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PLACE : PADOVA
International Debut 08/10/1995 v Croatia (drew 1-1)
In any other national team Francesco Toldo would probably have more than 50 caps by now. That he has less than half is a testament to the standard of goalkeeping in Italy's Serie A and in particular his battle for the No 1 jersey with Gianluigi Buffon. Which of the world class keepers will claim the spot between the posts remains a source of heated debate over pasta and wine. Toldo was a member of the Italian squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup FranceTM but did not play a match. He got his shot at the UEFA European Championship Belgium/The Netherlands 2000 after Buffon broke his hand prior to the start of the tournament. He responded admirably and played superbly, helping Italy reach the final. Perhaps his best performance in the tournament came in the semi-finals, when he stopped four Dutch penalty shots as Italy ousted Holland via the penalty-kick shootout. Toldo has played his entire career in Italy. He was with AC Milan early in his career but eventually moved on, stopping at Verona, Trento, and Ravenna along the way before making his mark at Fiorentina. Between 1993 and 2001, Toldo was the first choice at the Florence club in both Serie A and Champions League matches. After Fiorentina, Toldo moved to Inter Milan where his leadership and brilliant saves have had more than just a hand in Inter's resurgence. Though Toldo only started three qualifiers in the run up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, he is very much an important member of the Italy squad and can be counted on to be an emotional leader for his team regardless of whether he starts games on the bench or between the posts.
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Christian Abbiati