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
Padova
New 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 Bucharest
Red Star Belgrade
Gaziantepspor
Al Ain FC
Dinamo Bucharest
Catania

Walter Zenga (born 28 April 1960 in Milan) is an Italian football (soccer) manager and former player, a long-time goalkeeper for the Italian national team and Internazionale. He was also a member of the Italian squad that finished fourth at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California and the World Cup squad that finished third in the 1990 FIFA World Cup tournament held in Italy, in which Zenga started every game for the "Azzurri". He is the current head coach of Serie 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 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 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 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-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 to Romania 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 joined Red Star Belgrade, leading the Serbian team to a double (national league and national cup in Serbia & Montenegro). In the 2006 summer, 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 FC. 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. [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 service RAI until 1 April 2008 when he replaced Silvio 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=