Dino Zoff

Dino Zoff

Zoff in 1974
Personal information
Date of birth (1942-02-28) 28 February 1942
Place of birth Mariano del Friuli, Italy
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1961–1963 Udinese 38 (0)
1963–1967 Mantova 131 (0)
1967–1972 Napoli 143 (0)
1972–1983 Juventus 330 (0)
Total 642 (0)
National team
1968–1983 Italy 112 (0)
Teams managed
1988–1990 Juventus
1990–1994 Lazio
1996–1997 Lazio
1998–2000 Italy
2001 Lazio
2005 Fiorentina

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Dino Zoff (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdiːno ddzɔf]; born 28 February 1942) is a former Italian professional football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days, also winning the award for best goalkeeper of the tournament, and being elected to the team of the tournament, for his performances, keeping two clean-sheets, an honour he also received after winning the 1968 European Championship on home soil. Zoff also achieved great club success with Juventus, winning 6 Serie A titles, 2 Coppa Italias, and an UEFA Cup, also reaching two European Champions' Cup finals in the 1972–73 and 1982–83 seasons, as well as finishing second in the 1973 Intercontinental Cup final.

Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability, and he has a place in the history of the sport among the very best in this role,[2] being named the 3rd greatest goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS behind Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks.[3] As a keeper, Zoff was particularly known for his outstanding positioning, handling, reactions, leadership, and organisational skills, as well as concentration, consistency, and calm mindset.[4] He holds the record for the longest playing time without allowing goals in international tournaments (1142 minutes) set between 1972 and 1974. With 112 caps, he is the fifth most capped player for the Azzurri. In 2004 Pelé named him as one of the 125 greatest living footballers. In the same year, Zoff placed fifth in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, and was elected as Italy's golden player of the past 50 years. He also placed second in the 1973 Ballon d'or, as he narrowly missed out on a treble with Juventus. In 1999, Zoff was placed 47th in World Soccer Magazine's 100 Greatest Players of the Twentieth Century.[5]

After retiring as a footballer, Zoff went on pursue a managerial career, coaching the Italian national team, with which he reached the Euro 2000 Final, and several other Italian clubs, including his former club Juventus, with which he won an UEFA Cup and a Coppa Italia double during the 1989–90 season, trophies he had also won as a player. In September 2014, Zoff published his Italian autobiography Dura Solo un Attimo la Gloria ("Glory only Lasts a Moment").[6]

Playing career

Club

Dino Zoff was born in Mariano del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, and was elected in a poll by the IFFHS as the third best goalkeeper of the 20th Century – after Lev Yashin (1st) and Gordon Banks (2nd).[3]

Zoff's career got off to an inauspicious start, when at the age of fourteen he had trials with Inter Milan and Juventus, but was rejected due to a lack of height. Five years later, having grown by 33 centimetres, he made his Serie A debut with Udinese on 24 September 1961, in a 5–2 defeat to Fiorentina, although Zoff was not criticised for any of the goals he conceded. Zoff made only four appearances in his first season for Udinese, as they were relegated to Serie B. He played the next season as the club's starting goalkeeper, helping the club to Serie A promotion, before moving to Mantova in 1963, where he spent four seasons, making 131 appearances.[7] In 1967, Zoff was transferred to Napoli, where he spent five seasons, making 143 Serie A appearances with the club. During this time, he began to achieve notable recognition in Italy, also making his International debut with the Italian national side in 1968, and earning a place in Italy's squads at Euro 68 and the 1970 World Cup.

