When I was younger, I played for years in local seven-a-side tournaments. I was usually a right-back or centre-half, often the team captain. Dependable, rarely dazzling, and occasionally guilty of a catastrophic blunder. But whenever our goalkeeper didn’t show up, I was always the first to volunteer for the gloves.
There’s always been something about goalkeeping that fascinated me. The sheer audacity of using your hands in a game of feet. The unique athleticism. The wild kits of the ’90s - all of it was fuel to my emotional fire.
And as a kid growing up in the ’90s, Italian football was the gold standard. Serie A was everything. My team? Inter Milan - the Inter of Walter Zenga. To this day, my children know his name well. It’s the nickname I use to spook them every time we take penalties on the beach.
Between Zenga and Buffon – a throne with too many heirs
For many, Walter Zenga was a hero. For almost everyone, Gianluigi Buffon became one. But between those two icons, Italy had a long list of excellent goalkeepers who, through luck or misfortune, shared the same space and time - rotating through the national team without ever fully owning the shirt.
As a devoted fan of Serie A’s golden age - and of the goalkeeper position, which I’d argue gave us some of football’s most extravagant characters - I feel compelled to revisit the names that fit both bills. And make sure they’re not forgotten.
Zenga, the last true number one
When Walter Zenga waved goodbye to the Azzurri in 1992, he left behind more than just a vacant shirt. He left a legacy. Fifty-eight caps, a lot of charisma, and a spell of 517 consecutive minutes without conceding at Italia ’90 - still a World Cup record. His reign, though, ended in failure: Italy didn’t qualify for Euro ’92. The Vicini era closed quietly, and with it, the last undisputed guardian of the Italian goal.
What followed wasn’t a smooth handover. It was a decade of doubt. A carousel of gloves. And a generation of exceptional goalkeepers… without a crown.
Why Italy missed Euro ’92
After the high expectations of Italia ’90, the Azzurri faced a turbulent qualifying campaign for Euro ’92. Drawn into a group with the Soviet Union, Norway, and Hungary, Italy failed to find consistency. Despite a talented core and the continued presence of Zenga in goal, they drew with Norway and Hungary and were defeated by the USSR. That one loss was fatal. The Soviet Union topped the group, and Italy were left out of the final tournament. It was the first major sign that the post-Zoff/Zenga era would not be as linear as many had hoped.
Pagliuca’s summer and the age of uncertainty
In 1994, Italy travelled to the United States under Arrigo Sacchi’s strict, tactical system. His choice for the number one shirt was Gianluca Pagliuca, a Sampdoria product known for his cat-like reflexes and larger-than-life personality.
The tournament didn’t start well. Pagliuca was sent off in Italy’s second group match against Norway. In came Luca Marchegiani, Lazio’s ever-reliable and cerebral stopper, who helped secure a nervy 1–0 win. Sacchi kept him in goal for the following two matches, a 1–1 draw against Mexico that narrowly secured a place in the next round, and the dramatic win against Nigeria in the final minutes. Pagliuca returned in the quarter-final match against Spain and stayed between the posts all the way to the final.
Italy stuttered but survived, thanks to Roberto Baggio’s brilliance. Wins against Nigeria, Spain, and Bulgaria carried the Azzurri to Pasadena. In the final against Brazil, Pagliuca produced a strong performance, even kissing the post after one lucky save. But penalties sealed their fate. Italy lost. Baggio missed. And though Pagliuca had done little wrong, he left America as another nearly man.
Peruzzi’s quiet command and the English collapse
Two years later, at Euro ’96, Sacchi was still in charge. Pagliuca was out. The gloves now belonged to Angelo Peruzzi, Juventus’s stocky, powerful, and quietly authoritative goalkeeper. He had succeeded Stefano Tacconi at club level and was widely trusted.
Italy opened with a win over Russia. But a loss to the Czech Republic and a goalless draw against Germany saw them eliminated in the group stage. Peruzzi had been solid. But the disappointment was widespread.
On the bench sat Francesco Toldo, tall and elegant, on the rise at Fiorentina. And Luca Bucci, the Parma keeper who was already being pushed aside by a teenage prodigy named Gianluigi Buffon.
1998 – Pagliuca’s return and Buffon’s shadow
In France, the coaching reins passed to Cesare Maldini. Peruzzi was injured. Pagliuca returned, perhaps unexpectedly, as the starting keeper.
Italy eased through the group stage. Pagliuca was calm and competent. They edged Norway in the Round of 16, but were knocked out by the hosts, France, in the quarter-finals on penalties - again.
Toldo was in the squad but didn’t feature. Buffon, just 20 years old, was the third-choice keeper. Still waiting.
It would be Pagliuca’s final tournament.
Euro 2000 – The tournament of Toldo
The new millennium brought new drama. Buffon, now Juventus’s number one, broke his hand before the tournament. Suddenly, the spotlight fell on Francesco Toldo.
And Toldo delivered. He became a legend in Amsterdam, saving two penalties against the Netherlands in the semi-finals and then two more in the shootout. He was impenetrable.
In the final, Italy led until the last gasp. Sylvain Wiltord equalised in the 94th minute. David Trezeguet struck the golden goal. Heartbreak.
Toldo had been magnificent. But with Buffon fit again, his time was up.
2002 – The beginning of the Buffon era
At the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, Gianluigi Buffon was finally the undisputed number one. At 24, he was already the most expensive keeper in history and the face of a new generation.
Italy’s campaign ended in controversy and outrage - a Round of 16 exit to South Korea, marked by disallowed goals and suspect refereeing. But Buffon stood tall.
It was the start of a dynasty. Buffon would go on to earn 176 caps, win the 2006 World Cup, and remain Italy’s number one for over 15 years. For the first time in a long time, the throne had a king.
Numbers, shadows, and silences
Between 1992 and 2000, Italy had a carousel of exceptional goalkeepers. Pagliuca earned 39 caps and played in two World Cups as starter. Peruzzi had 31 caps but never featured in a World Cup match. Toldo earned 28 caps, most famously starring at Euro 2000. Marchegiani had 9 caps and featured three times in 1994. Bucci had 3. None of them reigned long.
Others never even got the chance. Sebastiano Rossi, Milan’s title-winning keeper with a record 929-minute shutout streak, never played for Italy. Giovanni Cervone at Roma. Pino Taglialatela at Napoli. All excellent. None capped.
Buffon appeared in France ’98 as a third-choice. He would rule from 2002 onward.
And the few foreigners who dared enter Italy’s sacred goalkeeping domain? Claudio Taffarel played four seasons at Parma but lost his spot to Bucci. Marco Pascolo, Switzerland’s number one, spent a single season at Cagliari. Brief. Forgettable.
It was a time of walls. Of giants. Of guardians. But also, of heartbreak and hierarchy.
A position, too full to fill
Italy, in the 1990s, had too much goalkeeping talent and too little clarity. Clubs like Juventus, Milan, Parma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Inter, Roma all had elite shot-stoppers. And yet the national team could never quite decide.
They all deserved it. They all fought for it. None of them held it.
It was an era of great goalkeepers - but no king.
Until Buffon.
