Editing Dino Zoff (section)

==International career==
Prior to representing the senior Italian side, Zoff had won a gold medal with the [[Italy national under-21 football team|Italy under-23 side]] at the [[1963 Mediterranean Games]]. On 20 April 1968, Zoff made his senior debut for [[Italy national football team|Italy]], playing in a 2–0 win against [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] in the quarter finals of the [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968 European Championships]], in Naples.<ref name="Nazionale in cifre">{{cite web|url=http://www.figc.it/nazionali/DettaglioConvocato?codiceConvocato=1096&squadra=1|title=Nazionale in cifre: Zoff, Dino|website=figc.it|publisher=FIGC|language=it|access-date=27 April 2015}}</ref> Zoff ended up being promoted to starting goalkeeper over his perceived career rival [[Enrico Albertosi]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2002/ottobre/18/Zenga_Tacconi_quando_rivalita_era_ga_0_0210182815.shtml|title=Zenga e Tacconi: quando la rivalità era uno spettacolo|newspaper=La Gazzetta dello Sport|language=it|author1=Fabio Bianchi|date=18 October 2002|access-date=30 October 2017}}</ref> during the tournament, and Italy proceeded to win the European Championship on home soil, with Zoff taking home a winners' medal after only his fourth international appearance, keeping two clean sheets, and winning the award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Zoff was left out of the Italian starting eleven in the [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970 World Cup]], however, and was Albertosi's deputy throughout the tournament, as Italy went on to reach the [[1970 FIFA World Cup Final|final]] of the World Cup, and were defeated 4–1 by [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]]. He returned to the starting line-up, however, ahead of Albertosi, in Italy's disappointing [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974 World Cup]] campaign, during which they would be eliminated in the first round.<ref name="Italy’s towering guardian"/><ref name="autogenerated1"/>
[[File:Sandro Pertini Spagna 1982.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|[[Franco Causio]], the Italian president [[Sandro Pertini]], Zoff (lower left) and the coach [[Enzo Bearzot]] on their return from Spain with the 1982 World Cup they just won.]]

From 1972 onwards, Zoff became Italy's undisputed number 1, and he participated in the [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978 World Cup]] with Italy, during which he managed a fourth-place finish, keeping 3 clean-sheets. Italy were eliminated in the semi-final, in a 2–1 loss to the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]]. After the match, Zoff was criticised for making a fairly uncommon error, as he was beaten by a strike from distance by [[Arie Haan]].<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Zoff was also Italy's starting goalkeeper once again at the [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980 European Championships]] on home soil, however, helping his side to reach the semi-finals, finishing the tournament in fourth place once again. During the 1980 European Championship, Zoff kept three clean sheets, only conceding one goal in the bronze medal match, which Italy would lose on penalties; Zoff was elected as the goalkeeper of the tournament once again, an honour he had previously managed after winning the tournament in 1968. Throughout these two tournaments, Zoff established a record for most consecutive minutes unbeaten in a [[UEFA European Championship|European Championship]], which was later beaten by [[Iker Casillas]] in [[UEFA Euro 2012|2012]]. Zoff had also established the record for most minutes unbeaten European Championship qualifying, which was also beaten, by compatriot Buffon in [[UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying|2011]]. He still holds the record, however, for most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal at the European Championships including qualifying, having kept eight consecutive cleans sheets between 1975 and 1980, while going unbeaten for 784 minutes. Alongside Casillas, Buffon, and [[Thomas Myhre]], he is the goalkeeper with the fewest goals conceded in a single edition of the European Championships, having conceded only one goal in the 1968 European Championships; of these players, only Zoff and Casillas won the title while achieving this feat.

