man on Wednesday, adding: “My goalkeeper (for the Copa América) is going to be Romero.”

Of course, Romero has already proved that he is capable of producing the goods for his country despite a lack of game-time for his club.

Last year’s World Cup was the ideal illustration as he was an assured presence between the sticks for Argentina on their run to an unfortunate final defeat against Germany.

Those performances came despite the fact he had managed just 316 minutes during a season-long loan at Monaco. Argentina and Tata will be hoping can do the same again in Chile.

Andrés Corona (Goal Mexico) on Agustín Marchesín (Santos Laguna)

Only recently arrived in Mexico, Agustín Marchesín has had an extraordinary tournament. The fact Santos Laguna are in the play-offs is due in no small part to the Argentine goalkeeper. Right from the start of his time at the club he has been excellent and helped to win points. Marchesín may not be a spectacular keeper in the mould of Nahuel Guzmán, but he is calm between the posts, safe with his feet and has fine reflexes.

Carlos Mayorga (Goal Mexico) on Nahuel Guzmán (Tigres UANL)

Nahuel Guzmán has become the defensive lynchpin of Tigres UANL, his height and presence in the area have ensured that his club have one of the best-protected goals in the country. What’s more, the Argentine has shown his game is not just all about defending the goal, with his bold runs from his line and swift distribution helping his team to start attacks.

Sergio Chesi (Goal Italy) on Mariano Andújar (Napoli)

Mariano Andújar started this season as back-up for Rafael Cabral, but he was given the starting position after some poor performances from the Brazilian. Coach Rafa Benitez likes his leadership, knowing that Napoli’s defence benefits from a strong personality between the posts – just as Pepe Reina was the season before. Up until recently his performances were good, but Champions League-chasing Napoli have lost crucial points through his errors of late – notably in 2-2 draw against Parma. He will not be the club’s first-choice next season with the Serie A outfit known to be in the market for another goalkeeper.

Bron: ca2015.com