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Sebastiano Rossi (born 20 July 1964) is an Italian retired professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a
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 ...
. During a 21-year professional career, he appeared in 346
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 ...
games, most notably representing
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
(12 seasons) with which he won 12 major titles, including five national championships and the 1994 Champions League.


Career


Cesena

Rossi joined his hometown's club,
AC Cesena AC Cesena, commonly referred to as Cesena (), was an Italian football club based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. The club spent most of its history in professional leagues such as Serie A and Serie B, but went bankrupt and folded in 2018. Another cl ...
, in 1979, at the age of 15. In 1982–83, on loan, he made his senior debuts with
Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...
in the
Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...
, being backup in a relegation-ending season. After two more loans, Rossi returned to Cesena for the 1986–87 campaign, only missing five games as the
Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...
club promoted to
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 ...
, and retaining first-choice status in the following three top division seasons, with the team finishing 12th in 1989–90; he made his debut in the competition on 13 September 1987, in a home match against
SSC Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli (), commonly known as SSC Napoli or simply Napoli, is an Italian professional football club based in Naples, Campania that currently competes in the Serie A, the highest league of Italian football. Napoli are am ...
.


Milan

After his first season in Italy's top flight, Rossi was noticed by
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
, and joined the ''Rossoneri'' (also dubbed the ''Dream Team'') that dominated
Italian football Football ( ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only Brazil (with five), runners-up in two finals both against Brazil, (1970, 1994) and ...
for much of the 1990s. In his debut campaign he backed up Andrea Pazzagli, but the veteran left for
Bologna FC 1909 Bologna Football Club 1909, commonly referred to as Bologna (), is an Italian professional football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. The club have won seven top-flight titles, thr ...
in the ensuing summer. Rossi then briefly battled for starting duties with Francesco Antonioli, before becoming Milan's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper, being part of a defensive line that included, amongst others, Mauro Tassotti,
Franco Baresi Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining th ...
,
Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Throughout his club career, Costacurta spent over twenty years with AC Milan ...
and
Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian football executive and former professional footballer who played as a left-back or as a centre-back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greates ...
, regarded as one of the greatest defensive units of all time. However, unlike the aforementioned defenders, Rossi wasn't selected to represent Italy in the
1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
, since former Milan coach
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 ...
, who was the commissioner of the Italy national team during this time, assigned the three goalkeeping spots to
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 ...
, Luca Marchegiani and
Luca Bucci Luca Bucci (; born 13 March 1969) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Bucci played for several Italian clubs throughout his career; he is mostly remembered for his choice of unusual shirt numbers and successf ...
. Under Sacchi, Rossi received two international call-ups by the end of 1994, but failed to make a single appearance for his country, although several pundits regarded him as a viable alternative to the then first-choice keeper Pagliuca; he still managed to have a successful club career under the tutelage of
Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL, AS Roma, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus FC, Juventus. H ...
, as the ''Invincibles'' went on a 58-match unbeaten run and won four '' Scudetti'' in five seasons, as well as 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 ...
in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
. Following their 1996 ''Scudetto'' victory, Milan sharply declined thereafter, finishing 11th in 1997 and tenth in 1998, as Rossi's own career declined and saw him battling
Massimo Taibi Massimo Taibi (; born 18 February 1970) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for several clubs, mostly in Italy's Serie A, Serie B, B, and Lega Pro Prima ...
for the top spot. During round 17 of the 1998–99 season, Milan were leading
AC Perugia Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio, or simply Perugia, is a professional football club based in Perugia, Umbria, Italy, that competes in the , the third division of Italian football. Founded in 1905 as Associazione Calcistica Perugia, the ...
2–0 when they conceded a late
penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...
. After
Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Considered one of the best talents to come from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) country in the early late 1990s and early 2000s, Nakata became ...
converted it, teammate
Cristian Bucchi Cristian Bucchi (born 30 May 1977) is an Italian football manager and former player who is the head coach of club Arezzo. A forward, he was best known for his goal-scoring ability in Serie B during the peak of his career. Club career Early ca ...
was struck from behind by Rossi while retrieving the ball from the back of the net. Rossi was
sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
and later was punished with a five-match ban. After beating out newcomer Jens Lehmann (who would leave after playing only five matches) for the number-one jersey in 1998–99, Rossi was ultimately usurped by upstart Christian Abbiati, who had replaced him in the Perugia match.


Perugia and retirement

After the 2001–02 campaign Rossi moved to Perugia, who were facing a goalkeeper crisis at the time. He contributed relatively as the team retained its top level status, then retired at the end of that sole campaign at the age of 39. Rossi made one final appearance for Milan at the
San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...
, in a
testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...
for Demetrio Albertini, his teammate for eleven seasons. Subsequently, he worked as goalkeeper coach in the club's youth department.


Style of play

Rossi was a tall, aggressive and physically strong goalkeeper, who was known mainly for his confidence and command of the area, as well as his handling and ability to come off his line to collect crosses and high balls, due to his height and goalkeeping technique. He was also known for his vocal presence in goal, and his ability to organise his defence. Due to his good reactions, agility, athleticism and solid positioning, he was also an effective shot-stopper, and, despite his height, was gifted acrobatically and capable of getting to ground quickly to parry shots, which made him adept at saving penalties. Despite his talent, he was at times criticised for his volatile, arrogant and controversial character, however, which led him to pick up several cards throughout his career, as well as his tendency to commit occasional costly mistakes, which, along with his height and athleticism, earned him the nickname "l'ascensore umano" (the human lift). Despite not being the most naturally gifted goalkeeper with the ball at his feet, Rossi possessed solid ball skills as well as a deep goal kick, and was also known for his distribution, as well as his pace when rushing off his line, which made him extremely effective in Milan's zonal marking system, and enabled his team to maintain a high defensive line.


Records

Rossi held the record for the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history. In an 11-match span, from 12 December 1993 to 27 February 1994, he kept a
clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...
for 929 consecutive minutes before being beaten by a long-range strike by
US Foggia Calcio Foggia 1920, commonly referred to as Foggia, is an Italian football club based in Foggia, Apulia. It currently plays in Serie C, having last been in the top level Serie A in 1995. It plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian ...
's
Igor Kolyvanov Igor Vladimirovich Kolyvanov (; born 6 March 1968) is a Russian football manager and a former player. During his playing career, he played as a striker, accumulating 90 goals scored in 333 games at the top level in the Soviet Union as well as i ...
; he surpassed the previous mark set by
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 ...
in 1972–73 by 26 minutes, and his own record of longest consecutive minutes without conceding was surpassed by
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 ...
on 20 March 2016, by 45 minutes. Rossi holds the record for the longest streak without conceding a goal in away games in Serie A history, with 825 minutes (from 7 November 1993 to 27 March 1994). Rossi also holds the record for the fewest goals conceded by a goalkeeper during a single 34-match Italian league season, with 11. With 330 appearances for Milan, he is the club's second-most capped keeper of all time, behind only Christian Abbiati (380).


Career statistics


Honours

Milan *
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 ...
: 1993–94 *
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 ...
:
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
,
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
* Intercontinental Cup:
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
*
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 ...
: 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99 *
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 ...
:
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
,
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
,
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
Individual *AC Milan Hall of Fame


Notes


References


External links


Sebastiano Rossi
at Lega Serie A * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Sebastiano 1964 births Living people Footballers from Cesena Italian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players AC Cesena players Forlì FC players Empoli FC players AC Milan players AC Perugia Calcio players UEFA Champions League–winning players Footballers from the Province of Forlì-Cesena 20th-century Italian sportsmen