Francesco Toldo

After playing in several outfield positions during his youth career, Toldo was inspired to become a goalkeeper by his role model Dino Zoff. He also cited Giovanni Galli as an influence. A consistent and agile goalkeeper, with strong reactions, he was also competent with the ball at his feet. Although in his youth he did not particularly enjoy facing penalties, he later made a name for himself as a penalty-saving specialist throughout his career; he also stood out for his composure, personality and mentality in goal. In spite of his large stature, and his strong and imposing physique, he was an excellent shot-stopper, who was known for his ability to get to ground quickly and easily to parry low shots; however, unusually for a goalkeeper of his height, he was less effective at coming off his line to handle crosses and high balls.

Early career and Fiorentina

Born in Padua, Veneto, Toldo began his career with Milan in 1990. He never played a game for Milan, however, being loaned during his stint with the club, successively to Hellas Verona (1990–91), Trento (1991–92), and Ravenna (1992–93). Toldo then joined Fiorentina in 1993, and became the Viola club's starter for eight seasons, helping the club win the Serie B title in his first season, and earn promotion to Serie A, later also winning the Coppa Italia twice, the Supercoppa Italiana, and playing in one edition of the UEFA Champions League, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000, Toldo was named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for his performances. One year before Fiorentina faced bankruptcy, Toldo and Rui Costa were sold to Parma for a combined 140 billion lire in June 2001 (55 billion lire for Toldo; about €28.4 million in fixed exchange rate). It made the club a net profit in 2000–01 financial year, instead of a net loss. However, both players refused to join. Toldo himself he would be the replacement of departing goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, whom Toldo refused to live under the expectation of. Eventually, Toldo joined Inter Milan instead of Parma for the same fee; Parma signed Sébastien Frey from Inter instead of Toldo; Buffon joined Juventus from Parma; and Edwin van der Sar went to Fulham from Juventus.

Inter Milan

During his first season with the Inter under manager Héctor Cúper,…

At under-21 level, Toldo made eight appearances for Italy between 1993 and 1994; he was notably a member of the side that won the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, making a crucial save in the semi-final shoot-out against hosts France. Toldo was capped 28 times for Italy. His debut came on 8 October 1995, replacing Gianfranco Zola after the ejection of Luca Bucci in a 1–1 draw in Croatia for the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers. He was picked up for the finals in England as a reserve behind Angelo Peruzzi. Despite facing competition from high-profile goalkeepers such as Gianluca Pagliuca, Angelo Peruzzi, Christian Abbiati, Luca Marchegiani, Francesco Antonioli and in particular Gianluigi Buffon, Toldo was chosen by manager Dino Zoff to start in Euro 2000 as Buffon broke his hand in a friendly match against Norway just eight days before the tournament started. He helped his country to a runner-up finish at Euro 2000, keeping three clean sheets, contributing to the elimination of both host nations (Belgium and the Netherlands) in the process. During the semi-final against hosts Netherlands, he saved one penalty in regulation time, and stopped two more in the successful shootout; he was named man of the match for his performance. In the final, Italy lost 2–1 to the reigning world champions France after a David Trezeguet golden goal in the 103rd minute; Italy had been leading 1–0, but Sylvain Wiltord equalised in the final minute of stoppage time to send the match into extra…

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