Francesco Toldo facts for kids
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Toldo with Inter Milan in 2009
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francesco Toldo | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 December 1971 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Padua, Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1985 | USMA Caselle | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1987 | Montebelluna | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1990 | Milan | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1993 | Milan | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | → Hellas Verona (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | → Trento (loan) | 38 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | → Ravenna (loan) | 31 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2001 | Fiorentina | 266 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2010 | Inter Milan | 148 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 483 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Italy U21 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2004 | Italy | 28 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Francesco Toldo (born on December 2, 1971) is a famous Italian former footballer. He played as a goalkeeper. Many experts believe he was one of the best goalkeepers of his time.
Toldo played professional football for 20 years. He spent most of his career with Fiorentina and Inter Milan. During his time with these clubs, he won a total of 15 trophies.
He also played for the Italian national team in five big international tournaments. He was the main goalkeeper for UEFA Euro 2000, where he helped Italy reach the final match.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out and Fiorentina Success
Francesco Toldo was born in Padua, Italy. He started his football journey with Milan in 1990. He didn't play any games for Milan directly. Instead, he was loaned out to other teams like Hellas Verona, Trento, and Ravenna.
In 1993, Toldo joined Fiorentina. He quickly became their main goalkeeper for eight seasons. In his first year, he helped Fiorentina win the Serie B title. This meant the team moved up to Serie A, Italy's top league.
With Fiorentina, Toldo won the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) twice. He also won the Supercoppa Italiana (Italian Supercup). He even played in the UEFA Champions League, which is a big European club competition. In 2000, he was named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year because of his amazing performances.
Before Fiorentina faced financial problems, Toldo moved to Inter Milan in 2001. He chose Inter Milan over another club, Parma.
Time at Inter Milan
Toldo quickly became a key player for Inter Milan. In his first season, he helped Inter reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. They also almost won the Serie A title, finishing third. Fans loved Toldo for his strong and passionate performances.
The next season, he was praised for his incredible saves against Valencia in the Champions League. People even called Valencia's stadium "La Plaza de Toldo" because of his great play. He helped Inter reach the semi-finals of the Champions League that year.
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A memorable moment for Inter fans was when Toldo helped score a goal against Juventus in 2003. It looked like he might have scored it himself!
From 2004 to 2006, Toldo helped Inter win the Coppa Italia twice. They also won the Supercoppa Italiana twice. He was Inter's main goalkeeper until 2005, when Júlio César became the first choice.
Even as a backup, Toldo continued to contribute to Inter's success. He played a part in Inter winning multiple Serie A titles from 2006 to 2010. This included their fourth consecutive Serie A title in 2009.
In June 2010, Francesco Toldo decided to retire from football. He ended his career after a fantastic season where Inter Milan won the treble. This means they won the Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Champions League all in one season!
International Career for Italy
Youth and Senior Team Debut
Toldo played eight games for the Italian under-21 team between 1993 and 1994. He was part of the team that won the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He made a very important save in a penalty shootout during the semi-final against France.
He played 28 times for the senior Italian national team. His first game was on October 8, 1995. He came on as a substitute in a match against Croatia. He was also a reserve goalkeeper for the UEFA Euro 1996 tournament.
Euro 2000 Heroics
Toldo was chosen to be the starting goalkeeper for UEFA Euro 2000. This happened because the usual first-choice goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, broke his hand just before the tournament.
Toldo was a hero at Euro 2000. He helped Italy reach the final match. He kept three clean sheets (meaning the other team didn't score any goals) during the tournament. He was especially amazing in the semi-final against the Netherlands. He saved one penalty during the game and then stopped two more in the penalty shootout. He was named the best player of that match.
In the final, Italy lost 2-1 to France after extra time. Even though they lost, Toldo's performances were so good that he was named to the Team of the Tournament.
After Euro 2000, Buffon returned as Italy's main goalkeeper. Toldo was still part of the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2004, but as a reserve. He retired from international football in 2004. His last game for Italy was a friendly match against the Czech Republic on February 18, 2004.
How Toldo Played
Francesco Toldo started playing in different positions when he was young. But he was inspired by his hero, Dino Zoff, to become a goalkeeper.
Toldo was a very consistent and quick goalkeeper. He had strong reactions and was good at using his feet to control the ball. Even though he didn't like facing penalties when he was younger, he became known for being great at saving them. He was also calm and confident in goal.
Despite being tall and strong, he was excellent at stopping shots, especially low ones. He could get down to the ground very quickly.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Hellas Verona | 1990–91 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Trento | 1991–92 | Serie C2 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 0 | |||
| Ravenna | 1992–93 | Serie C1 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| Fiorentina | 1993–94 | Serie B | 33 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 0 | |||
| 1994–95 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 0 | ||||
| 1995–96 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | – | 42 | 0 | ||||
| 1996–97 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 0 | ||||
| 1998–99 | Serie A | 33 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 46 | 0 | |||
| 1999–2000 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | – | 50 | 0 | |||
| 2000–01 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 40 | 0 | |||
| Total | 266 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 336 | 0 | |||
| Inter Milan | 2001–02 | Serie A | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | – | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | – | 51 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04 | Serie A | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | – | 45 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 39 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Serie A | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 148 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 234 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 483 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 79 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 639 | 0 | |||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 0 | |
Trophies and Awards
Fiorentina
- Coppa Italia: 1995–96, 2000–01
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1996
- Serie B: 1993–94
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
- Coppa Italia: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2005, 2006, 2008
- UEFA Champions League: 2009–10
Italy U21
Italy
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2000
Individual Awards
- Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year: 2000
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2000
- ESM Team of the Year: 2001–02
- ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame: 2015
- Fiorentina All-time XI
- Inter Milan Hall of Fame: 2019
Special Recognition
-
5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000 (This is an honor given by the Italian government.)
See also
In Spanish: Francesco Toldo para niños
