Angelo Peruzzi (; born 16 February 1970) is an Italian football coach and former

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, and a three-time winner of the

Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year The AIC Goalkeeper of the Year () was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) since 1997 to 2010 as part of the Oscar del Calcio awards, given to the goalkeeper who had been considered to have performed the best ov ...

award. Peruzzi is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest Italian goalkeepers of all time, and as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation. Throughout his career, he played for Italian clubs

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

and

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. He had a highly successful spell with Juventus, where he won three

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

titles, the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

, the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

and the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, among other titles; he won a second Coppa Italia with Lazio before retiring with the club in 2007. At international level, he played 31 times for the Italy national team from his debut in 1995, and was a member of their squad which won the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

. He also represented them at the 1992 Olympics, at

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

(as a starting goalkeeper), and at

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

Club career

Peruzzi began his

career with

in 1987. He was loaned to

in 1989, but was one of the two Roma players (the other being

Andrea Carnevale Andrea Carnevale (; born 12 January 1961) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward. Early life Carnevale was born to Gaetano and Filomena Carnevale as one of the seven children. As a child, he learned to be a carpenter in Mont ...

) to be suspended for a year in October 1990 after failing a doping test because of an appetite suppressant he was taking at the time, which contained the banned substance

Phentermine Phentermine, sold under the brand name Adipex-P among others, is a medication used together with diet and exercise to treat obesity. It is available by itself or as the combination phentermine/topiramate. Phentermine is taken by mouth. Com ...

. His signing with

in 1991 successfully revived his career and he soon surpassed

Stefano Tacconi Stefano Tacconi (; born 13 May 1957) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the only goalkeeper to have won all international club competitions, a feat he managed during his time with Juventus. At interna ...

as the club's starting goalkeeper, remaining with the team until 1999, and winning the

Award in 1997 and 1998, as well as the Guerin d'oro in 1997. Peruzzi won three Serie A titles, a

, two

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

titles, a

, a

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

, an Intercontinental Cup and was part of Juventus' 1996

title squad that defeated

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

in the final on penalties, saving two in the final shoot-out. He also reached two more consecutive Champions League finals with the

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

-based club, as well as a semi-final finish during his final season with the club. Peruzzi also won a runners-up medal in the 1995 UEFA Cup final and in the 1992 Coppa Italia final, and was voted to the ESM Team of the Year during the 1996–97 and the 1997–98 seasons. Over this period, several Italian pundits began to consider him the best goalkeeper in the world, due to his consistency. Following the departure of

Gianluca Pagliuca Gianluca Pagliuca (; born 18 December 1966) is an Italian football coach and former professional goalkeeper. He is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best keepers ever. Throughout his ...

, Peruzzi's perceived career rival in his position, from

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1999, Peruzzi left Juventus for Inter in 1999 on a 28 billion lire (€14.461 million) transfer fee,F.C. Internazionale Milano S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2000, PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.(in Italian) and a reported 8 billion lire pre-tax wage. Peruzzi spent one unsuccessful season with the club – despite his excellent performances – under his former Juventus manager

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional association football, football player and manager, who led the Italy national football team, Italy national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appoin ...

, finishing the league season in fourth place, and reaching the Coppa Italia final. The following season, he transferred to

for 40 billion lire (€20.658 million; in a cash plus Marco Ballotta deal), and made over 200 appearances in Serie A and European competitions with the club, winning the Supercoppa Italiana in 2000 and the Coppa Italia in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. He kept playing at a very high level, being generally considered the best Italian goalkeeper behind

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is ...

. Although his contract with the ''Biancocelesti'' ran until 2008, Peruzzi retired at the end of the 2006–07 season: after the 0–0 draw with Roma 29 April 2007, Peruzzi stated that he had played his last match due to the frustration of nagging injuries. However, he was put on in the final few minutes in Lazio's final home match of the season, a goalless draw against

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

on 20 May, as a goodbye to the fans. He was named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the third time in his career on 28 January 2008.

International career

Peruzzi was capped 31 times in 11 years with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, between 1995 and 2005. He was also a member of the national squad that competed at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, making two appearances during the tournament. Peruzzi made his senior debut under manager

Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach, best known for having twice managed AC Milan. Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and his Milan side (1987–1991) is widely regarded ...

, in a 4–1 home win over

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, in an

UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying Qualifying for UEFA Euro 1996 took place throughout 1994 and 1995. Forty-seven teams were divided into eight groups, with each team playing the others in their group both home and away. The winners of each group and the six best runners-up qualif ...

match, on 25 March 1995, and he was named Italy's starting goalkeeper at

Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

, although Italy suffered a group-stage elimination. He was scheduled to be the starter at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

under

Cesare Maldini Cesare Maldini (; 5 February 1932 – 3 April 2016) was an Italian professional football manager and player who played as a defender. Father to Paolo Maldini and grandfather to Daniel Maldini, Cesare began his career with Italian side Trie ...

, but suffered a late injury and was replaced in the starting line-up by Gianluca Pagliuca. After the 1998 World Cup, Maldini was replaced by Italy's former goalkeeper and record-setter

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is the oldest ever ...

