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Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently club manager at club Siracusa.

He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best keepers ever.

He was a long-time goalkeeper for and the Italy national team. During his playing career, Zenga was part of the Italian squad that finished fourth at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and was the starting goalkeeper for the Italian team that finished third in the 1990 FIFA World Cup tournament held in Italy, keeping a World Cup record unbeaten streak. A three-time winner of the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award, Zenga is regarded by pundits as one of the best goalkeepers of all time, and in 2013 was voted the eighth best goalkeeper of the past quarter-century by . In 2000, he also placed 20th in the World Keeper of the Century Elections by the same organisation.

After retiring as a player, Zenga briefly became an actor in an Italian and also a pundit on Italian TV. Since 1998 he has worked as a head coach and managed clubs in the United States, Italy, Turkey, Romania, Serbia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and England.


Club career
Zenga joined in 1982, after starting his professional career in 1978 in the lower divisions of Italian football (his first team was Salernitana in Serie C1, and he also played for Savona and Sambenedettese). Initially, (in the 1982–83 season) he was the substitute of , who was one of the top Italian goalkeepers of his era, as he had been 's reserve in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. However, Zenga played Inter's matches in the , impressing enough that the club decided not to buy another goalkeeper after Bordon's decision to move to Sampdoria during the summer of 1983. Zenga became Inter's starting goalkeeper in the 1983–84 season, where he conceded only 23 goals, better than any other goalkeeper in that season.

The next season would prove to be bittersweet for Zenga: although he continued to play excellently, he did not manage to win any trophies. In Italy, Inter was the main rival of Hellas Verona who won the first and, to this day, only Scudetto of its history in 1985, while in Europe he had to suffer two bitter and quite controversial defeats at the hands of Spanish giants Real Madrid, both times in the semi-finals. However, personal success was growing: he became a fan favourite due to his qualities and his love for the team, his fame was now nationwide thanks to his larger than life personality and he quickly established himself as one of the premier goalkeepers of the country, which led to him being called up to Italy's squad for the 1986 World Cup.

Apart from enjoying 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 after a highly successful 10-year stint, to manage the team. Meanwhile, the trio formed by Zenga, and (who respectively occupied the positions of goalkeeper, right-sided full-back, and man-marking centre-back/stopper) was becoming the cornerstone of the team and of the Italian team also. In the 1986–87 season. Inter closely fought Napoli for the Scudetto, finishing third despite a series of injuries which plagued the team in the final weeks of the season (among others, , 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 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 ) and between the two offensive midfielders Gianfranco Matteoli and the Belgian . Plus Zenga, dissatisfied with the way the club was managed, decided to leave Inter and join the then dominant Napoli. However, the move did not materialize and Zenga remained with Inter. The highlight of the season for Zenga was the participation in the 1988 UEFA European Championships with Italy.

However, the next season would prove to be one of the best for Inter and Zenga. The team, reinvigorated by the acquisitions of the young Italians Alessandro Bianchi and , the Germans and Lothar Matthäus from Bayern Munich and the Argentine Ramón Díaz 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 -led Napoli and in third position the star-studded and future European champion Milan. Zenga ended the season conceding only 19 goals, the best goalkeeper again in that respect.

The 1989–90 and 1990–91 seasons proved to be bittersweet for 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 Supercoppa Italiana played in November 1989 against Sampdoria. The 1991 season turned out to be a close fight between Inter and Sampdoria, with the title decided in a match played in Milan, which Inter would lose 0–2 allowing and to win the league title. However, Inter won the UEFA Cup that year, defeating, among the others, Aston Villa, Atalanta and Sporting CP on the road to the final against Roma. Inter won the first match 2–0 and lost only 1–0 in Rome, achieving the first European success since the 1960s. After that match, manager Giovanni Trapattoni left the team, as he decided to return as coach of Juventus.

On a personal scale, Zenga experienced in these seasons the peak of his career. For three consecutive years (1989–1991) he was nominated by the best goalkeeper in the world, ahead of goalkeepers like Michel Preud'homme, and Andoni Zubizarreta. Zenga was at his best between the posts, as his great explosiveness and sharp reflexes enabled him to make great and spectacular saves. Not known for being a great penalty saver (frequently dropping down to the ground in the middle of the goal), in his career he did however save penalty kicks from , and .

