ANGELO PERUZZI
Date of birth: 16th
February 1970
Previous teams: 1987-1989
Roma
Angelo Peruzzi, the great player in the beginning was brought up at the youth team of AS Roma. The leaders of the "giallorossi" recognised soon his value, what’s more when he was still playing in the youth team, everyone was talking about his future post in the first team.
The dream came true on the 13th December 1987 when he debuted in Serie A in the San Siro against AC Milan. He was only 17 years old!
He showed immediately his talent and a lot of people considered him as the next treasure of the national team. Cesare Maldini gave him a chance and Angelo became the captain of the Under-21 team.
He spent the season of 1989-90 in Verona, where he became a steady goalkeeper, a top sportsman. In the next season he saved in the AS Roma again, but after three matches he failed on a dope test with Andrea Carnevale. The Italian Association suspended him for a year, because of using a drug called: "lipopill". Peruzzi said that it was a slimming pill only and they didn’t read carefully the ingredients.
During his "silence" he transferred to Juventus to the place of Tacconi. His golden era is linked with the "Vecchia Signora"
They won everything, especially when Marcello Lippi was the coach:
Italian Championship : 1994-95, 1996-97,
1997-98
To this fantastic success also Peruzzi gave his name. He also became the no1 goalkeeper of the Squadra Azzurra.
Few years ago the Juventus decided to appoint another goalkeeper, the Dutch Van Der Saar, so Angelo left Torino and went to Inter with Lippi, but there neither of them got satisfaction.
Finally last summer he transferred to Lazio for L11 million which is a record amount for a goalkeeper. (He hit his own previous record when he went to Inter from Juve for L10 million.) There he has taken the place of Marchegiani, who is a good player but not enough any more to such a great team like the Lazio is nowadays.
This year after some physical and muscular problems (he has suffered from these problems very often during his career), finally he’s in good form again and ready to play for Lazio.
Unfortunately because of his age, he can’t be the goalkeeper of the national team, because now Toldo and Buffon have steady posts there.
Out of the field he is a great person: nice, smiling and ready to joke. Perhaps he rarely gives interviews, because he’s not too talkative, but I think he has showed his ability several times in the stadiums.
Many thanks to Francesco Petruzzi, my Italian friend for his enormous help.
