Walter Zenga
Encyclopedia
Walter Zenga is a retired Italian
footballer and current manager. He is a long-time goalkeeper for the Italian national team
and Internazionale
. He also holds Romania
n citizenship. Zenga currently serves as head coach of UAE League
team Al-Nasr
.
During his playing career, Zenga was part of the Italian squad that finished fourth at the 1984 Olympics
in Los Angeles
, USA
and the World Cup squad that finished third in the 1990 World Cup
tournament held in Italy
, in which Zenga started every game for the Azzurri.
in Serie C1, and he also played for Savona
and Sambenedettese
). Initially (in the 1982-1983 season) he was the substitute of Ivano Bordon
, who was one of the top Italian goalkeeper of his era, as he had been Dino Zoff
's reserve in the 1982 World Cup. However, Zenga played Inter's matches in the national cup, impressing enough the club that decided to don't buy another goalkeeper after Bordon's decision of playing for Sampdoria during the summer of 1983. Zenga became Inter's starter in the 1983-1984 season and at season's end he would have conceded only 23 goals, better than any other goalkeeper in that season.
The next seasons would prove to be bittersweet for Zenga: although he continued to play excellently, he didn't manage to win any trophy. In Italy Inter was the main rival of the Hellas Verona F.C.
who won the first (and to these days only) League title of its history in 1985, while in Europe he had to suffer two bitter and quite controversial defeats by the hands of Spanish giants Real Madrid
, both times in the UEFA Cup
semifinals. However, personal success was growing: he became a fan favourite due to his qualities and his love for the team, his fame was now nation wide thanks to his larger than life personality and he quickly established himself as one of the premier goalkeeper of the country. Proof was the inclusion of his name in the 22 players-list made by Italy's manager Enzo Bearzot
for the 1986 World Cup
. Initially the third goalkeeper behind Fiorentina's Giovanni Galli
and Roma's Franco Tancredi
, his name was taken in consideration by Bearzot before the match against the Michel Platini
-led France due to the poor performances of Galli (who, in the end, played also against France).
Apart from enjoing the selection for a World Cup, the summer of 1986 proved to be important for Zenga also at club level. In fact, Inter signed Giovanni Trapattoni
, who left Juventus F.C.
after an highly successfull 10-years stint, to manage the team. Meanwhile, the trio formed by Zenga, Giuseppe Bergomi
and Riccardo Ferri
(goalkeeper-right full back-stopper) was becoming the cornerstone of the team and of the Italian team also. In the 1986-1987 season Inter closely fought Napoli for the League title, finishing third also due to a series of injuries which plagued the team in the final weeks of the season (among the others, Marco Tardelli, Alessandro Altobelli
and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
had to watch the final matches from the bench). However, Zenga imposed himself as the best goalkeeper in Italy, finishing the 30 matches-long season conceding only 17 goals and by being picked by new Italy's manager Azeglio Vicini as the starter in the goalkeeping position.
The next season would prove to be disappointing for Inter and Zenga: the team struggled all the season, due to lack of compatibility between the two main forwards (team's captain Altobelli and the newly acquired Aldo Serena
)and between the two offensive midfielders Gianfranco Matteoli
and the Belgian Vincenzo Scifo
. Plus Zenga, dissatisfied with the way the club was managed, decided to leave Inter and join the then dominant Napoli, in which were playing footballers like Diego Armando Maradona and Ciro Ferrara
. However, the move didn't had a positive end and Zenga remained with Inter. The highlight of the season for Zenga was the partecipation to EURO 88, where he played all 4 matches played by Italy (a draw against Germany, two victories against Spain and Denmark in the group stage and the final loss against the USSR in semifinal). Here again Zenga was at the centre of controversy: in the first match against Germany he conceded a free kick inside the penalty area due to having made too many steps with the football in his hands (an infingment rarely sanctionated).
However the next season would prove to be one of the best for Inter and Zenga. The team, reinvigorated by the aquisitions of the young Italians Alessandro Bianchi
and Nicola Berti
, the Germans Andreas Brehme
and Lothar Matthaus
from Bayern Munchen and the Argentinian Ramon Diaz
dominated the season, winning the league title with a record haul of 58 points and breaking several other records during the year. Such a performance is even more impressive if the whole quality of the tournament is taken in consideration: in second position there was the Diego Maradona-led Napoli and in third position the future European champion Milan. Zenga ended the season allowing only 19 goals, the best goalkeeper again in that respect.