Following his achievements with the national side, and due to his performances during his time with Napoli, Zoff signed for Juventus in 1972, where he resumed his success. In eleven years with Juventus, Zoff won the Serie A championship six times, the Coppa Italia twice and the UEFA Cup once, also reaching two European Cup finals, and the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup during the 1979–80 season. In 1973, he placed second in the Ballon d'Or, following his Serie A title victory, also narrowly missing out on an historical treble with Juventus, after reaching both the European Cup and the Coppa Italia finals that season, in which his club were defeated, however; Juventus also finished as runners-up in the 1973 Intercontinental Cup that year. Overall, Zoff made 479 appearances for Juventus in all competitions, making 330 Serie A appearances with the club, 74 in the Coppa Italia, 71 in European Competitions, and 4 in other Club Competitions. He is currently Juventus's 6th record appearance holder in all competitions their 7th all-time appearance holder in Serie A, their 3rd all-time appearance holder in the Coppa Italia, their 7th all-time appearance holder in UEFA Club competitions, and their 9th all-time appearance holder in international club competitions.[8]

Zoff won his final Serie A championship with Juventus during the 1981–82 Serie A season, also winning the 1982 FIFA World Cup with Italy that year, as his team's captain. During the following 1982–83 season, the final season of his career, Dino Zoff won the Coppa Italia with defending Serie A champions Juventus, and he reached his second European Cup final with the club, only to be defeated 1–0 by Hamburg. Upon retirement, he held the records for the oldest Serie A player, at the age of 41, and the most Serie A appearances (570 matches) for more than 20 years, until the 2005–06 season, when the records were broken by S.S. Lazio goalkeeper Marco Ballotta, and A.C. Milan defender Paolo Maldini respectively. Behind only former A.C. Milan goalkeeper Sebastiano Rossi, Zoff has conceded the fewest goals in a single Serie A season, and he has also gone the most time unbeaten in Serie A without conceding a goal, going unbeated for 903 minutes, once again, behind Sebastiano Rossi. With 570 Serie A appearances, Zoff is also the fourth highest appearance holder in Serie A of all time, and he is the fourth oldest player in Serie A to have ever played a match.[8]

International

Zoff had won a gold medal with the Italy under-23 side at the 1963 Mediterranean Games. On 20 April 1968, Zoff made his senior debut for Italy, playing in a 2–0 win against Bulgaria in the quarter finals of the 1968 European Championships, in Naples.[9] Zoff ended up being promoted to starting goalkeeper over Enrico Albertosi during the tournament, and Italy proceeded to win the European Championship on home soil, with Zoff taking home a winners' medal after only his fourth international appearance, keeping two clean sheets, and winning the award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Zoff was left out of the Italian starting eleven in the 1970 World Cup, however, and was Albertosi's deputy throughout the tournament, as Italy went on to reach the final of the World Cup, only to be defeated 4–1 by Brazil. He returned to the starting line-up, however, ahead of Albertosi, in Italy's disappointing 1974 World Cup campaign, during which they would be eliminated in the first round.[8]

From 1972 onwards, Zoff became Italy's undisputed number 1, and he participated in the 1978 World Cup with Italy, during which he managed a fourth-place finish, keeping 3 clean-sheets. Italy were eliminated in the semi-final, in a 2–1 loss to the Netherlands. After the match, Zoff was criticised for making a fairly uncommon error, as he was beaten by a strike from distance by Arie Haan.[8] Zoff was also Italy's starting goalkeeper once again at the 1980 European Championships on home soil, however, helping his side to reach the semi-finals, finishing the tournament in fourth place once again. During the 1980 European Championship, Zoff kept three clean sheets, only conceding one goal in the bronze medal match, which Italy would lose on penalties; Zoff was elected as the goalkeeper of the tournament once again, an honour he had previously managed after winning the tournament in 1968. Throughout these two tournaments, Zoff established a record for most consecutive minutes unbeaten in a European Championship, which was later beaten by Iker Casillas in 2012. Zoff had also established the record for most minutes unbeaten European Championship qualifying, which was also beaten, by compatriot Buffon in 2011.

