- Walter Zenga
Infobox Football biography
playername = Walter Zenga
fullname = Walter Zenga
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1960|4|28|df=u
cityofbirth =Milan
countryofbirth =Italy
currentclub = Catania (Manager)
position = Goalkeeper (retired)
youthyears = 1977–1978
youthclubs = Internazionale
years = 1978–1979
1979–1980
1980–1982
1982–1994
1994–1996
1996–1997
1997–1999
clubs = Salernitana
Savona
Sambenedettese
Internazionale
Sampdoria
PadovaNew England Revolution
Total
caps(goals) = 003 (0)
023 (0)
067 (0)
328 (0)
041 (0)
021 (0)
047 (0)
530 (0)
nationalyears = 1985–1992
nationalteam = Italy
nationalcaps(goals) = 058 (0)
manageryears = 1999
2000–2001
2002–2004
2004–2005
2005–2006
2006
2007
2007
2008–
managerclubs =New England Revolution
Brera
National Bucharest
Steaua BucharestRed Star Belgrade Gaziantepspor Al Ain FC
Dinamo Bucharest
CataniaWalter Zenga (born
28 April 1960 inMilan ) is an Italianfootball (soccer) manager and former player, a long-timegoalkeeper for the Italian national team and Internazionale. He was also a member of the Italian squad that finished fourth at the1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles, California and the World Cup squad that finished third in the1990 FIFA World Cup tournament held inItaly , in which Zenga started every game for the "Azzurri". He is the current head coach ofSerie A team Catania.Career
Player
Zenga came back to Inter Milan in 1982, after starting his professional career in 1978 in the lower divisions of Italian soccer (his first team was Salernitana in
Serie C1 , and he also played for Savona and Sambenedettese). Zenga became Inter's starter in his second year with the team, and continued in that position for 11 seasons, until 1994, winning a "scudetto " in the 1988-1989 season and theUEFA 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 1988 European Championship in West Germany. 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. 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 andMajor 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 Italiansoap opera ). During a game versus theTampa 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-coach, but only lasted a year in both those positions.Coach
After he left New England Revolution, Zenga retired from active football, choosing to pursue a coaching career. After a short stint with
Milan amateurs Brera Calcio, Zenga moved toRomania in 2002, first managing Naţional Bucharest and then Steaua Bucharest. In the summer of 2005, after being fired from Steaua before the end of the season, Zenga joinedRed Star Belgrade , leading theSerbia n team to a double (national league and national cup in Serbia & Montenegro). In the 2006 summer, Zenga was called to coach Turkish sideGaziantepspor ; however, after a poor beginning (5 wins in 17 league matches), he resigned in January 2007 in order to accept an offer fromUnited Arab Emirates clubAl-Ain FC . After just 5 months in charge Al-Ain sacked Zenga, who was announced in September 2007 as new Dinamo Bucharest coach, replacingMircea Rednic , but resigning only two months later following a 1–0 loss in a local derby lost to Steaua. [cite news|url=http://tuttomercatoweb.com/index.php?action=read&id=81229|publisher=TuttoMercatoWeb|language=Italian|title=UFFICIALE: Walter Zenga si dimette dalla Dinamo Bucarest|accessdate=2008-03-12|date=2007-11-25 ] He worked as a football commentator and pundit for Italian public broadcasting serviceRAI until1 April 2008 when he replacedSilvio Baldini as manager of Catania. [cite news |url=http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=677778.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index |title= Zenga to rally Catania troops |work=UEFA | date= 2008-04-01 |accessdate= 2008-04-01] cite news |url=http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Primo_Piano/2008/04_Aprile/01/zenga.shtml |title=Zenga riparte da Catania |language=Italian |accessdate=2008-04-01 |date=2008-04-01 |publisher=La Gazzetta dello Sport] He made his Serie A debut on April 6 with a crush 3–0 home win to Napoli, [cite news |url=http://www.repubblica.it/2008/04/sezioni/sport/calcio/serie_a/giornata-32-a/catania-napoli/catania-napoli.html |publisher=La Repubblica |language=Italian |date=2008-04-06 |accessdate=2008-04-11 |title=Buona la prima di Zenga a Catania, sonoro 3-0 a un Napoli svagato] leading them to a dramatic relegation escape during the final minutes of the league, after a 1–1 home draw against AS Roma.During his playing career, Zenga was nicknamed "Uomo Ragno" (
Spider-Man ) due to his goalkeeping skills, especially his agility.Recently, Zenga declared in an interview that he would like to manage Brazilian side
Palmeiras . [ [http://www.lance.com.br/noticias/08-05-24/299171.stm?ex-goleiro-da-italia-gostaria-de-dirigir-o-palmeiras Noticias - Lancenet.com.br ] ]References
External links
* [http://www.walterzenga.it www.walterzenga.it]
Persondata
NAME=Zenga, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Italian footballer and manager
DATE OF BIRTH=1960-04-28
PLACE OF BIRTH=Milan
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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