DINO ZOFF
Dino Zoff (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdiːno dˈdzɔf]; born 28 February 1942) is a former Italian professional football goalkeeper particularly regarded for his outstanding positioning and handling of the ball, who achieved great club success with Juventus, winning 6 Serie A titles, 2 Coppa Italia titles, 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.
Having won a gold medal with the Italy under-23 side at the 1963 Mediterranean Games, Zoff made his senior debut for Italy, playing in a 2–0 win against Bulgaria in the quarter finals of the 1968 European Championships, Italy proceeded to win the European Championship on home soil, with Zoff taking home a winners' medal after only his fourth international appearance and winning the award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Despite these early successes, it took until 1974 before he was Italy's undisputed starter in International football tournaments, helping them to achieve 4th place finishes in both the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Championships.
He cemented his reputation as one of the all time greats by becoming 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; thus becoming the only Italian player to have won both the World Cup and the European Championship.
Zoff was named the 3rd 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 (1142 minutes) set between 1972 and 1974. With 112 caps, he is the sixth 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 placed 47th in World Soccer Magazine's 100 Greatest Players of the Twentieth Century.
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.