Enrico Albertosi

Born in Pontremoli, at club youth level, Albertosi represented the Spezia youth academy for a season, before making his debut in Serie A at the age of 18 for Fiorentina on 18 January 1959, playing in a goalless draw with Roma. Despite heavy competition from Giuliano Sarti during his first five seasons at the Tuscan club, where he initially mainly served as a back-up, Albertosi represented Fiorentina until 1968, winning a Mitropa Cup in 1966, a European Cup Winners' Cup in 1961 (the first ever edition of the competition), and 2 Coppa Italia trophies in 1961 and 1966. He later transferred to Luigi Riva's side, Cagliari, where he helped to win Cagliari's legendary first and only Scudetto during the 1969–70 season, his second season with the Sardinian club, recording what was at the time the lowest number of goals conceded in a 16-team Serie A campaign. He later transferred to Milan in 1974, where he remained for six years, and he won yet another Serie A championship medal with the club during the 1978–79 season, along with another Coppa Italia during the 1976–77 season. With 233 appearances for the club, he is Milan's fifth-most capped keeper of all time, behind only Christian Abbiati (380), Sebastiano Rossi (330), Dida (302) and Lorenzo Buffon (300).

Albertosi was involved with the Italian "Totonero" betting scandal of 1980 and was ultimately suspended for two seasons. After Italy won the 1982 World Cup in Spain, the Italian football federation decided to let him play again.…

Albertosi made his debut for the Italy national team on 15 September 1961, in a 4–1 friendly victory against Argentina in Florence, under manager Giovanni Ferrari. His final international game took place in June 1972, when Italy drew 1–1 in a friendly match with Bulgaria, held in Sofia. Under new manager Edmondo Fabbri, Albertosi became a regular in Italy's squad; he played his first World Cup with Italy in England 1966, where they were surprisingly and disappointingly knocked out in the first round. In the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Albertosi was once again named Italy's starting goalkeeper, due to his excellent and consistent performances throughout the season with Cagliari. He started in all of Italy's matches, and was involved in the so-called "Game of the Century", when Italy played West Germany in the semi-final of the tournament; despite conceding three goals in this match, and some moments of hesitation and indecisiveness, Albertosi later won praise for a string of decisive acrobatic saves. He is also remembered for berating Gianni Rivera during the match, following the playmaker's error when defending a set-piece, which led to Germany's equaliser: Rivera briefly stepped away from the post, leaving it unmarked, and allowing Gerd Müller to score his second goal to tie the match at 3–3 in the 110th minute; Rivera later redeemed himself by scoring the match-winner a minute later. Albertosi later appeared in the 1970 World Cup Final, where Italy became tournament…

Albertosi was a physically strong and athletic goalkeeper who was known for his eccentric personality and occasionally fiery temperament. He is regarded as one of the leading Italian goalkeepers of his generation and has been included among the country's greatest goalkeepers by football commentators and historians. Renowned for his reflexes, speed, agility, and shot-stopping ability, he was particularly noted for producing acrobatic and decisive saves. Although widely praised for his technical ability, longevity, and consistency, he was at times criticised for lapses in concentration and discipline, with some observers suggesting that his light-hearted character occasionally affected the consistency of his performances.

Club

Fiorentina Coppa Italia: 1960–61, 1965–66 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1960–61 Mitropa Cup: 1966 Cagliari Serie A: 1969–70 Milan Serie A: 1978–79 Coppa Italia: 1976–77

International

Italy FIFA World Cup: Runner-up: 1970 UEFA European Football Championship: 1968

Individual

Fiorentina Hall of Fame: 2018