The next two seasons proved to be bittersweet fot Inter: although the team remained a title contender, it didn't manage to take another success on home soil, except for the victory in the Italian Supercup played in November 1989 against Sampdoria. The 1991 season turned up to be a close fight between Inter and Sampdoria, with the title decided in a match played in Milan: tired by the long European campaign and experiencing bad luck in the match, Inter was not able to win, losing 0-2 and letting the team of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini winning the league title. However, Inter won the Uefa Cup
that year, defeating, among the others, Aston Villa, Atalanta
and Sporting Lisbon on the road to the final against A.S. Roma
. Inter won the first match 2-0 and lost only 1-0 in Rome, achieving the first european success since the Sixties. After that match, manager Giovanni Trapattoni left the team, as he decided to go back to Juventus.
Zenga continued to play for Inter until 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1991 and 1994, his last season with the club. After being one of the backup goalkeepers (third choice) at the 1986 World Cup
, Zenga became the starter when during the Euro 1988. Zenga was still first choice goalkeeper when Italy hosted the tournament in 1990
, and led the team to a third-place finish during which he set a record of five consecutive clean sheets, and a total of 518 minutes without conceding a goal, a record still standing. The record was somewhat fortunate, as Czechoslovakia
scored against Italy in a first round match, only for the referee to incorrectly disallow it for offside. He finished his international career with 58 caps for his country.
In 1994, Zenga transferred to Sampdoria
, and then to Padova
two years later. He then moved on to New England Revolution
and Major League Soccer
. Zenga played in goal for them in the league's second season in 1997, then left to pursue an acting career (he and his girlfriend starred in an Italian soap opera
). During a game versus the Tampa Bay Mutiny
in 1997, he celebrated a goal by running to the sidelines and making out with his girlfriend, as the Mutiny barely missed the open net straight from the kickoff. Zenga came back to the Revs in 1999, as a player-manager
, but only lasted a year in both those positions.
During his playing career, Zenga was nicknamed Uomo Ragno (Spider-Man
) due to his goalkeeping skills, especially his agility.
After a short stint with Milan
amateurs Brera Calcio, Zenga moved to Romania
in 2002, first managing Naţional Bucharest and then Steaua Bucureşti.
In the summer 2005, after being fired from Steaua before the end of the season, Zenga joined Red Star Belgrade
, leading the Serbia
n team to a double
(national league and national cup in Serbia and Montenegro).
In the summer 2006, Zenga was called to coach Turkish
side Gaziantepspor
; however, after a poor beginning (5 wins in 17 league matches), he resigned in January 2007 in order to accept an offer from United Arab Emirates
club Al-Ain.
After just 5 months in charge Al-Ain sacked Zenga, who was announced in September 2007 as new Dinamo Bucharest coach, replacing Mircea Rednic
, but resigning only two months later following a 1–0 loss in a local derby lost to Steaua.
He then accepted a job as football commentator and pundit for Italian public broadcasting service RAI
.
On 1 April 2008, he agreed to replace resigning boss Silvio Baldini
as manager of Catania
. He made his Serie A debut on 6 April with a crush 3–0 home win to Napoli
, leading them to a dramatic relegation escape during the final minutes of the league, after a 1–1 home draw against Roma
.
Confirmed at the helm of Catania for the 2008–09 season, Zenga proved to be fit for the Italian top flight, leading the rossoazzurri to impressive results in the early part of the season, and agreeing a one-year contract extension with the Sicilian club.
Catania's playing style under Walter Zenga has being made famous due to the coach's care for free kick schemes; his assistant manager Gianni Vio is known to work exclusively on this particular side of football tactics during the weekly training sessions. He guided Catania to a mid-table finish and the Serie A points record for the Eastern Sicilian side; on the final home game of the season he announced he was parting company with his club by mutual consent.