Zenga continued to play for Inter until 1994, winning the UEFA Cup in 1991 and 1994, his last season with the club.

In 1994, Zenga transferred to Sampdoria, and then to two years later.


New England Revolution
On March 4, 1997, Major League Soccer allocated Zenga to the New England Revolution. He made his Revolution debut in the 1997 season opener on March 29, a 1–0 victory over the . He made his home debut on April 20, in a 2–1 victory over the Tampa Bay Mutiny. During a game versus the Tampa Bay Mutiny, he by running to the sidelines and making out with his girlfriend, as the Mutiny barely missed the open net straight from the kickoff.

In June On July 20, the club placed Zenga on injured reserve following a knee injury. He would fly to Italy following the Revolution's 4–2 victory over Tampa Bay on July 18 for arthroscopic surgery. and would fill in for Zenga until his return to net on September 12. Zenga was awarded MLS Player of the Month honors for the month of September, the first Revolution player to ever win the award. Despite missing time, Zenga was a finalist for the 1997 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award. He additionally represented the Revolution in the 1997 MLS All-Star Game, and won the team's Most Valuable Player Award. Prior to the All-Star game, at a fan event in Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island, then-Providence Mayor presented Zenga with a bottle of his personal marinara sauce, "Mayor’s Own Marinara Sauce." The Revolution supporter's group the Midnight Riders named Zenga their 1997 "Man of the Year."

On January 15, 1998, Zenga announced his retirement. He had led the Revolution to their first playoff berth in team history, and he finished the 1997 season with the second best goals-against average (1.27), second highest win total (15), and best league shootout record, allowing only 12 goals in 41 attempts. Despite his retirement, Zenga would continue his affiliation with the club as a part-time European scout.

Zenga departed the Revolution to pursue an acting career (he and his girlfriend starred in an Italian ), however he would return on August 24, 1998, being named Revolution head coach after the resignation of on the same day. Zenga led the Revolution to a 3–3 record in the final 6 matches of the 1998 New England Revolution season.

Zenga stipulated that he would only return to the Revolution for the 1999 season if he could play as well as coach, and he became the Revolution's (and league's) first-ever player/coach on October 28, 1998. As a player-manager, Zenga led the Revolution to a 10–20 record. After issuing an ultimatum, demanding contract extension discussions begin prior to the season's end, Zenga was relieved of his duties on September 30, with interim manager being brought in to conclude the season.


International career
Zenga was capped 58 times for the Italy national football team at senior level between 1987 and 1992. In these, he conceded only 21 goals (0.36 per game) and kept 41 clean sheets (70.69%), both averages being a record for the Italy national team. He previously featured in the Italian squad at the 1984 Olympics, where the team managed a fourth-place finish, and also featured as one of the Italy under-21 side's overage players at the 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, as the team's starting goalkeeper. He was also included in 's 22-man Italy squad for the 1986 World Cup. Initially selected as the team's third goalkeeper behind Fiorentina's and Roma's , his name was taken in consideration by Bearzot before the match against the -led France due to the poor performances of Galli (who, in the end, also played against France).

Zenga became the Italy national side's starting goalkeeper under manager , ahead of his perceived career rival, . During the 1988 UEFA European Championships, Zenga played all four of Italy's matches (a 1–1 draw against West Germany, a 1–0 victory over Spain, and a 2–0 win over Denmark in the group stage matches, and a 0–2 loss against the Soviet Union in the semi-final). Here again Zenga was at the centre of controversy: in the first match against West Germany he conceded a free kick inside the penalty area due to having made too many steps while carrying the ball in his hands (an infringement rarely penalised). , who would become Zenga's teammate at Inter only a few months later, scored from the resulting free kick to tie the game for West Germany. Italy reached the semi-finals of the competition.

Zenga remained first choice goalkeeper when Italy hosted the World Cup in 1990, and helped 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. His unbeaten streak was ended by 's header in the semi-finals against defending champions Argentina, after Zenga had made an error when coming out to collect a cross; following a 1–1 draw after extra-time, Argentina advanced to the final 4–3 on penalties, while Zenga failed to stop a single spot kick in the shoot-out. In the third-place match against England, Zenga conceded his second goal of the tournament when he was beaten by a David Platt header, although Italy managed to capture the bronze medal with a 2–1 victory.