Zoff's greatest feat, however, came in the 1982 World Cup, where he captained Italy to victory in the tournament at the age of 40, making him the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, keeping two clean sheets.[10] He followed in the footsteps of compatriot Gianpiero Combi (1934) as only the second goalkeeper to captain a World Cup-winning side (later Iker Casillas repeated this feat for Spain in the 2010 World Cup). He was also voted as the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament. His manager Enzo Bearzot said:[8]

"He was a level-headed goalkeeper, capable of staying calm during the toughest and the most exhilarating moments. He always held back both out of modesty and respect for his opponents. At the end of the Brazil match, he came over to give me a kiss on the cheek, without saying a single word. For me, that fleeting moment was the most intense of the entire World Cup."

Zoff also holds the record for the longest stretch (1142 minutes) without allowing any goals in international football, set between 1972 and 1974. That clean sheet stretch was ended by Haitian player Manno Sanon's beautiful goal during the 1974 World Cup. Zoff made his final appearance for Italy on 29 May 1983, in a 2–0 away loss to Sweden, in an Euro 1984 qualifying match. At the time of his retirement, Zoff's 112 caps were the most ever by a member of the Italian national team. He currently sits in fifth place in this category, as well as second among goalkeepers, Gianluigi Buffon having surpassed the latter record.[8]

Coaching career

After his retirement as a player, Zoff went into coaching, joining the technical staff at Juventus, where he was head coach from 1988 to 1990. In 1990 he was sacked, despite winning the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia during the 1989–90 season. He then joined Lazio, where he became the coach in 1994, and later the club's sporting director, winning the Coppa Italia in 1998, and helping the club to an UEFA Cup final the same season, only to be defeated by compatriots Inter.

In 1998, Zoff was appointed as the head coach of the Italian national team. Although Italy were still cautious and organised defensively, Zoff used a more open, fluid, and attacking style of play than that used by his more defensive Italian coaching predecessors Cesare Maldini and Arrigo Sacchi. Zoff helped the team to qualify for Euro 2000, and he introduced several younger players to the team, such as Francesco Totti, Gianluca Zambrotta, Stefano Fiore, Massimo Ambrosini, Christian Abbiati, Marco Delvecchio, and Vincenzo Montella. Although Italy were not favourites, he coached a young Italy squad to a second-place finish in Euro 2000, suffering a 2–1 extra-time defeat at the hands of reigning World Cup Champions France in the final, due to a golden goal by David Trezeguet. En route to the final, a ten-man Italy had eliminated co-hosts the Netherlands in the semi-finals in a penalty shoot-out, after a hard-fought 0–0 draw, following extra-time. In the final of the tournament, Italy had been 1–0 up for most of the second half, and were less than sixty seconds away from winning the tournament, before France forward Sylvain Wiltord scored in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time to equalise, and send the match into extra time. Despite reaching the final, Zoff resigned a few days later, following strong criticism from A.C. Milan president and politician Silvio Berlusconi. Zoff was voted the World Soccer Manager of the Year in 2000.

Zoff returned to defending Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Supercoppa Italiana champions Lazio as a manager for the next season, replacing Sven-Göran Eriksson in 2001, and finishing third in Serie A. He resigned on 20 September, following a poor start to the 2001–02 season. In 2005, he was named the coach of Fiorentina as a replacement for Sergio Buso. Despite saving the team from relegation on the last day of the season, Zoff was let go at the end of the season.

Personal life

On 28 November 2015, it was reported Zoff was hospitalized for three weeks with a viral neurological infection, which made it difficult for him to walk.[11][12] On 23 December 2015, it was reported Zoff had been recovering well, however stating, "For the first time in my life, I was actually afraid... When I say scared, I wasn't afraid for myself, but for those around me. My wife, my son, my grandchildren. My tribe, basically. I would've really hurt them by leaving." He also revealed, "One night I saw two figures at the end of my bed. They had the faces of Gaetano Scirea [one of his deceased teammates] and Enzo Bearzot [one of his deceased coaches]. They were both smiling. I wasn't asleep, it wasn't a dream. I told them: 'Not yet, not now.' And I am still here."[13]

Honours

Player

Club

Juventus[14][15][16]

International

Italy[17]

Managerial

Club

Juventus[15]

International

Italy[18]