On 5 June, after being linked with the managerial job at Lazio
it was revealed that Zenga had agreed a three-year contract with Palermo
to replace outgoing manager Davide Ballardini
; the move was hailed as a massive surprise due to the rosanero club being rumoured to be interested in several other managers and the bitter rivalry between Palermo and Zenga's former team Catania, which are also the only two Sicilian teams playing in the Italian top flight. He debutted with a 4–2 Coppa Italia
win to SPAL 1907
, and a 2–1 home win to Napoli
in the first week of the Serie A season. However, a number of disappointing results followed, ending in an unimpressive 1–1 home tie to Catania
that led Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini
to remove Zenga from his managerial duties on November 23, after only thirteen league games in charge of the rosanero. On 13 January 2010, the coach terminated his contract with Palermo
.
On May 11, 2010 he was announced new head coach of Saudi Arabia
n football club Al-Nassr. He was removed from his position on 24 December 2010 after a string of poor results led Al-Nasr to be overthrown from the top of the league table.
On Jan 6, 2011 Zenga appointed as new head coach for Al Nasr SC In UAE Pro league.
after spending time with Inter and Genoa
at youth level), from his marriage to Marche Elvira Carfagna. From his second marriage, to TV personality Roberta Termali, he has two more sons, Nicolò and Andrea. In 2005, he married 23-year old Romanian woman Raluca Rebedea. On 19 November 2009, she gave birth to their daughter Samira Valentina.
In April 2010, Zenga said that he wants to take Romanian citizenship.
Red Star Belgrade
Individual
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
footballer and current manager. He is a long-time goalkeeper for the Italian national team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
and Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
. He also holds Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n citizenship. Zenga currently serves as head coach of UAE League
UAE League
The UAE Pro League Committee , commonly known as PLC, is the professional association football league of the United Arab Emirates. Founded in 1973, the league currently holds a number of tournaments for the 12 participating teams, including the Etisalat Pro-League, the Etisalat Cup, Etisalat...
team Al-Nasr
Al-Nasr Sports Club
Al-Nasr Sports Club , is a professional association football club located in Dubai and plays in the UAE Pro-League. Al-Nasr, literally translating to "victory" in Arabic was founded in 1945 and considered as the first and the oldest club in the UAE...
.
During his playing career, Zenga was part of the Italian squad that finished fourth at the 1984 Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the World Cup squad that finished third in the 1990 World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
tournament held in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in which Zenga started every game for the Azzurri.
Club career
Came back to Internazionale in 1982, after starting his professional career in 1978 in the lower divisions of Italian soccer (his first team was SalernitanaSalernitana Calcio 1919
Salerno Calcio, or simply Salerno is an Italian association football club from Salerno, Campania.The club is not the legitimate heir of the former Salernitana Calcio 1919, but there is however a sports continuity between the two companies thanks to Article 52 NOIF of FIGC, and the fact that they...
in Serie C1, and he also played for Savona
Savona 1907 F.B.C.
Savona 1907 Foot-Ball Club is an Italian football club located in Savona, Liguria.It currently plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.-U.S. Savona Calcio:The club was founded in 1907 as Unione Sportiva Savona Calcio....
and Sambenedettese
S.S. Sambenedettese Calcio
Unione Sportiva Sambenedettese is an Italian association football club, based in San Benedetto del Tronto, Marche. The club was founded in 1923. Sambenedettese currently plays in Serie D, having last been in Serie B in 1989. The team's colors are red and blue....
). Initially (in the 1982-1983 season) he was the substitute of Ivano Bordon
Ivano Bordon
Ivano Bordon is an Italian former football goalkeeper.He was born at Marghera, Venice. During his Serie A career he played for Inter , Sampdoria , Sanremese and Brescia .For the Italy national football team he participated at the 1978 FIFA World Cup, Euro 1980 and was 1982 World...
, who was one of the top Italian goalkeeper of his era, as he had been Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff is an Italian former football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and has a place in the...
's reserve in the 1982 World Cup. However, Zenga played Inter's matches in the national cup, impressing enough the club that decided to don't buy another goalkeeper after Bordon's decision of playing for Sampdoria during the summer of 1983. Zenga became Inter's starter in the 1983-1984 season and at season's end he would have conceded only 23 goals, better than any other goalkeeper in that season.
