.jpg) Toldo withInter Milan in 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francesco Toldo[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1971-12-02)2 December 1971 (age 53) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Padua, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1985 | USMA Caselle | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1987 | Montebelluna | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1990 | Milan | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1993 | Milan | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | →Hellas Verona (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | →Trento (loan) | 38 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | →Ravenna (loan) | 31 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2001 | Fiorentina | 266 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2010 | Inter Milan | 148 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 483 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Italy U21 | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2004 | Italy | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Francesco ToldoCavaliere OMRI (Italian pronunciation:[franˈtʃeskoˈtɔldo]; born 2 December 1971) is an Italian retiredfootballer who played as agoalkeeper. He is regarded by some pundits as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation.[2][3]
In a professional career which spanned two full decades, he mainly representedFiorentina andInter Milan (eight and nine seasons respectively), winning a total of 15 trophies combined.
For theItaly national team, Toldo took part in five international competitions, being a starter inUEFA Euro 2000, where he helped Italy reach thefinal.
Born inPadua,Veneto, Toldo began his career withMilan in 1990. He never played a game for Milan, however, being loaned during his stint with the club, successively toHellas Verona (1990–91),Trento (1991–92), andRavenna (1992–93).[4]
Toldo then joinedFiorentina in 1993, and became theViola club's starter for eight seasons, helping the club win theSerie B title in hisfirst season, and earn promotion toSerie A, later also winning theCoppa Italia twice, theSupercoppa Italiana, and playing in one edition of theUEFA Champions League, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000, Toldo was named theSerie A Goalkeeper of the Year for his performances.[4]
One year before Fiorentina faced bankruptcy, Toldo andRui Costa were sold toParma for a combined 140 billionlire in June 2001[5] (55 billion lire for Toldo; about€28.4 million in fixed exchange rate). It made the club a net profit in 2000–01 financial year, instead of a net loss.[6] However, both players refused to join.[7] Toldo himself he would be the replacement of departing goalkeeperGianluigi Buffon, whom Toldo refused to live under the expectation of.[8] Eventually, Toldo joinedInter Milan instead of Parma for the same fee;[6][8][9] Parma signedSébastien Frey from Inter instead of Toldo; Buffon joined Juventus from Parma; andEdwin van der Sar went toFulham from Juventus.[10]
During his first season with the Inter under managerHéctor Cúper, Toldo performed at a high level, reaching the semi-final of theUEFA Cup, and narrowly missing out on theSerie A title on the final match-day as Inter threw away their lead by losing toLazio, eventually finishing the 2001–02 Serie A season in third place behind Juventus andRoma.[11] Due to his consistency with Inter, Toldo soon became a fan favourite and was noted for his passionate and high-quality performances. The following season, he was praised particularly for his saves againstValencia in the Champions League quarter-final, leading football pundits to nickname theMestalla "La Plaza de Toldo". During the match, Toldo was seen getting choked by teammateLuigi Di Biagio after an argument on the pitch.[12] With his performances, Toldo helped Inter reach the semi-finals of theChampions League that season,[13] losing out to the eventual champions andinter-city rivals Milan on away goals.[14] Another great memory for Inter fans was his contribution to the equalising goal, scored byChristian Vieri, in the last minute of an eventual 1–1 draw againsttitle rivals Juventus in the2002–03 season; at first it appeared that Toldo might have been the scorer instead of Vieri, and even today the goal is still often referred to as "Toldo's goal".[15]
During the2004–05 season, Toldo helped Inter win theCoppa Italia, and he also reached the quarter-finals of theChampions League, losing out to Milan once again, who went on to reach the final. He followed up this victory with anotherSupercoppa Italiana title in 2005. Toldo was the number one keeper for Inter until the summer of 2005, when the BrazilianJúlio César relegated him to the bench after he had elected to sit out Inter's summer friendly match tour of England.[16]
.jpg)
Toldo briefly regained first-choice status in February 2006, following his signing of a contract extension (until June 2009[17]) and a slip in form by Júlio César, not before rumours linked him both toPalermo, Milan and Fiorentina. Toldo still contributed nine appearances for Inter in Serie A during the2005–06 season, where Inter were awarded the title following Juventus's and Milan's involvement in the2006 Calciopoli scandal, also helping Inter to win anotherCoppa Italia, as well as the2006 Supercoppa Italiana. He also made six Serie A appearances for Inter during the2006–07 title-winning season. Toldo made eight appearances across all competitions during the2007–08 season, three of which were in Serie A, and the other five coming in theCoppa Italia, where Inter reached the final. Inter won theScudetto that season for the third successive time.[18]
