ANGELO PERUZZI (LAZIO)

Guardian Angelo

Angelo Peruzzi Club: Lazio Born: Blera (Rome), 16/2/70 Position: Goalkeeper Ht/Wt: 1.81m/88kg Serie A debut: Milan 0-2 ROMA, 13/12/87 Season Club Div Apps 1986-87 Roma A 1987-88 Roma A 1 1988-89 Roma A 12 1989-90 Verona A 29 1990-91 Roma A 3 1991-92 Juventus A 6 1992-93 Juventus A 29 1993-94 Juventus A 32 1994-95 Juventus A 26 1995-96 Juventus A 30 1996-97 Juventus A 29 1997-98 Juventus A 31 1998-99 Juventus A 25 1999-00 Inter A 33 2000-01 Lazio A 29 2001-02 Lazio A 27 2002-03 Lazio A 30 2003-04 Lazio A 27 2004-05 Lazio A 21 2005-06 Lazio A 30 2006-07 Lazio A 28 International debut: ITALY 4-1 Estonia, 25/3/95 International apps: 31

Lazio No 1 Angelo Peruzzi has opted to wave goodbye to a game that still loves him. Lorenzo Zacchetti of Eurocalcio reports on a goalkeeper who will rightly be remembered as one of the all-time greats

Lazio’s Angelo Peruzzi announced his retirement at the end of the derby against Roma, the side with which he made his first Serie A appearance 20 years ago. His debut was somewhat strange though. It was December 13, 1987, and the Giallorossi had an away game at Milan in the first year of Silvio Berluconi’s reign in the fashion capital of Italy. In between the Roma posts was the untouchable Franco Tancredi, a member of the historic Scudetto winning side of 1983 – who is now the goalkeeping Coach at Real Madrid. Back then, the San Siro was only

two tiers high and from the highest point of the Rossoneri section a firecracker was thrown which knocked the goalkeeper into a state of unconsciousness. In his place came on a young, terrified Peruzzi. Born in Blera, near Viterbo, on February 16, 1970, Peruzzi lived through a game which was later scrapped by the footballing authorities as the capital giants were awarded a 2-0 win. The 1987-88 season concluded with no more outings for the No 12, but he did play in 12 games the season after before the club opted to send him on loan to Verona in 1989.

Angelo Peruzzi played his first full season while out on loan at Verona

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Angelo Peruzzi arguably became Juventus’ best goalkeeper since Dino Zoff after joining the club in the 1990s
While in the Hellas jersey Peruzzi tasted relegation to Serie B, but at least he got the chance to play regularly – 29 games out of 30 – which allowed him to go back to his roots with a little more experience. Nevertheless, his second stint at the Stadio Olimpico was ruined by one of the oddest doping cases the game has ever seen, an incident which has been assigned to the history books as ‘il doping all’amatriciana’. Peruzzi and Andrea Carnevale, Italy’s 1990 World Cup striker, tested positive for a banned substance. The two players defended themselves by claiming they had taken a slimming pill after a particularly heavy session at the dinner table, but ultimately both were suspended. It was during his ban that Angelo broke his ties with the Roma directors and joined Juventus, where he would eventually take the place of Stefano Tacconi. As a Bianconero, Peruzzi confirmed himself as one of the best goalkeepers in not only Italy but the whole of Europe. He got into a winning habit at the Delle Alpi including three Scudetti in 1995, 1997 and 1998, the 1995 Coppa Italia, two Italian Super Cups in 1995 and 1996, a UEFA Cup in 1993, while 1996 saw him win the Champions League, a European Super Cup and an Intercontinental crown. The European Cup triumph in Rome back in May 1996 saw him become a protagonist against opposite number Edwin Van Der Sar, the Ajax ‘keeper who would later replace him between the sticks in Turin. The Final saw Peruzzi make an error as he allowed the ball to slip through to Jari Litmanen who gave the Dutch side the lead, but the ‘keeper proved decisive in the shootout with fines saves from Edgar Davids and Sonny Silooy. Marcello Lippi’s side would play in another two Finals over successive seasons, but were beaten by Borussia Dortmund and then

Real Madrid. In 1999, after seven seasons in Turin, Peruzzi decided to follow the master tactician to Milan after being attracted by the proposition of joining Inter. It proved to be a mistake as Peruzzi struggled and also lost his place in the national side after basically being a regular in the Giro Azzurro for the previous four years.

As a Bianconero, Peruzzi confirmed himself as one of the best goalkeepers not only in Italy but the whole of Europe

Peruzzi made his debut for the Nazionale in the 4-1 win over Estonia in March 1995 and went on to become first choice at Euro ’96 after getting the better of Gianluca Pagliuca. However, he missed out on France ’98 with one of his all too familiar thigh muscle strains. Peruzzi returned to the international scene later in 1998 and 1999, but the competition offered by Gigi Buffon and Francesco Toldo saw him step aside soon after. When Dino Zoff asked him to be third choice at Euro 2000, the guardian insisted that his presence wasn’t required. “The mascots had already been chosen,” he declared. That same summer, the stocky shotstopper decided to leave Inter after less than a year at the San Siro in favour of a move back to Rome, this time on the Lazio side of town. Despite his remote Giallorosso past, the Biancocelesti faithful reacted well to his arrival. Having returned to his home, Peruzzi also returned to his very highest

Despite a glittering club career, Angelo Peruzzi‘s 31 caps for his country were less than his talents truly deserved

standards despite the muscular problems which have accompanied him throughout his long career. In the capital he won the Italian Super Cup in 2000 and the Coppa Italia four years later. On April 28, 2004, he accepted an invite from one of his former Juve bosses in the shape of Giovanni Trapattoni for Italy’s friendly against Spain, organised as a farewell match for Roby Baggio’s international career. The Lazio No 1 remained in the Giro Azzurro for the following European Championships when he, this time, accepted to be third choice behind the usual suspects of Buffon and Toldo. Two years later in Germany, Peruzzi was again third in line, but this time it was behind Buffon and Marco Amelia of Livorno. Amelia and Peruzzi were in fact the only players in the squad who didn’t play a single minute in the World Cup Finals, yet neither had any regrets seeing as Buffon was and is universally accepted as the best shotstopper on the planet. “The fact that someone like Angelo never had the chance to appear in the World Cup Finals as a first choice is an injustice,” noted Buffon after his colleague announced his desire to hang up his gloves. “There is no doubt at all that his career deserved such an opportunity. I’ve had him as a reserve to me in two major tournaments and it

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