The next seasons would prove to be bittersweet for Zenga: although he continued to play excellently, he didn't manage to win any trophy. In Italy Inter was the main rival of the Hellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona Football Club is a professional Italian association football team, based in Verona, Veneto. The team's colours are yellow and blue and gialloblu is the team's most widely used nickname...
who won the first (and to these days only) League title of its history in 1985, while in Europe he had to suffer two bitter and quite controversial defeats by the hands of Spanish giants Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, both times in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
semifinals. However, personal success was growing: he became a fan favourite due to his qualities and his love for the team, his fame was now nation wide thanks to his larger than life personality and he quickly established himself as one of the premier goalkeeper of the country. Proof was the inclusion of his name in the 22 players-list made by Italy's manager Enzo Bearzot
Enzo Bearzot
Vincenzo "Enzo" Bearzot was an Italian association football player and manager. He is best known for having led the Italian national football team to a triumph in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.-Playing career:...
for the 1986 World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
. Initially the third goalkeeper behind Fiorentina's Giovanni Galli
Giovanni Galli
Giovanni Galli is an Italian former football goalkeeper and currently a politician.-Club:Galli started his professional career with ACF Fiorentina, where he played nine seasons. In 1986–87, he joined A.C. Milan, being first choice for three of his four years...
and Roma's Franco Tancredi
Franco Tancredi
Franco Tancredi is an Italian former football goalkeeper who played for A.S. Roma and Italy.-Career:Tancredi made 282 appearances for Roma from 1979 to 1990...
, his name was taken in consideration by Bearzot before the match against the Michel Platini
Michel Platini
Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...
-led France due to the poor performances of Galli (who, in the end, played also against France).
Apart from enjoing the selection for a World Cup, the summer of 1986 proved to be important for Zenga also at club level. In fact, Inter signed Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni
Giovanni Trapattoni , sometimes known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football coach and former player, considered the most successful club coach in the history of Serie A. As a player he was part of Italy's squad at the 1962 FIFA World Cup....
, who left Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
after an highly successfull 10-years stint, to manage the team. Meanwhile, the trio formed by Zenga, Giuseppe Bergomi
Giuseppe Bergomi
Giuseppe Bergomi is a retired Italian footballer who spent his entire career at Internazionale, being equally at ease as a central or right defender....
and Riccardo Ferri
Riccardo Ferri
Riccardo Ferri is an Italian former footballer, centre-back.-Club career:Ferri was born in Crema, and debuted in Serie A with Internazionale in October 1981. Soon a titular defender, he became a mainstay of the team, playing for Internazionale for a total of 13 seasons.He won the Scudetto in...
(goalkeeper-right full back-stopper) was becoming the cornerstone of the team and of the Italian team also. In the 1986-1987 season Inter closely fought Napoli for the League title, finishing third also due to a series of injuries which plagued the team in the final weeks of the season (among the others, Marco Tardelli, Alessandro Altobelli
Alessandro Altobelli
Alessandro Altobelli is a former professional Italian footballer.Nicknamed Spillo for his slender build. Altobelli was one of the most effective Italian forwards of the late 1970s and 1980s...
and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge is a German former football player.He had his greatest career success with German club Bayern Munich, where he won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Cup, as well as two league titles and two domestic cups.A member of the German national team, Rummenigge won the...
had to watch the final matches from the bench). However, Zenga imposed himself as the best goalkeeper in Italy, finishing the 30 matches-long season conceding only 17 goals and by being picked by new Italy's manager Azeglio Vicini as the starter in the goalkeeping position.
The next season would prove to be disappointing for Inter and Zenga: the team struggled all the season, due to lack of compatibility between the two main forwards (team's captain Altobelli and the newly acquired Aldo Serena
Aldo Serena
Aldo Serena is an Italian former footballer. He played for the Azzurri in the 1986 FIFA World Cup and the 1990 FIFA World Cup. In total he earned 24 caps and scored 5 goals for Italy...
