Walter Zenga was born in Milan on 28 April 1960 and was elected as the best ‘keeper in the world from 1989 to ’91. He was a product of Inter’s youth academy and tied his professional career to the Nerazzurri winning a Scudetto, a Coppa Italia and two UEFA Cups with the club. He became a starter from the 1983/84 season onwards and made a total of 328 appearances for Inter, the last of which came in the 1994 UEFA Cup final against Salzburg. Then, after spells at Sampdoria, Padova and New England Revolution, he ended his career and assumed the role of coach at the American club. His coaching career took him to Serbia, Romania, Turkey, England and the UAE, as well as various stints in Italy with Catania, Palermo, Genoa, Crotone, Venezia and since March he’s been coaching Cagliari after replacing Maran.

He was an Italy U21 starter and runner-up in the 1986 U21 Euros, before he was called up by Coach Bearzot to be third-choice ‘keeper at the Mexico World Cup. His senior team debut, however, took place a few months later during a friendly match against Greece in Bologna while Azeglio Vicini was Italian coach. From that moment on he defended Italy’s goal at both the 1988 Euros and the 1990 World Cup, in Italy, during which he set a World Cup record for not conceding for 517 minutes. Italy finished third in that competition and Zenga represented the Azzurri until 1992, making a total of 58 appearances.