After Italy had failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship, was appointed as Italy's new manager, and he eventually excluded Zenga from his side, in favour of goalkeepers who were more suited to his zonal marking defensive system, such as Gianluca Pagliuca, and .


Style of play
An aggressive, consistent, physically strong, complete, and athletic goalkeeper, Zenga was nicknamed Deltaplano ("") due to his excellent shot-stopping abilities, positioning, explosive reactions, bravery, and in particular for his speed, elegance, and agility, which enabled him to produce spectacular saves. Despite his reputation, the media was often critical of Zenga's penalty-saving record throughout his career, although he stopped penalties against notable specialists, such as , and ; he was also criticised by pundits for his unsteady performances when coming out off his line to claim crosses, and performed best between the posts, while he was also not particularly adept with the ball at his feet, or very confident in his distribution, and initially struggled in teams which employed a zonal marking defensive system and the offside trap, due to his reluctancy to rush out of goal. Nevertheless, he was able to adapt successfully to the changes in regulations following the introduction of the back-pass rule, and maintained a high level of performance as his career progressed, even as goalkeepers were required to play more frequently with their feet. In addition to his goalkeeping ability, Zenga also stood out for his strong mentality and leadership from the back, as well as his temper and flamboyant celebrations as a footballer, and was also known for his composure under pressure, which enabled him not to be fazed if he ever made any errors.

His other nickname, L'Uomo Ragno (""), is not related to his goalkeeping skills, but rather to a curious circumstance: in 1992, while answering questions about his exclusion from the Italy national team, Zenga softly sang a song by the Italian band 883, called Hanno ucciso l'Uomo Ragno ("Someone killed Spider-Man"), which led pundits and supporters to call him like the character.


Managerial career

Early career
Zenga became the head coach of the New England Revolution on August 24, 1998, replacing Thomas Rongen for the final six matches of the 1998 season. On October 28, Zenga was announced as Player-Manager of New England Revolution heading into the 1999 season. His tenure as Player-Manager would last less than one full campaign, as he was replaced with two matches left left to play, following the Revolution's 1–0 loss to the , on September 30, 1999. After he left the club, Zenga retired from active football, choosing to pursue a coaching career.

After a short stint with Milanese team , Zenga moved to Romania in 2002, first managing Naţional București and then , where he won the and reached the Round of 16 of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup after eliminating UEFA Cup winners from the competition.

In the summer 2005, after being fired from Steaua București before the end of the season, Zenga joined Red Star Belgrade, leading the Serbo-Montenegrin team to a double (national league and national cup).

In the summer 2006, Zenga was appointed as coach of Turkish Süper Lig side ; however, after a poor start (five 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 five months in charge, Al-Ain sacked Zenga, who was announced in September 2007 as new Dinamo București coach, replacing , but he resigned only two months later following a 1–0 loss in a local derby lost to Steaua. He then accepted a job as a football commentator and pundit for Italian public broadcasting service .


Catania
On 1 April 2008, he agreed to replace resigning boss as manager of . He made his Serie A debut on 6 April with a 3–0 home win against 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 Zenga was notable for the coach's focus on free kick planning; 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; at the final home game of the season he announced he was parting company with his club by mutual consent.


Palermo
On 5 June 2009, 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 seen as a massive surprise due to the Rosanero club being rumoured to be interested in several other managers and the bitter rivalry between them and Catania, the only two Sicilian teams playing in the Italian top flight. He debuted with a 4–2 win over SPAL 1907, and a 2–1 home win against 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 23 November, after only thirteen league games in charge of the rosanero.


Middle East
On 11 May 2010, he was announced new head coach of Saudi Professional League club . He was removed from his position on 24 December after a string of poor results led Al-Nassr to be overtaken at the top of the league table.

On 6 January 2011, Zenga was appointed as new head coach of Al Nasr in the . Inter and Italy legend Zenga appointed as Al Nasr coach | GulfNews.com


Return to Italy
On 4 June 2015, Zenga returned to Italy, and was appointed head coach at side Sampdoria for the 2015–16 season. However, after he was sacked in November, and replaced by Vincenzo Montella as head coach, he later returned to the Middle East to manage bottom placed club , however he was unable to turn around the club's fortunes and left the club on 20 February 2016 by mutual consent.


Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 30 July 2016, Zenga was appointed head coach of Football League Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers for the 2016–17 season. Despite having never managed in England, he cited his vast foreign experience as enough to succeed. On 2 August, he made his first signings, buying Icelandic striker Jón Daði Böðvarsson from Kaiserslautern and bringing in Portuguese midfielder João Teixeira on a season-long loan from Benfica.

In his first game on 6 August, Zenga's team drew 2–2 away to Rotherham United, coming back from a 2–0 deficit with ten players; he described his first game as an "amazing experience". Zenga took Wolves on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions, and eight points from his first four league games, including a 3–1 win at local rivals Birmingham City. He praised the Wolves players' spirit and credited them with leading them to the unbeaten start.

Following the end of the summer transfer window, Zenga, having made ten new signings since his appointment, claimed that the Wolves squad was so strong that he could field two different teams if needed. Following a 4–0 loss to Barnsley, Wolves beat promotion favourites Newcastle United, to end their five-game winning run. Zenga claimed his team's subsequent performances showed that the defeat to Barnsley was "an accident". Wolves then went on a five-game winless run, losing four, that would lead to his dismissal.

Despite the insistence of Dave Edwards that Zenga retained the support of the Wolves players, he was dismissed on 25 October following only 4 wins out of the club's first 14 Championship fixtures and Wolves 18th in the table. On 7 April 2017, Wolves director Jeff Shi said: "I liked Walter. He was passionate, a really lovely guy... Later we found out it was not a good match. We had to change very quickly... The only big mistake in my mind was the coach appointment at the beginning of the season."


Return to Italy
On 8 December 2017, Zenga was appointed Crotone manager. The team was relegated to Serie B at the end of the year.

Zenga returned into management on 11 October 2018 as he was named new head coach of Serie B club Venezia in place of . He was sacked on 5 March 2019, after a run of four losses in five games had the club fighting relegation.

On 3 March 2020, Zenga was appointed new head coach of Serie A club , signing a contract until 30 June 2021, with Under-19 coach Max Canzi named as his assistant. His debut for the club was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent nationwide lockdown. He won three and drew four of his 13 games in charge as the team finished 14th, and was replaced by Eusebio Di Francesco in August.

On 27 September 2024, Italian Serie D club Siracusa announced the hiring of Zenga as a "club manager" and "brand ambassador", in a non-coaching role within the club.


Style of management
As a manager, Zenga usually uses a four–man back-line with his teams, while he has used several different tactical systems and formations in midfield and attack throughout his career.


Personal life
Zenga has been married three times; he has five children.


Marriages and relationships
In 1982, young professional goalkeeper Zenga, playing on loan in San Benedetto del Tronto with Serie B side U.S. Sambenedettese, married the local model and 1980 Miss Elvira Carfagna, having first met her at Palazzina Azzurra on the town's waterfront. As Zenga re-joined Inter, the couple moved to and, in November 1986, had a child, son Jacopo. During his marriage to Carfagna, Zenga had an extramarital affair with television presenter . By late 1987, he became romantically involved with television personality , whom he had been co-hosting a weekly Friday evening program, , with since September 1987 on Odeon TV. The relationship led to Zenga leaving his family and moving in with Termali in January 1988.

Two years into Zenga's relationship with Termali, the couple's first child, son Nicolò, was born out-of-wedlock in December 1989. Zenga and Termali wed in September 1992 in a notable ceremony at the Via Palestra gardens in Milan with Zenga's Inter teammate as the groom's best man and a prominent guest list that included Milan mayor Giampiero Borghini, Inter head coach , Inter vice-chairman , Italy national team manager as well as footballers such as and . Their second child, son Andrea, was born in September 1993. The couple divorced in 1997.

After divorcing Termali, now veteran professional footballer Zenga entered into a relationship with television presenter , sixteen years his junior. With Zenga winding down his playing career in the United States, the couple lived in the country as he began transitioning into football coaching. Still unsure as to what he ultimately wants to pursue after finishing playing professional football, Zenga also took media jobs in Italy, often with his new partner. The couple ended up spending six years together during which they notably co-hosted programs on privately owned television channels in Italy, selling appliances and such as and electro-stimulators.

