Walter Zenga

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, who was one of the top Italian goalkeepers of his era, as he had been Dino Zoff's reserve in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. However, Zenga played Inter's matches in the Coppa Italia, impressing enough that the club decided not to buy another goalkeeper after Bordon's decision to move to Sampdoria during the summer of 1983. 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.[6]

The next season would prove to be bittersweet for Zenga: although he continued to play excellently, he did not manage to win any trophies. In Italy, Inter was the main rival of Hellas Verona who won the first and, to this day, only Scudetto of its history in 1985, while in Europe he had to suffer two bitter and quite controversial defeats at the hands of Spanish giants Real Madrid, both times in the UEFA Cup semi-finals. However, personal success was growing: he became a fan favourite due to his qualities and his love for the team, his fame was now nationwide thanks to his larger than life personality and he quickly established himself as one of the premier goalkeepers of the country, which led to him being called up to Italy's squad for the 1986 World Cup.[6]

Apart from enjoying the selection for a World Cup, the summer of 1986 proved to be important for Zenga also at club level. In fact, Inter signed Giovanni Trapattoni, who left Juventus after a highly successful 10-year stint, to manage the team. Meanwhile, the trio formed by Zenga, Giuseppe Bergomi and Riccardo Ferri (who respectively occupied the positions of goalkeeper, right-sided full-back, and man-marking centre-back/stopper) was becoming the cornerstone of the team and of the Italian team also. In the 1986–87 season. Inter closely fought Napoli for the Scudetto, finishing third despite a series of injuries which plagued the team in the final weeks of the season (among others, Marco Tardelli, Alessandro Altobelli and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had to watch the final matches from the bench). However, Zenga imposed himself as the best goalkeeper in Italy, finishing the 30 matches-long season conceding only 17 goals and by being picked by new Italy's manager Azeglio Vicini as the starter in the goalkeeping position.[6]

The next season would prove to be disappointing for Inter and Zenga: the team struggled all the season, due to lack of compatibility between the two main forwards (team's captain Altobelli and the newly acquired Aldo Serena) and between the two offensive midfielders Gianfranco Matteoli and the Belgian Vincenzo Scifo. Plus Zenga, dissatisfied with the way the club was managed, decided to leave Inter and join the then dominant Napoli. However, the move did not materialize and Zenga remained with Inter. The highlight of the season for Zenga was the participation in the 1988 UEFA European Championships with Italy.[6][7]

However, the next season would prove 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.[6]

The 1989–90 and 1990–91 seasons proved to be bittersweet for Inter: although the team remained a title contender, it didn't manage to take another success on home soil, except for the victory in the Supercoppa Italiana played in November 1989 against Sampdoria. The 1991 season turned up 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 Clube de Portugal on the road to the final against A.S. Roma. Inter won the first match 2–0 and lost only 1–0 in Rome, achieving the first European success since the 1960s. After that match, manager Giovanni Trapattoni left the team, as he decided to return as coach of Juventus.[6]

On a personal scale, Zenga experienced in these seasons the peak of his career. For three consecutive years (1989–1991) he was nominated by IFFHS the best goalkeeper in the world, ahead of goalkeepers like Michel Preud'homme, Rinat Dasaev and Andoni Zubizarreta.[2] Zenga was at his best between the posts, as his great explosiveness and sharp reflexes enabled him to make great and spectacular saves. Not known for being a great penalty saver (frequently dropping down to the ground in the middle of the goal), in his career he did however save penalty kicks from Roberto Baggio, Michel Platini and Paul Merson.[6]

Zenga continued to play for Inter until 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1991 and 1994, his last season with the club.[6]

In 1994, Zenga transferred to Sampdoria, and then to Padova two years later. He then moved on to New England Revolution and Major League Soccer. Zenga played in goal for them in the league's second season in 1997, then left to pursue an acting career (he and his girlfriend starred in an Italian soap opera). During a game versus the Tampa Bay Mutiny in 1997, he celebrated a goal by running to the sidelines and making out with his girlfriend, as the Mutiny barely missed the open net straight from the kickoff. Zenga came back to the Revs in 1999, as a player-manager, but only lasted a year in both those positions.[6]

Zenga was capped 58 times for the Italy national football team at senior level between 1987 and 1992.[8] In these, he conceded only 21 goals (0.36 per game) and kept 41 clean sheets (70.69%), both averages being a record for the Italian national team. He previously featured in the Italian squad at the 1984 Olympics, where the team managed a fourth-place finish, and also featured as one of the Italy under-21 side's overage players 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, as the team's starting goalkeeper.[9] He was also included in Enzo Bearzot's 22-man Italy squad for the 1986 World Cup. Initially selected as the team's third goalkeeper behind Fiorentina's Giovanni Galli and Roma's Franco Tancredi, his name was taken in consideration by Bearzot before the match against the Michel Platini-led France due to the poor performances of Galli (who, in the end, also played against France).[6]

Zenga became the Italian national side's starting goalkeeper under manager Azeglio Vicini, ahead of his perceived career rival, Stefano Tacconi.[2][6][10][11][12][13] During the 1988 UEFA European Championships, Zenga played all four of Italy's matches (a 1–1 draw against West Germany, a 1–0 victory over Spain, and a 2–0 win over Denmark in the group stage matches, and a 0–2 loss against the Soviet Union in the semi-final). Here again Zenga was at the centre of controversy: in the first match against West Germany he conceded a free kick inside the penalty area due to having made too many steps while carrying the ball in his hands (an infringement rarely penalised). Andreas Brehme, who would become Zenga's teammate at Inter only a few months later, scored from the resulting free kick to tie the game for West Germany. Italy reached the semi-finals of the competition.[6][7]

