Francesco Antonioli

Born in Monza, Italy, Antonioli developed as a player in the youth ranks of AC Milan. He was later loaned out to Monza, making his professional debut with the club in 1986, at the age of 16, in a 1–0 defeat to Juventus in the Coppa Italia. He also made his Milan debut in the Coppa Italia, in a 2–1 home win over Lazio, on 3 September 1988, and made his Serie A debut with the club on 18 April 1992, in a 1–0 win over cross-city rivals Inter. Due to some promising performances, he was brought to the Milan starting lineup at the beginning of the 1992–93 season, featuring in Milan's 2–1 victory over Parma in the 1992 Supercoppa Italiana; however, a string of mistakes, including a dreadful fumble in the Milan derby, which gifted Luigi de Agostini a soft goal, allowed Sebastiano Rossi to reclaim his starting spot in goal. Milan won the league title that season, also reaching the final of the UEFA Champions League. Antonioli made his final appearance for Milan on 29 November 1992, in 1–0 away win over Juventus, in Serie A, making 27 appearances for the club in total. After joining Bologna in 1995, he became the undisputed first-choice keeper for the club (apart from the 1997–98 season, during which he backed up Giorgio Sterchele); he immediately helped the club obtain Serie A promotion, winning the 1995–96 Serie B title, later helping Bologna to win the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup, and subsequently reach the semi-finals of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia. In 1999, he joined…

Antonioli never debuted for the senior side, but was selected in the Italy squad that finished second at Euro 2000, as third-choice goalkeeper, behind Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Toldo. When Gianluigi Buffon, injured himself in an international friendly warm-up a few days before the beginning of the tournament, Antonioli became second-choice ahead of Buffon's replacement in the squad Christian Abbiati. He did not play, however, with Toldo starting in goal, as Italy reached the final, losing 2–1 to France on a golden goal. Antonioli was the first-choice goalkeeper of the Italy national under-21 football team that won the 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Championship; with the Italian squad, he also took part in the 1992 Olympic Games.

An experienced and authoritative presence in goal, Antonioli was regarded as one of Italy's most talented and promising goalkeepers in his youth, although several pundits consider him to have failed to realise his potential due to several injuries as well as his character. Due to his elegant playing style, shot-stopping abilities, reflexes, and excellent goalkeeping technique, he was capable of producing spectacular, decisive, and stylish saves. However, his style of goalkeeping was predominantly efficient, and was inspired by that of his role model Giovanni Galli. Known for his penalty–saving abilities, with 14 stops in 416 appearances between 1992 and 2012, he has parried the joint–seventh–most penalties in Serie A history, alongside Stefano Sorrentino.

Milan Serie A: 1991–92, 1992–93 European Cup: 1988–89, 1989–90 Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990 European Super Cup: 1989, 1990 Supercoppa Italiana: 1988, 1992, 1993 Bologna Serie B: 1995–96 UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998 Roma Serie A: 2000–01 Supercoppa Italiana: 2001 Italy UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2000 Orders

5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000