Francesco Toldo

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Francesco Toldo
Francesco Toldo - Inter Mailand (1).jpg
Toldo with Internazionale in 2009
Personal information
Full name Francesco Toldo
Date of birth (1971-12-02) 2 December 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth Padua, Italy
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Position(s) 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 Verona (loan) 0 (0)
1991–1992 Trento (loan) 38 (0)
1992–1993 Ravenna (loan) 31 (0)
1993–2001 Fiorentina 266 (0)
2001–2010 Internazionale 148 (0[1])
Total 483 (0)
International career
1993–1994 Italy U21 8 (0)
1995–2004 Italy 28 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francesco Toldo (born 2 December 1971) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

In a professional career which spanned two full decades, he mainly represented Fiorentina and Internazionale (eight and nine seasons respectively), winning a total of 15 titles combined – in his last five years, however, he was solely a backup for the Nerazzurri.

For Italy, Toldo appeared in five international competitions, being a starter in Euro 2000, where he helped Italy reach the final. Toldo was a large, strong, and imposing keeper, with good handling and command of the area on crosses; despite his large physique, he was an agile, consistent, and reactive keeper, who was also competent with the ball at his feet, and is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation,[2][3][4] also making a name for himself as a penalty-saving specialist throughout his career.[5] In 2013, he placed 15th in the IFFHS 'Best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century' election.[6]

Club career

Early career and Fiorentina

Born in Padua, Veneto, Toldo started his career with A.C. Milan in 1990. He never played a game with the Milan however, being loaned during his stint with the club, successively to Hellas Verona FC (1990–91), Trentino Calcio 1921 (1991–92), and Ravenna Calcio (1992–93).[7]

Toldo with Fiorentina in 1993

Toldo then joined AC Fiorentina in 1993, and became the Viola club's starter for eight seasons, winning the Coppa Italia twice, the Supercoppa Italiana, and playing in one edition of the UEFA Champions League. In 2000, Toldo was named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for his performances.[7] One year before Fiorentina faced bankruptcy, in 2001, Toldo transferred to F.C. Internazionale Milano.[8] Fiorentina also announced that Toldo and Rui Costa were sold to Parma AC for a combined 140 billion lire in June 2001,[9] however both players refused to join.[10] Eventually Toldo joined Inter, Gianluigi Buffon joined Juventus from Parma; Edwin van der Sar went to Fulham from Juventus and Parma signed a replacement goalkeeper from Inter: Sébastien Frey.[11]

Inter

During his first season with the Inter under manager Héctor Cúper, Toldo performed at a high level, reaching the semi-final of the UEFA Cup, and narrowly missing out on the Serie A title on the final match-day as Inter threw away their lead by losing to Lazio, eventually finishing the 2001–02 Serie A season in third place behind Juventus and Roma.[12] 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 against Valencia in the Champions League quarter-final, leading football pundits to nickname the Madrigal stadium "La Plaza de Toldo". During the match, Toldo was seen choking teammate Di Biagio after an argument on the pitch.[13] With his performances, Toldo helped Inter reach the semi-finals of the Champions League that season,[14] losing out to the eventual champions and inter-city rivals Milan on away goals.[15] Another great memory for Inter fans was his contribution to the equalising goal, scored by Christian Vieri, in the last minute of an eventual 1–1 draw against title rivals Juventus in the 2002–03 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".[16] During the 2004–05 season, Toldo helped Inter win the Coppa Italia, and he also reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League, losing out to Milan once again, who went on to reach the final. He followed up this victory with another Supercoppa Italiana title in 2005. Toldo was the number one keeper for Inter until the summer of 2005, when Brazilian Júlio César relegated him to the bench after he had elected to sit out Inter's summer friendly match tour of England.[17]

Toldo practicing with Internazionale

Toldo briefly regained first-choice status in February 2006, following his signing of a contract extension (until June 2009[18]) and a slip in form by César, not before rumours linked him both to U.S. Città di Palermo, Milan and Fiorentina. Toldo still contributed 9 appearances for Inter in Serie A during the 2005–06 season, where Inter were awarded the title following Juventus's and Milan's involvement in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, also helping Inter to win another Coppa Italia, as well as the 2006 Supercoppa Italiana. He also made 6 Serie A appearances for Inter during the 2006–07 title-winning season. Toldo made 8 appearances across all competitions during the 2007–08 season, 3 of which were in Serie A, and the other 5 coming in the Coppa Italia, where Inter reached the final. Inter won the scudetto that season for the third successive time.[19]