)and between the two offensive midfielders Gianfranco Matteoli
Gianfranco Matteoli
Gianfranco Matteoli is a retired Italian footballer.During his club career he played for Cantu San Paolo, Como, Osimana, Reggiana, Sampdoria, Internazionale, Cagliari and Perugia. He earned 6 caps for the Italy national football team....
and the Belgian Vincenzo Scifo
Vincenzo Scifo
Vincenzo "Enzo" Daniele Scifo is a retired Belgian football midfielder. He was a member of the Belgian national team, for which he appeared in four FIFA World Cups, being one of three Belgian players ever to do so.-Early life:...
. Plus Zenga, dissatisfied with the way the club was managed, decided to leave Inter and join the then dominant Napoli, in which were playing footballers like Diego Armando Maradona and Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara is a former Italian footballer and current head coach of the Italy U-21 team. He spent his playing career as a defender initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus. He is also a former manager of Juventus.-Napoli:...
. However, the move didn't had a positive end and Zenga remained with Inter. The highlight of the season for Zenga was the partecipation to EURO 88, where he played all 4 matches played by Italy (a draw against Germany, two victories against Spain and Denmark in the group stage and the final loss against the USSR in semifinal). Here again Zenga was at the centre of controversy: in the first match against Germany he conceded a free kick inside the penalty area due to having made too many steps with the football in his hands (an infingment rarely sanctionated).
However the next season would prove to be one of the best for Inter and Zenga. The team, reinvigorated by the aquisitions of the young Italians Alessandro Bianchi
Alessandro Bianchi
Alessandro Bianchi is an Italian academic and politician, best known for having formerly served as Minister of Transportation from 2006 to 2008....
and Nicola Berti
Nicola Berti
Nicola Berti is an Italian former footballer whose career spanned three decades.- Biography :In his early years, as a seventeen year old, his debut season was with Parma including the Serie C1 1983–84....
, the Germans Andreas Brehme
Andreas Brehme
Andreas "Andy" Brehme is a German football coach and former football defender. He is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina on a 85th minute penalty kick....
and Lothar Matthaus
Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Herbert Matthäus , is a German football manager and former player.In 1990, he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup...
from Bayern Munchen and the Argentinian Ramon Diaz
Ramón Díaz
Ramón Ángel Díaz , is a former Argentine football player. For most of his career, he played for, and later coached, Club Atlético River Plate. He is also known by the nickname of El Pelado ....
dominated the season, winning the league title with a record haul of 58 points and breaking several other records during the year. Such a performance is even more impressive if the whole quality of the tournament is taken in consideration: in second position there was the Diego Maradona-led Napoli and in third position the future European champion Milan. Zenga ended the season allowing only 19 goals, the best goalkeeper again in that respect.
The next two seasons proved to be bittersweet fot Inter: although the team remained a title contender, it didn't manage to take another success on home soil, except for the victory in the Italian Supercup played in November 1989 against Sampdoria. The 1991 season turned up to be a close fight between Inter and Sampdoria, with the title decided in a match played in Milan: tired by the long European campaign and experiencing bad luck in the match, Inter was not able to win, losing 0-2 and letting the team of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini winning the league title. However, Inter won the Uefa Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
that year, defeating, among the others, Aston Villa, Atalanta
Atalanta
Atalanta is a character in Greek mythology.-Legend:Atalanta was the daughter of Iasus , a Boeotian or an Arcadian princess . She is often described as a goddess. Apollodorus is the only one who gives an account of Atalanta’s birth and upbringing...
and Sporting Lisbon on the road to the final against A.S. Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
. Inter won the first match 2-0 and lost only 1-0 in Rome, achieving the first european success since the Sixties. After that match, manager Giovanni Trapattoni left the team, as he decided to go back to Juventus.
Zenga continued to play for Inter until 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1991 and 1994, his last season with the club. After being one of the backup goalkeepers (third choice) at the 1986 World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
, Zenga became the starter when during the Euro 1988. Zenga was still first choice goalkeeper when Italy hosted the tournament in 1990
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
, and led the team to a third-place finish during which he set a record of five consecutive clean sheets, and a total of 518 minutes without conceding a goal, a record still standing. The record was somewhat fortunate, as Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
scored against Italy in a first round match, only for the referee to incorrectly disallow it for offside. He finished his international career with 58 caps for his country.
In 1994, Zenga transferred to Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...