, who confirmed Peruzzi as first-choice goalkeeper during his first year as Italy's coach: nonetheless, after a match against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in 1999,

was given the starting spot, while

Francesco Toldo Francesco Toldo (; born 2 December 1971) is an Italian retired Association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation. In a ...

became his first substitute. Being overtaken by two colleagues, Peruzzi chose not to participate in the

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

as the third goalkeeper, a decision that, in Zoff's words, prevented him from potentially recovering his first-choice status: because of the last-minute injury that excluded Buffon from the tournament, Peruzzi could have been the starter instead of Toldo, had he accepted the call. Peruzzi did not play for Italy again until making a substitute appearance in a friendly against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on 28 April 2004, and was subsequently called up by

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), popularly nicknamed "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian former Association football, football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Football in Italy, Italian football ...

as a backup keeper at

: Trapattoni's choice appeared unusual, since Italy's third-choice goalkeeper for World Cups and European Championships was generally selected among young, promising ones; instead, the contemporary presence of two veteran keepers such as Peruzzi and Toldo raised doubts about their actual role behind Buffon, because neither of them would have easily accepted to play a marginal part. In August 2005, he was the starter in two World Cup qualifiers against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, while Buffon was shelved with a shoulder injury; Peruzzi then served as second goalkeeper (behind Buffon) in the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

under Marcello Lippi, as Italy won the tournament for the fourth time. Even though he did not take the field, teammate Daniele De Rossi highlighted Peruzzi's important role in the squad as a key dressing room personality, due to his leadership and experience. Peruzzi retired from international football after the tournament.

Style of play

A powerful, athletic, complete, and consistent goalkeeper – although injury-prone –, Peruzzi was renowned for his physical strength, positioning, explosive reactions, speed, and agility, in spite of his sturdy physique; he particularly excelled at quickly rushing off his line to parry or collect the ball on the ground, as well as at anticipating his opponents outside the penalty area, which made him particularly effective in teams which relied on a zonal marking defensive system with high defensive lines. Due to his modest height for a goalkeeper, he was less effective at coming out to collect crosses, and preferred to punch the ball out rather than trying to catch it, although his handling was generally reliable. While he was extremely gifted both technically and acrobatics-wise, he was an efficient goalkeeper, who performed spectacular dives only in case of strict necessity: he indeed believed that "a great keeper must walk across the line: this way he disheartens the opposing strikers, because he seems to save shots effortlessly". Throughout his career, he also stood out for his concentration, and for his ability to produce decisive saves even after not having been called into action for long periods of time during a match; he was also effective at stopping penalties, while he was not particularly skilled with the ball at his feet, and usually preferred to clear the ball away whenever it was passed back to him. A precocious talent in his youth, he was regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world in his prime during the 1990s, but also stood out for his longevity in his later career, which enabled him to maintain a consistently high level of performances. Although he was known for his personality, leadership from the back, strong mentality, and the confidence he inspired in his teammates throughout his career, he had quite a kind, calm and reserved character off the pitch, which, although made him very popular with his teammates, led some pundits to accuse him of not being as effective at directing his back-line. Because of his stocky physique, Peruzzi was given the nicknames "Tyson" in reference to the boxer

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

's similarly powerful build, and "The Boar" ("Cinghialone," in Italian).

Coaching career

After his retirement, Peruzzi worked in the Italy national team staff as one of Marcello Lippi's collaborators. He was then appointed

Ciro Ferrara Ciro Ferrara (; born 11 February 1967) is an Italian former footballer and manager. Ferrara spent his playing career as a defender, initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus, winning seven total Serie A titles as well as other domestic and ...

's assistant on the Italy under-21 team and in 2012 followed him in joining Sampdoria in Serie A.

Career statistics

Club

*¹ Including 1 match in season 1999-00 UEFA Champions League qualification.

International

:Appearances and goals by national team and year

Honours

Juventus *

: 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98 *

: 1994–95 *

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

: 1995–96 *

: 1992–93 *

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

* Intercontinental Cup:

Lazio *

: 2003–04 *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Italy *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Individual * Guerin d'Oro: 1997 * ESM Team of the Year: 1996–97, 1997–98 *

: 1997, 1998, 2007 Orders :* ITA OMRI 2001 Uff BAR

4th Class / Officer: '' Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 2006"Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana Sig. Angelo Peruzzi"
Retrieved 26 May 2012 :*

CONI Coni may refer to: *Cuneo, Italy *Coni, Azerbaijan *Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the develop ...

: ''Golden Collar of Sports Merit'': 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peruzzi, Angelo 1970 births Living people Sportspeople from Viterbo Footballers from the Province of Viterbo Men's association football goalkeepers Italian men's footballers Italy men's international footballers People of Lazian descent AS Roma players Hellas Verona FC players Juventus FC players Inter Milan players SS Lazio players Serie A players Olympic footballers for Italy Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 1996 players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Doping cases in association football Italian sportspeople in doping cases UEFA Champions League–winning players UEFA Europa League–winning players Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic 20th-century Italian sportsmen