Cláudio Taffarel facts for kids
Taffarel with Brazil in 2018
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| Full name | Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 May 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Santa Rosa, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Brazil (goalkeeping coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | Internacional | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1990 | Internacional | 50 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1993 | Parma | 74 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Reggiana | 31 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1998 | Atlético Mineiro | 73 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | Galatasaray | 89 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Parma | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 323 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1998 | Brazil | 101 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2019 | Galatasaray (goalkeeping coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Galatasaray (interim) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2023 | Brazil (goalkeeping coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Galatasaray (interim) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2025 | Liverpool (goalkeeping coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Brazil (goalkeeping coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel (born on May 8, 1966) is a famous Brazilian former footballer. He played as a goalkeeper. Today, he works as a goalkeeping coach for the Brazil national team.
Taffarel started his professional career in 1985 with Internacional in Brazil. He later played for big clubs like Parma, Reggiana, Atlético Mineiro, and Galatasaray. He stopped playing in 2003 after a second time with Parma.
He played over 100 games for his country, Brazil. Taffarel was a key player when Brazil won the World Cup in 1994. He also played in eight other major international tournaments. He won two Copa América titles in 1989 and 1997. In 1998, he helped Brazil reach the World Cup final. He also won a silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Taffarel was born in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He started his career at Internacional. He played 14 games in the top Brazilian league during his five years there. In 1988, he won the Golden Ball award, which is a big honor for a player.
In 1990, Taffarel moved to Italy to play for Parma. This club had just been promoted to Serie A, Italy's top league, for the first time. Taffarel was the first non-Italian goalkeeper to play in Serie A. He played in all 34 league games in his first season. Parma finished sixth and qualified for the UEFA Cup.
He helped Parma win the Coppa Italia in 1992 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1993. After a few years, he became a backup goalkeeper at Parma.
In 1993, Taffarel joined another Serie A team, Reggiana. He was the main goalkeeper there for one season. He helped the team avoid being relegated to a lower league. After that, he returned to Brazil in 1995. He played for three years with Atlético Mineiro.
In 1998, Taffarel signed with Galatasaray in Turkey. He won six major trophies with them in three years. These included two Süper Lig titles. He also won the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup and the 2000 UEFA Super Cup. In the UEFA Cup final in 2000, Galatasaray beat Arsenal in a penalty shootout. Taffarel was named the best player of the match.
He finished his playing career back at Parma in 2001. He was mostly a backup goalkeeper during this time. However, he played in both games of the 2002 Coppa Italia final. Parma won this cup against Juventus. He retired in 2003 at age 37.
International Career with Brazil
Taffarel first played for the Brazil national team on July 7, 1988. He played in the Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup and helped Brazil win. He was also the goalkeeper for the 1989 Copa América, which Brazil won. He played in five Copa América tournaments in total. He won it again in 1997 and was a runner-up in 1991 and 1995.
At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, he won a silver medal. He famously saved three penalties against West Germany in the semi-finals. He was also part of the Brazilian team at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. Brazil was knocked out by Argentina in the round of 16.
Taffarel was the starting goalkeeper for Brazil at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. He let in only one goal in the first round. In the knockout stages, he allowed only two goals. In the final, Brazil won against Italy in a penalty shootout.
Four years later, in France, he helped Brazil reach a second World Cup final in a row. This was his last international game. Brazil lost 3-0 to the host team, France. Before the final, Taffarel saved two penalties in the semi-final shootout against the Netherlands. He also helped Brazil finish third at the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
In total, Taffarel played 101 games for Brazil. This makes him Brazil's most capped goalkeeper ever. He is one of the few Brazilian players to have played 100 or more games for the national team.
Playing Style
Taffarel is considered one of Brazil's greatest goalkeepers. He was known for being a smart and effective player. He had great reflexes and was calm in goal. He was also very good at stopping penalties. He developed strong leg muscles from playing beach volleyball when he was young. This helped him jump high and stop shots.
He was also quick to come out of his goal to challenge attackers. People also praised his skill with the ball at his feet. Sometimes, he struggled with high balls and crosses because he wasn't very tall. Despite this, he was often called "Saint Taffarel" by the Brazilian media because of his important saves.
Life After Playing
After retiring, Taffarel and his former teammate Paulo Roberto started a company. They focused on finding and helping young, promising football players.
In 2004, Taffarel returned to Galatasaray as a goalkeeping coach. He came back to the club again for the 2011-12 season. He had two short times as an interim manager before leaving Galatasaray in 2019.
He also worked as a goalkeeper coach for Liverpool, starting in 2021. He has been a goalkeeping coach for the Brazil national team since 2014. He briefly left the Brazil role after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, he returned to the national team in January 2024. He left his job with Liverpool in July 2025.
Personal Life
Taffarel was born in Santa Rosa, Brazil. He has both German and Italian family roots.
He is a born-again Christian and often shares his faith. He has 17 children, and 15 of them are adopted.
Honours
Parma
- Coppa Italia: 1991–92, 2001–02
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1992–93
Atlético Mineiro
- Campeonato Mineiro: 1995
- Copa CONMEBOL: 1997
Galatasaray
- Süper Lig: 1998–99, 1999–2000
- Turkish Cup: 1998–99, 1999–2000
- UEFA Cup: 1999–2000
- UEFA Super Cup: 2000
Brazil
- FIFA World Cup: 1994; runner-up 1998
- Copa América: 1989, 1997; runner-up 1991, 1995
- Summer Olympic Games Silver Medal: 1988
- FIFA World Youth Championship: 1985
Individual Awards
- Toulon Tournament Best Goalkeeper: 1987
- Bola de Prata: 1987, 1988
- Bola de Ouro: 1988
- FIFA XI: 1998
- Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame
- Man of the Match: 2000 UEFA Cup final
See also
In Spanish: Cláudio Taffarel para niños