, and then to Padova
Calcio Padova
Calcio Padova is an Italian football club, based in Padua, Veneto. The club was founded in 1910. Padova is playing in Serie B, having last been in Serie A in 1996...
two years later. He then moved on to New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
and Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
. Zenga played in goal for them in the league's second season in 1997, then left to pursue an acting career (he and his girlfriend starred in an Italian soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
). During a game versus the Tampa Bay Mutiny
Tampa Bay Mutiny
The Tampa Bay Mutiny was a charter franchise of Major League Soccer active from 1996 - 2001. They initially played in Tampa Stadium and were immediately successful, winning the first MLS Supporters' Shield behind MLS MVP Carlos Valderrama and high-scoring forward Roy Lassiter, whose 27 goals in...
in 1997, he celebrated a goal by running to the sidelines and making out with his girlfriend, as the Mutiny barely missed the open net straight from the kickoff. Zenga came back to the Revs in 1999, as a player-manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
, but only lasted a year in both those positions.
During his playing career, Zenga was nicknamed Uomo Ragno (Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
) due to his goalkeeping skills, especially his agility.
Managerial career
After he left New England Revolution, Zenga retired from active football, choosing to pursue a coaching career.After a short stint with Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
amateurs Brera Calcio, Zenga moved to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in 2002, first managing Naţional Bucharest and then Steaua Bucureşti.
In the summer 2005, after being fired from Steaua before the end of the season, Zenga joined Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
, leading the Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n team to a double
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
(national league and national cup in Serbia and Montenegro).
In the summer 2006, Zenga was called to coach Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
side Gaziantepspor
Gaziantepspor
Gaziantepspor is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969, Gaziantepspor are nicknamed the Şahinler . The club colours are black and red, and they play their home matches at Kamil Ocak Stadyumu....
; however, after a poor beginning (5 wins in 17 league matches), he resigned in January 2007 in order to accept an offer from United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
club Al-Ain.
After just 5 months in charge Al-Ain sacked Zenga, who was announced in September 2007 as new Dinamo Bucharest coach, replacing Mircea Rednic
Mircea Rednic
Mircea Rednic is a Romanian football manager and former defender. As of July 2010, he manages Khazar Lankaran in Azerbaijan....
, but resigning only two months later following a 1–0 loss in a local derby lost to Steaua.
He then accepted a job as football commentator and pundit for Italian public broadcasting service RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
.
On 1 April 2008, he agreed to replace resigning boss Silvio Baldini
Silvio Baldini
Silvio Baldini is an Italian association football manager and the former head coach of Vicenza in the Serie B league.- Coach :...
as manager of Catania
Calcio Catania
Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1908 and based in Catania, Sicily. The club has spent much of its history in Serie B, gaining promotion to Italy's top league Serie A five times...
. He made his Serie A debut on 6 April with a crush 3–0 home win to Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
, leading them to a dramatic relegation escape during the final minutes of the league, after a 1–1 home draw against Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
.
Confirmed at the helm of Catania for the 2008–09 season, Zenga proved to be fit for the Italian top flight, leading the rossoazzurri to impressive results in the early part of the season, and agreeing a one-year contract extension with the Sicilian club.
Catania's playing style under Walter Zenga has being made famous due to the coach's care for free kick schemes; his assistant manager Gianni Vio is known to work exclusively on this particular side of football tactics during the weekly training sessions. He guided Catania to a mid-table finish and the Serie A points record for the Eastern Sicilian side; on the final home game of the season he announced he was parting company with his club by mutual consent.
On 5 June, after being linked with the managerial job at Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
it was revealed that Zenga had agreed a three-year contract with Palermo
U.S. Città di Palermo
Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...
to replace outgoing manager Davide Ballardini
Davide Ballardini
Davide Ballardini is an Italian association football manager who is currently the head coach at Serie A club Cagliari...
; the move was hailed as a massive surprise due to the rosanero club being rumoured to be interested in several other managers and the bitter rivalry between Palermo and Zenga's former team Catania, which are also the only two Sicilian teams playing in the Italian top flight. He debutted with a 4–2 Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
win to SPAL 1907
Spal 1907
SPAL 1907 is an Italian football club, based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1907 as Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor and was refounded in 2005....
