Dino Zoff

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Dino Zoff was born in Mariano del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy into a farming family. Upon his father's suggestion, Zoff initially also pursued studies to be a mechanic in case his football career proved to be unsuccessful. As a young aspiring footballer, Zoff was also interested in other sports, and his two main role models were the cyclist Fausto Coppi, and the race walker Abdon Pamich. 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 (supposedly due to his grandmother Adelaide's recommended increased daily intake of eight eggs), 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. His performances for Mantova in the top flight caught the attention of larger clubs, while Italy's national coach at the time, Edmondo Fabbri, even considered bringing him as a back-up for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, although he ultimately chose to bring Enrico Albertosi, Roberto Anzolin, and Pierluigi Pizzaballa instead. In 1967, Zoff was transferred to Napoli, in exchange for fellow goalkeeper Claudio Bandoni, and a transfer fee of 130 million Lire; he spent five seasons in Naples, making 143 Serie A appearances with the club. During this time, he began to achieve increasing recognition in Italy, also making his International debut with the Italy national side in 1968, and earning a place in Italy's squads at Euro 68 and the 1970 World Cup. He played in all 3 of Italy's matches in Euro 1968, saving two penalties in the penalty shoot-out in semi-final, and keeping a clean sheet in the replay of the final as Italy won the championship. He did not play in the 1970 world cup final when Italy lost 4-1 to Brazil, as Albertosi was preferred, keeping Zoff on the substitutes' bench. Following his achievements with the national side, and due to his performances during his time with Napoli, Zoff was signed by Juventus in 1972, at the age

In Their Own Story

The San Paolo crowd held its breath as Bulgaria pushed forward in the Euro 1968 quarter-final. Zoff, making his senior international debut on 20 April 1968 in Naples, stood tall. The ball came, and he moved — not with flash, but with certainty. That 2–0 win was the start of something bigger. Later that same tournament, in the semi-final, he saved two penalties in the shoot-out. In the final replay, he kept a clean sheet. Italy were champions. Zoff had only four caps, but he had already won a European Championship on home soil. Naples had given him his stage, and he repaid the city by becoming the goalkeeper who would go on to lift the World Cup as captain at age 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.

Reader's Guide

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, named the third greatest goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS behind Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks. He holds the record for the longest playing time without allowing goals in international tournaments (1,142 minutes) set between 1972 and 1974. Haiti's Emmanuel Sanon ended the streak at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, in the Haiti–Italy group match. With 112 caps, he is the eighth most capped player for the Italy national team. In 2004, Pelé named Zoff as one of the 100 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 placed 47th in World Soccer magazine's 100 Greatest Players of the Twentieth Century. After retiring as a footballer, Zoff went on to pursue a managerial career, coaching the Italy national team, with which he reached the Euro 2000 final, losing to France, and several Italian club teams, 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.

Did You Know?

• Zoff is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, lifting it as captain at age 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.
• He holds the record for longest playing time without conceding a goal in international tournaments: 1,142 minutes between 1972 and 1974.
• Zoff is the only Italian player to have won both the World Cup and the European Championship.
• He was named the third greatest goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS, behind Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks.
• Zoff made his senior Italy debut on 20 April 1968 in a 2–0 win against Bulgaria in the quarter finals of the 1968 European Championships.