In April 2009, the 37-year-old, still backing up César, signed a further two-year extension to his link, taking it to the summer of 2011.[20][21] Toldo made 7 appearances across all competitions during the 2008–09 season, making 3 appearances in Serie A, 3 in the Coppa Italia, and 1 in the Champions League, as Inter won their fourth consecutive Serie A title that year.[19]

In June 2010 it was reported that Toldo would retire from football after winning a Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League treble during the 2009–10 season,[22] since the club had also signed a new backup keeper, Luca Castellazzi. It was formally announced on 7 July, via Inter Channel, the official club channel.[23]

International career

Toldo's Euro 2000 Italy jersey located in the Football Museum in Florence

At Under-21 level, Toldo made 8 appearances for Italy between 1993 and 1994; he was notably a member of the side that won the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, making a crucial save in the semi-final shoot-out against hosts France.[24]

Toldo was capped 28 times for Italy. His debut came on 8 October 1995, replacing Gianfranco Zola after the ejection of Luca Bucci in a 1–1 draw in Croatia for the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers. He was picked up for the finals in England, as a reserve.[25]

Despite facing competition from high profile keepers such as Gianluca Pagliuca, Angelo Peruzzi, Christian Abbiati, Luca Marchegiani, Francesco Antonioli, and in particular Gianluigi Buffon, Toldo was chosen to start in Euro 2000, as Buffon broke his hand in a friendly match against Norway just eight days before the tournament started.[26]

He helped his country to finish runner-up at Euro 2000 behind the World Champions France, keeping three clean sheets, and saving one penalty during the semi-final against hosts Netherlands, and adding two more penalty saves in the successful shootout.[27][28] Toldo was named as part of the Team of the Tournament for his performances,[26] also earning the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award. Following his successful European Championship campaign, Toldo retained the number 1 Italy goalkeeping spot throughout the first half of Italy's 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, although Buffon was ultimately named Italy's starting goalkeeper for the 2002 World Cup.[25]

Additionally, Toldo was an unused reserve in Italy's 1998 FIFA World Cup, 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 squads, after which he announced his retirement from international football in 2004.[25]

Statistics

Club

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1990–91 Verona Serie B 0 0 0 0 - 0 0
1991–92 Trento Serie C2 38 0 0 0 - 38 0
1992–93 Ravenna Serie C1 31 0 0 0 - 31 0
1993–94 Fiorentina Serie B 33 0 5 0 - 38 0
1994–95 Serie A 34 0 5 0 - 39 0
1995–96 34 0 8 0 - 42 0
1996–97 32 0 3 0 8 0 43 0
1997–98 34 0 3 0 - 37 0
1998–99 33 0 10 0 3 0 46 0
1999–00 34 0 3 0 13 0 50 0
2000–01 32 0 6 0 2 0 40 0
2001–02 Inter Serie A 33 0 1 0 9 0 43 0
2002–03 32 0[1] 1 0 18 0 51 0
2003–04 32 0 2 0 11 0 45 0
2004–05 30 0 2 0 7 0 39 0
2005–06 9 0 5 0 5 0 19 0
2006–07 6 0 9 0 2 0 17 0
2007–08 3 0 5 0 0 0 8 0
2008–09 3 0 3 0 1 0 7 0
2009–10 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0
Country Italy 483 0 74 0 79 0 636 0
Total 483 0 74 0 79 0 636 0

International

[29]

Italy national team
Year Apps Goals
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

Honours

Club

Fiorentina[30]
Inter[30]

International

Italy[30]
Italy Under-21[24]

Individual

Orders

Cavaliere OMRI BAR.svg
5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000[32]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Although the equalising goal against Juventus in the 2002-2003 season is sometimes referred to as "Toldo's goal", it was Christian Vieri who scored it. See Del Piero illude la Juventus, poi Vieri (e Toldo) firmano il pari (in Italian), la Repubblica, 19 October 2002 (retrieved 29 December 2015).
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External links

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