Other individual honours

Player


Manager

Orders

3rd Class / Commander: Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 1982[33]
2nd Class / Grand Officer: Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000[34]

Records

Statistics

Playing statistics

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1961–62UdineseSerie A40
1962–63Serie B340
1963–64MantovaSerie A270
1964–65320
1965–66Serie B380
1966–67Serie A340
1967–68NapoliSerie A300
1968–69300
1969–70300
1970–71300
1971–72230
1972–73JuventusSerie A300
1973–74300
1974–75300
1975–76300
1976–77300
1977–78300
1978–79300
1979–80300
1980–81300
1981–82300
1982–83300
Total Italy 6420
Career total 6420

[35]

Italy national team
YearAppsGoals
196850
196940
197020
197160
197250
197380
197480
197570
1976100
197760
1978120
197940
1980120
198170
1982130
198330
Total1120

Managerial statistics

Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Juventus 1 July 1988 30 June 1990 76 34 29 13 44.74
Lazio 1 July 1990 30 June 1994 136 49 53 34 36.03
Lazio 28 January 1997 30 June 1997 16 9 5 2 56.25
Italy 1 July 1998 30 June 2000 21 11 6 4 52.38
Lazio 1 January 2001 30 September 2001 30 16 8 6 53.33
Fiorentina 25 January 2005 30 June 2005 19 4 8 7 21.05
Total 298 123 109 66 41.28

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/dino-zoff/
  2. ↑ "Dino Zoff". Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 IFFHS' Century Elections – rsssf.com – by Karel Stokkermans, RSSSF.
  4. ↑ "DINO ZOFF.". Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "World Soccer Players of the Century". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Calcio, Zoff si inventa scrittore: "Dura solo un attimo la gloria"". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dino Zoff" (PDF). Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Classic Football: Dino Zoff – I was there". FIFA Official Site.
  9. ↑ "Nazionale in cifre: Zoff, Dino". http://www.figc.it/ (in Italian). FIGC. Retrieved 27 April 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  10. ↑ "World Cup Hall of Fame: Dino Zoff". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 12 September 2005.
  11. ↑ "Zoff reportedly in hospital". Football Italia. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "Dino Zoff hospitalized with viral infection". Sports Net. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Zoff: 'I saw Bearzot'". Football Italia. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Dino Zoff" (in French). L'Èquipe. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  15. 1 2 Stefano Bedeschi (28 February 2014). "Gli eroi in bianconcero: Dino Zoff" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  16. ↑ "Dino Zoff". Eurosport. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "D. Zoff". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "Dino Zoff". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "UEFA Golden Player: Dino Zoff". www.uefa.com. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "Zinedine Zidane voted top player by fans" (PDF). uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Rob Moore; Karel Stokkermans (21 January 2011). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "FIFA Order of Merit Holders" (PDF). FIFA.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  24. ↑ "1968 team of the tournament". UEFA. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "UEFA Euro 1980 team of the tournament". UEFA. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  26. 1 2 "FIFA World Cup Awards: All-Star Team". Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Golden Foot Legends". goldenfoot.com. Golden Foot. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  28. ↑ "Hall of fame, 10 new entry: con Vialli e Mancini anche Facchetti e Ronaldo" [Hall of fame, 10 new entries: with Vialli and Mancini also Facchetti and Ronaldo] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Inaugurata la Walk of Fame: 100 targhe per celebrare le leggende dello sport italiano" (in Italian). Coni. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  30. ↑ "CNA 100 Leggende CONI per data di nascita" (PDF) (in Italian). Coni. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  31. ↑ "Dino Zoff". Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  32. ↑ Jamie Rainbow (14 December 2012). "World Soccer Awards – previous winners". World Soccer.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  33. ↑ "Zoff Sig. Dino – Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana". quirinale.it (in Italian). 25 October 1982. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  34. ↑ "Zoff Sig. Dino – Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana". quirinale.it (in Italian). 12 July 2000. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  35. ↑ Dino Zoff – Century of International Appearances

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