The Italian national team has collected countless successes throughout its history, featuring great players and personalities. However, it would be hard to find a bigger name between the posts than one of the most successful captains of the Italian national team, a huge character and the historically oldest winner of the World Cup. That is Dino Zoff.
A boy with big dreams.
Italy was deep in war when, in 1942, a boy was born in the far north of the country, who dreamed of a sports career from a young age. As the son of a farmer, Dino constantly heard that as an athlete, he didn't have much chance of succeeding. He was enrolled in a technical school, continued to work on the family farm, and helped his family with the economy. Despite this, he never stopped loving football and sports in general. He loved riding his bike, running competitively, and playing football. At the age of 14, the first opportunity arose to pursue a professional career – he was invited to the training of the youth team of Inter Milan and later Juventus. However, he couldn't make a breakthrough in either, probably due to his height, which was only 149 centimeters at the age of 14. Dino didn't give up on his dream.
Hard work.
Over the following years, he worked hard, toiling on the family farm every day, trying to play as much football as he could, and most importantly, eating well. He took his grandmother's advice to eat at least 6 eggs a day, prepared in any way. This probably led to Dino measuring 33 centimeters more five years later. And hard work paid off. In the fall of 1961, he first stood between the posts in the Italian top league, specifically in the colors of Udinese. With the club, he experienced a drop to the second league and a subsequent promotion. After a very successful season, he transferred to Mantova in 1963, where he spent 4 seasons. His performances after 1963 caught the attention of the Italian national football team management, and so he participated in the Euro and the World Cup in 1968 and 1970. In both cases, the Blues reached the medal positions, with Zoff playing a significant role, being named the best goalkeeper in both tournaments. In the meantime, Dino spent 5 years in Naples, appearing 143 times in the blue and white goal.
A fairy tale ending.
Two years after the championship, Dino made the biggest decision of his life – he moved to Juventus Turin. There would be nothing unusual about it if Dino hadn't transferred at the age of a veteran. He was 30. At Juventus, he ultimately spent the rest of his career, which lasted 11 seasons. He won Serie A six times and the Italian Cup twice, finishing second in the Ballon d'Or voting. However, his greatest success was still ahead of him. In 1982, he traveled to Spain for the World Cup as captain and a playing legend. He was exactly 40 years and 133 days old when he lifted the trophy for the world champions above his head. A year later, he played his last league match. He left at the top of his game.
"I played until I was 41 just because I believe that a person improves throughout their life."
Dino Zoff