Zenga remained first choice goalkeeper when Italy hosted the World Cup in 1990, and helped the team to a third-place finish, during which he set a record of five consecutive clean sheets, and a total of 518 minutes without conceding a goal, a record still standing.[2][6][14] The record was fortunate, in Italy's second game Czechoslovakia scored a goal which would have put them 1-0 up only to have it wrongly disallowed for offside. His unbeaten streak was ended by Claudio Caniggia's header in the semi-finals against defending champions Argentina, after Zenga had made an error when coming out to collect a cross; following a 1–1 draw after extra-time, Argentina advanced to the final 4–3 on penalties, while Zenga failed to stop a single spot kick in the shoot-out.[6][15][13] In the third-place match against England, Zenga conceded his second goal of the tournament when he was beaten by a David Platt header, although Italy managed to capture the bronze medal with a 2–1 victory.[16]

After Italy had failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship, Arrigo Sacchi was appointed as Italy's new manager, and he eventually excluded Zenga from his side, in favour of goalkeepers who were more suited to his zonal marking defensive system, such as Gianluca Pagliuca, and Luca Marchegiani.[6][17][18]

An aggressive, consistent, physically strong, complete, and athletic goalkeeper, Zenga was nicknamed Deltaplano ("Hang glider")[2][19][20][21] due to his excellent shot-stopping abilities, positioning, explosive reactions, bravery, and in particular for his speed, elegance, and agility, which enabled him to produce spectacular saves.[2][6][15][21] Despite his reputation, the media was often critical of Zenga's penalty-saving record throughout his career,[15][21] although he stopped penalties against notable specialists, such as Roberto Baggio, Paul Merson, and Michel Platini;[7] he was also criticised by pundits for his unsteady performances when coming out off his line to claim crosses, and performed best between the posts,[6][15][21][22] while he was also not particularly adept with the ball at his feet,[20] or very confident in his distribution,[23] and initially struggled in teams which employed a zonal marking defensive system and the offside trap, due to his reluctancy to rush out of goal.[17] Nevertheless, he was able to adapt successfully to the changes in regulations following the introduction of the back-pass rule, and maintained a high level of performance as his career progressed, even as goalkeepers were required to play more frequently with their feet.[24] In addition to his goalkeeping ability, Zenga also stood out for his strong mentality and leadership from the back, as well as his temper and flamboyant celebrations as a footballer,[7][17][25] and was also known for his composure under pressure, which enabled him not to be fazed if he ever made any errors.[26]

His other nickname, L'Uomo Ragno ("Spider-Man"),[2] is not related to his goalkeeping skills, but rather to a curious circumstance: in 1992, while answering questions about his exclusion from the Italian national team, Zenga softly sang a song by the Italian band 883, called Hanno ucciso l'Uomo Ragno ("Someone killed Spider-Man"),[18] which led pundits and supporters to call him like the Marvel Comics character.

As a manager, Zenga usually uses a four–man back-line with his teams, while he has used several different tactical systems and formations in midfield and attack throughout his career.[62]

Zenga has three children from his first two marriages. He has a son, Jacopo (who later became a footballer himself, and is currently playing in Serie D after spending time with Inter and Genoa at youth level), from his marriage to Elvira Carfagna. From his second marriage, to TV personality Roberta Termali, he has two more sons, Nicolò and Andrea.[63] In 2005, he married 23-year-old Romanian woman Raluca Rebedea.[64] On 19 November 2009, she gave birth to their daughter Samira Valentina.[65]

In April 2010, Zenga said he wanted to take Romanian citizenship.[66] He obtained the status in April 2012.[67]

As of 3 August 2020

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
New England Revolution		24 August 1998	30 September 1999	36	13	0 [nb 1]	23	54	54	0	36.11
Brera		31 October 2000	18 January 2001	3	2	0	1				66.67
Naţional Bucureşti		1 July 2002	5 December 2003	43	19	8	16				44.19
Steaua București		30 June 2004	22 July 2005	41	23	8	10	59	32	+27	056.10
Red Star Belgrade		22 July 2005	12 June 2006	43	33	6	4	95	35	+60	076.74
Gaziantepspor		12 June 2006	30 November 2006	15	4	5	6	15	21	−6	026.67
Al Ain		7 January 2007	30 June 2007	15	6	5	4	14	15	−1	040.00
Dinamo Bucureşti		3 September 2007	24 November 2007	12	5	4	3	19	12	+7	041.67
Catania		1 April 2008	30 June 2009	50	16	10	24	56	64	−8	032.00
Palermo		1 July 2009	23 November 2009	14	5	5	4	21	20	+1	035.71
Al-Nassr		11 May 2010	24 December 2010	16	7	8	1	33	19	+14	043.75
Al-Nasr		6 January 2011	13 June 2013	94	36	26	32	162	142	+20	038.30
Al Jazira		21 October 2013	14 May 2014	35	15	10	10	60	51	+9	042.86
Sampdoria		4 June 2015	15 November 2015	14	5	4	5	21	21	+0	035.71
Al-Shaab		1 December 2015	20 February 2016	10	1	1	8	12	31	−19	010.00
Wolverhampton Wanderers[68]		30 July 2016	25 October 2016	17	6	4	7	20	21	−1	035.29
Crotone		8 December 2017	30 June 2018	23	6	5	12	29	36	−7	026.09
Venezia		11 October 2018	5 March 2019	19	5	7	7	18	22	−4	026.32
Cagliari		3 March 2020	2 August 2020	13	3	4	6	11	16	−5	023.08
Total				513	210	120	183	699	612	+87	040.94