In April 2009, the 37-year-old Toldo, still backing up Júlio César, signed a further two-year extension to his link, taking it to the summer of 2011.[19][20] Toldo made seven appearances across all competitions during the2008–09 season, making three appearances in Serie A, three in the Coppa Italia, and one in the Champions League as Inter won their fourth consecutive Serie A title that year.[18]
In June 2010, it was reported that Toldo would retire from football after winning aSerie A,Coppa Italia andChampions Leaguetreble during the2009–10 season,[21] since the club had also signed a new backup goalkeeper,Luca Castellazzi. It was formally announced on 7 July viaInter Channel, the official club channel.[22]
Atunder-21 level, Toldo made eight appearances for Italy between 1993 and 1994; he was notably a member of the side that won the1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, making a crucial save in the semi-final shoot-out against hostsFrance.[23]
Toldo wascapped 28 times forItaly. His debut came on 8 October 1995, replacingGianfranco Zola after theejection ofLuca Bucci in a 1–1 draw inCroatia for theUEFA Euro 1996qualifiers. He was picked up for the finals in England as a reserve.[24]
Despite facing competition from high-profile goalkeepers such asGianluca Pagliuca,Angelo Peruzzi,Christian Abbiati,Luca Marchegiani,Francesco Antonioli and in particularGianluigi Buffon, Toldo was chosen to start inEuro 2000 as Buffon broke his hand in a friendly match againstNorway just eight days before the tournament started.[25]
He helped his country to a runner-up finish at Euro 2000, keeping three clean sheets, contributing to the elimination of both host nations (Belgium and theNetherlands) in the process. During the semi-final against hosts Netherlands, he saved onepenalty in regulation time, and stopped two more in the successfulshootout;[26][27] he was named man of the match for his performance.[28] In thefinal, Italy lost 2–1 to the reigning world championsFrance after aDavid Trezeguet golden goal in the 103rd minute; Italy had been leading 1–0, butSylvain Wiltord equalised in the final minute of stoppage time to send the match into extra time.[29] Toldo was named to the Team of the Tournament for his performances,[25] also earning the third place in theIFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award.[30] Following his successful European Championship campaign, Toldo played as a starter at the beginning of the2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign;[31] however, after recovering from the aforementioned injury, Buffon was eventually confirmed byGiovanni Trapattoni as Italy's first-choice goalkeeper.[32]
Additionally, Toldo was an unused reserve in Italy's1998 World Cup,2002 World Cup, andEuro 2004 squads, after which he announced his retirement from international football in 2004.[24] His final appearance for Italy came on 18 February 2004, in a 2–2 friendly draw againstCzech Republic at theStadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo.[33]
After playing in several outfield positions during his youth career, Toldo was inspired to become a goalkeeper by his role modelDino Zoff.[34] He also citedGiovanni Galli as an influence.[4] A consistent[35][36][37] and agile goalkeeper, with strong reactions,[38][39] he was also competent with the ball at his feet.[40] Although in his youth he did not particularly enjoy facing penalties,[41] he later made a name for himself as apenalty-saving specialist throughout his career;[42] he also stood out for his composure, personality and mentality in goal.[36][43][44] In spite of his large stature, and his strong and imposing physique, he was an excellent shot-stopper, who was known for his ability to get to ground quickly and easily to parry low shots;[39][45][46] however, unusually for a goalkeeper of his height, he was less effective at coming off his line to handle crosses and high balls.[38][47][48]
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Hellas Verona | 1990–91 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Trento | 1991–92 | Serie C2 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 0 | |||
| Ravenna | 1992–93 | Serie C1 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| Fiorentina | 1993–94 | Serie B | 33 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 0 | |||
| 1994–95 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 0 | ||||
| 1995–96 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | – | 42 | 0 | ||||
| 1996–97 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 44 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 0 | ||||
| 1998–99 | Serie A | 33 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | – | 46 | 0 | |||
| 1999–2000 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13[d] | 0 | – | 50 | 0 | |||
| 2000–01 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | – | 40 | 0 | |||
| Total | 266 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 336 | 0 | |||
| Inter Milan | 2001–02 | Serie A | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9[c] | 0 | – | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Serie A | 32 | 0[e] | 1 | 0 | 18[d] | 0 | – | 51 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | – | 45 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | – | 39 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Serie A | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 148 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 234 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 483 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 79 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 639 | 0 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 0 | |
Fiorentina[50]
Inter Milan[50]
Italy U21[23]
Italy[50]
Individual
Orders
Italy squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