, and a 2–1 home win to Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
in the first week of the Serie A season. However, a number of disappointing results followed, ending in an unimpressive 1–1 home tie to Catania
Calcio Catania
Calcio Catania is an Italian football club founded in 1908 and based in Catania, Sicily. The club has spent much of its history in Serie B, gaining promotion to Italy's top league Serie A five times...
that led Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini
Maurizio Zamparini
Maurizio Zamparini is an Italian businessman and the current owner and chairman of Serie A club U.S. Città di Palermo....
to remove Zenga from his managerial duties on November 23, after only thirteen league games in charge of the rosanero. On 13 January 2010, the coach terminated his contract with Palermo
U.S. Città di Palermo
Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...
.
On May 11, 2010 he was announced new head coach of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
n football club Al-Nassr. He was removed from his position on 24 December 2010 after a string of poor results led Al-Nasr to be overthrown from the top of the league table.
On Jan 6, 2011 Zenga appointed as new head coach for Al Nasr SC In UAE Pro league.
Personal life
Zenga has three children from his first two marriages. He has a son, Jacopo (who later became a footballer himself, and is currently playing in amateur Serie DSerie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...
after spending time with Inter and Genoa
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
at youth level), from his marriage to Marche Elvira Carfagna. From his second marriage, to TV personality Roberta Termali, he has two more sons, Nicolò and Andrea. In 2005, he married 23-year old Romanian woman Raluca Rebedea. On 19 November 2009, she gave birth to their daughter Samira Valentina.
In April 2010, Zenga said that he wants to take Romanian citizenship.
Player
Internazionale- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
(1): 1988–89 - Italian Super CupSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
(1): 19891989 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 1989 Supercoppa Italiana was a match played by the 1988–89 Serie A winners Internazionale and 1988–89 Coppa Italia winners Sampdoria. It took place on 29 September 1989 at the San Siro in Milan, Italy... - UEFA Cup (2): 19911991 UEFA Cup FinalThe 1991 UEFA Cup Final was an all-Italian football tie played on 8 May 1991 and 22 May 1991 between Internazionale and Roma. Inter won 2–1 on aggregate after winning the first leg 2–0 but losing the second 1–0.-First leg:-Second leg:...
, 19941994 UEFA Cup FinalThe 1994 UEFA Cup Final was played on April 26, 1994 and May 11, 1994 between Internazionale of Italy and SV Casino Salzburg of Austria. Inter won both games 1–0 to record a 2–0 aggregate victory.-First leg:-Second leg:-References:*...
Manager
Steaua Bucureşti- Liga ILiga ILiga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
(1): 2004–05
Red Star Belgrade
- Serbia and Montenegro SuperLigaSerbian SuperligaSerbian SuperLiga is a Serbian professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Serbian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Serbian First League...
(1): 2005–062005–06 Serbia and Montenegro SuperLiga2005-06 Serbia and Montenegro Superliga is the last edition before the dissolution of the state union between Serbia and Montenegro.-League table:||||rowspan=5 style="background:white;"|... - Serbian CupSerbian CupThe Serbian Cup is the national football cup of Serbia. For sponsorship reasons it is referred to in the media as Lav Cup of Serbia since 2007.The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round.-Sponsorship:...
(1): 2005–06
Individual
- Serie A Footballer of the YearGuerin d'OroThe Guerin d'Oro is an annual prize instituted by the Italian weekly football magazine Guerin Sportivo, which, since 1976, is awarded to the player in Serie A with at least 19 games played, which has obtained the best average-media rating...
(1): 1987 - IFFHS World's Best GoalkeeperIFFHS World's Best GoalkeeperThe IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper is a football award given annually since 1987 to the most outstanding goalkeeper as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics . The votes, in 1996, were cast by IFFHS's editorial staff as well as experts from 89 countries spanning six...
(3): 1989, 1990, 1991 - UEFA Goalkeeper of the YearBest European GoalkeeperThe Best European Goalkeeper award is a football award given annually since 1990 to the most outstanding Goalkeeper in Europe, as voted by the UEFA magazine, in 2009 the ESM become the donor of the award .- List of winners :*1990 – Walter Zenga...
(1): 1990