Francesco ToldoCavaliere OMRI (Italian pronunciation:[franˈtʃeskoˈtɔldo]; born 2 December 1971) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation.[3][4]
In a professional career which spanned two full decades, he mainly represented Fiorentina and Inter Milan (eight and nine seasons respectively), winning a total of 15 trophies combined.
For the Italy national team, Toldo took part in five international competitions, being a starter in UEFA Euro 2000, where he helped Italy reach the final.
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), Trentino (1991–92), and Ravenna (1992–93).[5]
One year before Fiorentina faced bankruptcy, Toldo and Rui Costa were sold to Parma for a combined 140 billion lire in June 2001[6] (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.[7] However, both players refused to join.[8] Toldo himself he would be the replacement of departing goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, whom Toldo refused to live under the expectation of.[9] Eventually, Toldo joined Inter Milan instead of Parma for the same fee;[7][9][10] Parma signed Sébastien Frey from Inter instead of Toldo; Buffon joined Juventus from Parma; and Edwin van der Sar went to Fulham from Juventus.[11]
During his first season with the Inter under manager Héctor Cúper, Toldo performed at a high level, reaching the semi-final of the UEFA Cup, and narrowly missing out on the Serie A title on the final match-day as Inter threw away their lead by losing to Lazio, eventually finishing the 2001–02 Serie A season in third place behind Juventus and Roma.[12] Due to his consistency with Inter, Toldo soon became a fan favourite and was noted for his passionate and high-quality performances. The following season, he was praised particularly for his saves against Valencia in the Champions League quarter-final, leading football pundits to nickname the Mestalla "La Plaza de Toldo". During the match, Toldo was seen getting choked by teammate Luigi Di Biagio after an argument on the pitch.[13] With his performances, Toldo helped Inter reach the semi-finals of the Champions League that season,[14] losing out to the eventual champions and inter-city rivals Milan on away goals.[15] Another great memory for Inter fans was his contribution to the equalising goal, scored by Christian Vieri, in the last minute of an eventual 1–1 draw against title rivals Juventus in the 2002–03 season; at first it appeared that Toldo might have been the scorer instead of Vieri, and even today the goal is still often referred to as "Toldo's goal".[2]
During the 2004–05 season, Toldo helped Inter win the Coppa Italia, and he also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, losing out to Milan once again, who went on to reach the final. He followed up this victory with another Supercoppa Italiana title in 2005. Toldo was the number one keeper for Inter until the summer of 2005, when the Brazilian Júlio César relegated him to the bench after he had elected to sit out Inter's summer friendly match tour of England.[16]
Toldo briefly regained first-choice status in February 2006, following his signing of a contract extension (until June 2009[17]) and a slip in form by Júlio César, not before rumours linked him both to Palermo, Milan and Fiorentina. Toldo still contributed nine appearances for Inter in Serie A during the 2005–06 season, where Inter were awarded the title following Juventus's and Milan's involvement in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, also helping Inter to win another Coppa Italia, as well as the 2006 Supercoppa Italiana. He also made six Serie A appearances for Inter during the 2006–07 title-winning season. Toldo made eight appearances across all competitions during the 2007–08 season, three of which were in Serie A, and the other five coming in the Coppa Italia, where Inter reached the final. Inter won the Scudetto that season for the third successive time.[18]
In April 2009, the 37-year-old Toldo, still backing up Júlio César, signed a further two-year extension to his link, taking it to the summer of 2011.[19][20] Toldo made seven appearances across all competitions during the 2008–09 season, making three appearances in Serie A, three in the Coppa Italia, and one in the Champions League as Inter won their fourth consecutive Serie A title that year.[18]
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;[26][27] he was named man of the match for his performance.[28] 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 time.[29] Toldo was named to the Team of the Tournament for his performances,[25] also earning the third place in the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award.[30] Following his successful European Championship campaign, Toldo played as a starter at the beginning of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign;[31] however, after recovering from the aforementioned injury, Buffon was eventually confirmed by Giovanni Trapattoni as Italy's first-choice goalkeeper.[32]
Additionally, Toldo was an unused reserve in Italy's 1998 World Cup, 2002 World Cup, and Euro 2004 squads, after which he announced his retirement from international football in 2004.[24] His final appearance for Italy came on 18 February 2004, in a 2–2 friendly draw against Czech Republic at the Stadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo.[33]
After playing in several outfield positions during his youth career, Toldo was inspired to become a goalkeeper by his role model Dino Zoff.[34] He also cited Giovanni Galli as an influence.[5] A consistent[35][36][37] and agile goalkeeper, with strong reactions,[38][39] he was also competent with the ball at his feet.[40] Although in his youth he did not particularly enjoy facing penalties,[41] he later made a name for himself as a penalty-saving specialist throughout his career;[42] he also stood out for his composure, personality and mentality in goal.[36][43][44] 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;[39][45][46] however, unusually for a goalkeeper of his height, he was less effective at coming off his line to handle crosses and high balls.[38][47][48]
^ abcQuerzola, Elena. "Forza Viola 1/1997" [Go Viola 1/1997] (in Italian). www.solocalcio.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
^"Ecco Francesco Toldo" [Here is Francesco Toldo] (in Italian). Rai Sport. 7 July 2001. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
^Fabio Bianchi (23 April 2003). "A Valencia c'è Plaza de Toldo" [At Valencia there is the Plazade Toldo] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
^Nicola Cecere (5 October 2005). "Mancini chiude la porta a Toldo" [Mancini closes the door/goal on Toldo] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
^"Italy win 3–1 on penalties". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 June 2000. Archived from the original on 2 October 2000. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
^Luigi Garlando (27 February 1999). "Tutto con queste due mani" [Everything with these two hands] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
^Calamai, Luca; Da Ronch, Alessio; Condò, Paolo (1 July 2000). "Tirate, tirate, tanto prendo tutto" ["Shoot, shoot, I'll stop everything anyway"]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 11 October 2019.
^Alessandro Rialti (10 October 1995). "Toldo: ho preso al volo la fortuna" [Toldo: I caught fortune on the fly] (in Italian). La Stampa. p. 31. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
^Roberto Beccantini (10 October 1995). "Il solito stellone di Sacchi" [The usual big star of Sacchi] (in Italian). La Stampa. p. 31. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
^Francesco Bramardo; Salvatore Lo Presti (22 February 1997). "Zidane meglio di Rui Costa" [Zidane better than Rui Costa] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
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