In May 2005 while coaching in , Zenga married 23-year-old woman Raluca Rebedea, 22 years his junior. Three years later, in June 2008, the couple organized another wedding ceremony while on vacation in ; held in a Vegas chapel, Zenga posted the wedding footage on his YouTube channel. On 19 November 2009, Rebedea gave birth to their daughter Samira Valentina. Though the family resided in , in April 2010, Zenga stated his willingness to take Romanian citizenship, which he reportedly obtained in April 2012. The couple's second child, son Walter Jr., was born in 2012. In October 2020, Zenga made the dissolution of his and Rebedea's 14-year marriage public via a lengthy post, revealing that the two "hadn't been a couple for some time" and identifying the reasons for the split in "both the distance, created because of Zenga's work as a football coach, as well as due to Rebedea's radical change", adding he had already filed for divorce at the Dubai Court of Appeal before concluding that "the freedom I've always given her has somehow turned against us as". Zenga's particular statement about "the freedom he had given to his wife" triggered a reaction by Italian journalist who criticized the former goalkeeper for "considering his wife's freedom a concession". The resulting controversy online in Italy led to Zenga removing the post.


Children
Zenga's son with Carfagna, Jacopo Zenga, became a professional footballer himself, playing in after spending time with Inter and Genoa at youth level.

The younger of Zenga's two sons with Termali, Andrea Zenga, also pursued professional football for a few years before turning to modelling and celebrity reality television in Italy. In September 2018, he appeared with his fiancé Alessandra Sgolastra on the of on Canale 5 as well as on the fifth season of Grande Fratello VIP (Italian Celebrity Big Brother) in December 2020. The Grande Fratello VIP appearance was marked by his opening up about harbouring ill feelings regarding his father Walter's alleged absentee parenting, a claim that received a lot of press in Italy including reaction from the parties involved.


Career statistics

Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Salernitana (loan)1978–79Serie C10
Savona (loan)1979–80Serie C20
Sambenedettese (loan)1980–81Serie C10
1981–820
1982–830
1983–840
1984–850
1985–860
1986–870
1987–880
1988–890
1989–900
1990–910
1991–920
1992–930
1993–940
Sampdoria1994–950
1995–960
1996–97Serie B0
New England Revolution1997Major League Soccer0
19990


International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
Italy0
0
0
0
0
0
0


Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenure
New England Revolution 24 August 199830 September 1999

31 October 200018 January 2001

Naţional București 24 July 200210 September 2003

1 July 200420 May 2005

Red Star Belgrade 22 July 200512 June 2006

1 August 20063 January 2007

Al Ain 7 January 200730 June 2007

Dinamo București 3 September 200724 November 2007

1 April 200830 June 2009

1 July 200923 November 2009

11 May 201024 December 2010

Al-Nasr 6 January 201113 June 2013

Al Jazira 21 October 201314 May 2014

11 June 201510 November 2015

1 December 201520 February 2016

Wolverhampton Wanderers 30 July 201625 October 2016

Crotone 8 December 201719 June 2018

Venezia 12 October 20185 March 2019

3 March 20202 August 2020

5 January 202423 April 2024


Honours

Player
Inter Milan
  • : 1988–89
  • Supercoppa Italiana: 1989
  • UEFA Cup: 1990–91, 1993–94

Sampdoria

  • Supercoppa Italiana runner-up: 1994

Italy U21

  • UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1986
Italy

Individual

  • Guerin d'Oro: 1987
  • IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper: 1989, 1990, 1991
  • UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year: 1990
  • Pirata d'Oro (Internazionale Player of the Year): 1987
  • MLS Player of the Month: 1997
  • Midnight Riders Man of the Year Award: 1997
  • MLS All-Star: 1997, All-Star Game flashback, 1997 at MLSsoccer.com
1999
  • Inter Milan Hall of Fame: 2018


Coach
Național București
  • Cupa României runner-up: 2002–03

Steaua București

Red Star Belgrade

  • Serbia and Montenegro SuperLiga: 2005–06
  • Serbia and Montenegro Cup: 2005–06

Al Ain

  • UAE President's Cup runner-up: 2006–07

Al Jazira

  • UAE League Cup runner-up: 2013–14


Orders
* 5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 1991


Notes

External links
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