Walter Zenga

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Zenga joined Inter Milan in 1982, after starting his professional career in 1978 in the lower divisions of Italian football (his first team was Salernitana in Serie C1, and he also played for Savona and Sambenedettese). Initially, in the 1982–83 season he was the substitute of Ivano Bordon. Zenga became Inter's starting goalkeeper in the 1983–84 season, where he conceded only 23 goals, better than any other goalkeeper in that season. He won the UEFA Cup with Inter in 1991. Zenga continued to play for Inter until 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1991, his last season with the club. In 1994, Zenga transferred to Sampdoria, and then to Padova two years later.

In Their Own Story

The 1988–89 season proved to be one of the best for Inter and Zenga. The team, reinvigorated by the acquisitions of the young Italians Alessandro Bianchi and Nicola Berti, the Germans Andreas Brehme and Lothar Matthäus from Bayern Munich and the Argentine Ramón Díaz dominated the season, winning the league title with a record haul of 58 points and breaking several other records during the year. Such a performance is even more impressive if the whole quality of the tournament is taken in consideration: in second position there was the Diego Maradona-led Napoli and in third position the star-studded and future European champion Milan. Zenga ended the season conceding only 19 goals, the best goalkeeper again in that respect. The 1991 season turned out to be a close fight between Inter and Sampdoria, with the title decided in a match played in Milan, which Inter would lose 0–2 allowing Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini to win the league title. However, Inter won the UEFA Cup that year, defeating, among the others, Aston Villa, Atalanta and Sporting CP on the road to the final against Roma. Inter won the first match 2–0 and lost only 1–0 in Rome, achieving the first European success since the 1960s.

Reader's Guide

Zenga joined Inter Milan in 1982. He became the starting goalkeeper in 1983–84. He won the UEFA Cup with Inter in 1991. He left Inter in 1994, transferring to Sampdoria, then to Padova two years later. After retiring as a player, he became an actor in an Italian soap opera and a pundit on Italian TV. Since 1998 he has worked as a head coach.

Did You Know?

• Zenga kept a World Cup record unbeaten streak of 517 minutes until it was broken by Gianluigi Buffon in 2014.
• He was a three-time winner of the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award.
• Zenga won the UEFA Cup with Inter Milan in 1991.
• He was the starting goalkeeper for Italy at the 1990 World Cup, where Italy finished third.