Cláudio Taffarel

Born in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul with Italian Brazilian ancestry, Taffarel began his career playing for Internacional but only appeared in 14 Série A games during his five-year spell, being however awarded the Golden Ball award for the 1988 season. In 1990, he played for Parma in Italy, a club which had just been promoted to Serie A for the first time in their history; according to a 2003 article by Andrea Schianchi of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Taffarel's move to Parma was also carried out for commercial reasons, as at the time, Calisto Tanzi, the then–owner of Parmalat – the company that owned the club –, was looking to have the Brazilian goalkeeper become the face of the corporation's new advertising campaign following its recent expansion into Brazil. Taffarel became the first non–Italian goalkeeper to play in Serie A, and proceeded to appear in all 34 league games in the following campaign under manager Nevio Scala, as the Emilia-Romagna side finished in sixth position and qualified to the UEFA Cup. He won the Coppa Italia in 1992 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1993 during his first spell with the club, although following a series of unconvincing performances, and the regulations at the time that only allowed three non–Italian players in the team's starting XI (with Faustino Asprilla, Tomas Brolin, and Georges Grün usually being selected to start by Scala), he was relegated to the bench over the course of the next two seasons, initially behind Marco Ballotta and later…

Taffarel was the starting goalkeeper for Brazil at the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship hosted by the former USSR, which Brazil won. He then made his senior debut for Brazil on 7 July 1988 in the Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup, playing all four games and conceding two goals as his team won the tournament. He was also in goal for the following year's Copa América, which Brazil also won (during his ten-year international career, he appeared in five editions of the latter tournament, winning the title for a second time in 1997, and collecting runners-up medals in 1991 and 1995). At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, he won a silver medal, saving three penalties against West Germany in the semi-finals of the tournament: one in regulation time, and two in Brazil's successful shoot-out. He was also a member of the Brazilian team that took part at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, where Brazil were eliminated in the round of 16 following a 1–0 defeat to rivals and defending champions Argentina, with Taffarel conceding only two goals in total throughout the tournament. Taffarel was the starter for the nation during the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, only allowing one goal in the first round and two in the knock-out phases, excluding two penalty kicks in the final shootout victory against Italy. Four years later, in France, he helped his national team to a second consecutive World Cup final, which proved to be his final international appearance; on this occasion,…

Regarded as one of the greatest Brazilian goalkeepers of all time, Taffarel was known to be a rational, effective, and generally consistent keeper, with good fundamental goalkeeping technique, who favoured an efficient rather than spectacular playing style. His main attributes were his explosive reflexes, positional sense, and calm composure in goal, as well as his penalty-stopping abilities; due to the muscle power in his legs that he developed while playing beach volleyball in his youth, he was known for his surprising spring and elevation from a standstill position, despite his modest stature, which gave him significant hang time and aided him in stopping penalties. Furthermore, he was known to be quick when coming off his line, and was also highly regarded for his flair and skill with the ball at his feet, and ability to play the ball out from the back, having played as a forward in his youth. Due to his lack of height, however, as well as his poor handling and decision-making, he struggled at times when dealing with crosses, and was not particularly confident or decisive when coming off his line to catch high balls; as such, critical reception of Taffarel was often divided throughout his career. While he drew praise from the Brazilian fans and media for his decisive performances with the Brazil national team, which even earned him the nickname "Saint Taffarel" in the Brazilian media, he also drew criticism at times from Italian pundits over the mental aspect of his…

Born in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Taffarel is of German and Italian descent. Taffarel is a born-again Christian who has actively shared his faith in numerous venues. He was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes since 1988, and has 17 children, 15 of them adopted.