Dino Zoff

The oldest World Cup winner and a legendary Italian goalkeeper.

He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, captaining Italy to victory in 1982 at age 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.^[1] Between 1972 and 1974, Zoff went 1,142 minutes without conceding a goal in international tournaments, which remains the longest such streak.^[2][3]

Quick Facts

Born: 28 February 1942
Birthplace: Mariano del Friuli, Italy
Height: 1.82 m / 6 ft
Position: Goalkeeper
Total caps: 642

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Zoff came from a farming family and initially studied to be a mechanic on his father's advice.^[4] Zoff moved to Mantova in 1963 and then to Napoli in 1967, making 143 Serie A appearances for Napoli.^[5][6] He made his senior Italy debut on 20 April 1968 and won the European Championship that year on home soil.^[6][7] Zoff joined Juventus in 1972 at age 30 and won six Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles, and a UEFA Cup with the club.^[8][9]

He captained Italy to the 1982 World Cup title, keeping two clean sheets and being voted Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.^[1][10][11] Zoff made 570 Serie A appearances and held the record for most consecutive matches in Serie A, with 332.^[12][13] After retiring as a player, he managed Juventus to a UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia double in 1989–90.^[14][15] He coached the Italy national team to the Euro 2000 final, losing to France, and resigned after criticism from Silvio Berlusconi.^[14][16]

What the cited sources add

The Treccani encyclopedia notes that Zoff's 332 consecutive Serie A appearances began with Napoli-Bologna on 21 May 1972 and ended with Juventus-Genoa on 15 May 1983.^[17] The Planet World Cup factfile states Zoff played 112 times for Italy and kept five clean sheets in World Cup matches.^[18]

References

Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dino Zoff", My Football Facts (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Il mito compie 70 anni: auguri Dino Zoff, campione di sport e di vita", Italian Football Federation; Luigi Garlando, "E se Buffon fosse più bravo di Zoff?", La Gazzetta dello Sport, 8 September 2008; Michael Cox, "Dino Zoff: The quiet genius", ESPN; IFFHS' Century Elections – rsssf.com – by Karel Stokkermans, RSSSF.; "The best goalkeepers of all time", CNN, 9 February 2009; Roy, "When Haiti's Emmanuel Sanon punctured Italy's Dino Zoff's record", www.fifa.com, 19 May 2023 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"Is Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer the best goalkeeper ever?", www.skysports.com, 12 May 2015. facts only, no text reused. skysports.com
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Michael Cox, "Dino Zoff: The quiet genius", ESPN; "Italy's towering guardian", FIFA.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Michael Cox, "Dino Zoff: The quiet genius", ESPN; Michael Cox, "Dino Zoff: The quiet genius", ESPN; "I 'vecchietti' del Campionato Europeo UEFA", UEFA, 7 February 2014; "Zoff, Dino", Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport; "Dino Zoff" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Italy's towering guardian", FIFA.com; "Zoff, Dino", Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport; "Dino Zoff - biografia - cinquantamila.it", Il Corriere della Sera, 5 October 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nazionale in cifre: Zoff, Dino", figc.it; "Zenga e Tacconi: quando la rivalità era uno spettacolo", La Gazzetta dello Sport, 18 October 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "I 70 anni di Dino Zoff", RAI (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dino Zoff fa 75: cinque grandi partite", UEFA, 28 February 2017; "Zoff, Dino", Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Zoff, Dino", Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport; "World Cup Hall of Fame: Dino Zoff", Sports Illustrated; "Dino Zoff, in esclusiva su Premium Calcio: "Buffon meglio di me? No. Sono più bravo io"", Mediaset, 17 October 2013; "Zoff era pazzo", Mediaset, 5 July 2012; "Record e Curiosità", La Repubblica (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Italy's towering guardian", FIFA.com; "Classic Football: Dino Zoff – I was there", FIFA Official Site (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Zoff: 'Buffon is the best'", Football Italia, 12 March 2016; "Buffon sets new Serie A record", Football Italia, 20 March 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Classic Football: Dino Zoff – I was there", FIFA Official Site; "Zoff, Dino", Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport; "Juventus rallies around stricken legend Dino Zoff", Thescore.com, 28 November 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Calcio, Zoff si inventa scrittore: "Dura solo un attimo la gloria"", La Gazzetta dello Sport, 22 September 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Italy's towering guardian", FIFA.com; "Italy's towering guardian", FIFA.com; "Zoff, Dino", Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Dino Zoff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Italia, finale da leggenda Olanda spreca e va fuori", La Repubblica, 29 June 2000; Casert, "Pele picks France in Euro final", CBC, 30 June 2000; "2000, Italia battuta in finale. L'Europeo alla Francia", Il Sole 24 Ore; Ivan Speck, "Zoff resigned after attack from Berlusconi", espnfc.com, 4 July 2000; "World Soccer Awards – previous winners", World Soccer.com, 14 December 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"Zoff, Dino", Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport. facts only, no text reused. treccani.it
"Dino Zoff (Italy)", Planet World Cup. facts only, no text reused. planetworldcup.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Dino Zoff (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.