Zoff's greatest accomplishment, however, came in the [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982 World Cup]] in Spain, where he captained Italy to victory in the tournament at the age of 40, making him the oldest ever winner of the World Cup; throughout the tournament, he kept two clean sheets, and produced a crucial goal-line save in the final minutes of the last second-round group match against favourites Brazil on 5 July, which enabled the Italians to earn a 3–2 victory and advance to the semi-finals of the competition.<ref name="treccani1"/><ref name="World Cup Hall of Fame">{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/zoff/|title=World Cup Hall of Fame: Dino Zoff|newspaper=[[Sports Illustrated]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050912055524/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/zoff/|archive-date=12 September 2005}}</ref><ref name="esclusiva">{{cite web|url=http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/calcio/calcio/2013/articoli/1014373/dino-zoff-in-esclusiva-su-premium-calcio-buffon-meglio-di-me-no-sono-piu-bravo-io-.shtml|title=Dino Zoff, in esclusiva su Premium Calcio: "Buffon meglio di me? No. Sono più bravo io"|publisher=Mediaset|language=it|date=17 October 2013|access-date=9 March 2017|archive-date=10 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710195556/http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/calcio/calcio/2013/articoli/1014373/dino-zoff-in-esclusiva-su-premium-calcio-buffon-meglio-di-me-no-sono-piu-bravo-io-.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="pazzo">{{cite web|url=http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/calcio/calcio_la_nazionale/articoli/85535/zoff-era-pazzo.shtml|title=Zoff era pazzo|publisher=Mediaset|language=it|author1=SIMONE MALAGUTTI|date=5 July 2012|access-date=9 March 2017|archive-date=10 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710194853/http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/calcio/calcio_la_nazionale/articoli/85535/zoff-era-pazzo.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 11 July, at the age of 40 years and 133 days, he became the oldest player ever to feature in a [[1982 FIFA World Cup Final|World Cup final]];<ref name="Record e Curiosità">{{cite news|url=http://www.repubblica.it/static/speciale/2010/sudafrica/nazionale/record.html|title=Record e Curiosità|trans-title=Records and Trivia|newspaper=La Repubblica|language=it|access-date=6 May 2016}}</ref> following Italy's 3–1 victory over [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] at the [[Santiago Bernabéu Stadium]] in Madrid, he followed in the footsteps of compatriot [[Gianpiero Combi]] ([[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]]) as only the second goalkeeper to captain a World Cup-winning side (later [[Iker Casillas]] and [[Hugo Lloris]] repeated this [[History of the FIFA World Cup#Winning teams, captains, and managers|feat]] for [[Spain men's national football team|Spain]] and [[France national football team|France]] in the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]] and [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018 World Cups]] respectively). Due to his performances, he was voted as the [[World Cup Golden Glove|Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament]]. Regarding Zoff's importance during Italy's victorious World Cup campaign, his manager [[Enzo Bearzot]] said of him:<ref name="Italy’s towering guardian"/><ref name="autogenerated1"/>
{{Blockquote|He was a level-headed goalkeeper, capable of staying calm during the toughest and the most exhilarating moments. He always held back both out of modesty and respect for his opponents. At the end of the Brazil match, he came over to give me a kiss on the cheek, without saying a single word. For me, that fleeting moment was the most intense of the entire World Cup.<ref name="Dino Zoff: The quiet genius"/>}}

During the flight of return from Spain on a [[DC-9]] airplane, Zoff, [[Sandro Pertini]] (the Italian [[President of Italy|President of Republic]]), [[Franco Causio|Causio]] and [[Enzo Bearzot|Bearzot]] were immortalized in a photo, suddenly gone highly popular, while [[playing card]] at ''[[scopa|scopone scientifico]]'', an Italian social and [[team sport]].<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.avvenire.it/attualita/pagine/il-dc-9-di-pertini-e-wojtyla-apre-al-pubblico | title = Apre ai visitatori il Dc 9 su cui volarono Pertini e Wojtyla | trans-title= The DC-9 that transported Pertini and Wojtyla is open to visitors | date = 4 April 2017 | journal = [[Avvenire]] | access-date = 27 September 2020 | language = it | archive-url = https://archive.today/20170404210411/https://www.avvenire.it/attualita/pagine/il-dc-9-di-pertini-e-wojtyla-apre-al-pubblico | archive-date = 4 April 2017 | url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.ilmessaggero.it/primopiano/cronaca/aereo_dc9_pertini_wojtyla-2369041.html | title = Aperte le visite all'aereo Dc-9 sul quale viaggiarono il presidente Pertini e Papa Wojtyla | date = 8 April 2017 | journal = [[Il Messaggero]] | archive-url = https://archive.today/20200927144115/https://www.ilmessaggero.it/primopiano/cronaca/aereo_dc9_pertini_wojtyla-2369041.html | archive-date = 27 September 2020 | url-status = live}}</ref> In the previous years, the same aircraft had been used by Pertini and [[Pope John Paul II]] for private and institutional flights.<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www.corriere.it/foto-gallery/cronache/17_aprile_08/volandia-ecco-dc9-pertini-giovanni-paolo-ii-po-anche-dell-italia-mundial-calcio-9ea61a88-1c63-11e7-a92d-71d01d371297.shtml | title = Volandia, ecco il DC9 di Pertini e di Giovanni Paolo II (e un po' anche dell'Italia "mundial" del calcio) | journal = [[Il Corriere della Sera]]| date = 4 August 2017 }}</ref> In April 2017, it was put down back in the Museum of [[Volandia]], near Varese.<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://www.ilgiorno.it/varese/cronaca/dc-9-volandia-1.3025537 | title = A Volandia "apre" il DC-9 di Pertini e Papa Wojtyla  | location = Varese | language = it | journal = [[Il Giorno (newspaper)|Il Giorno]] | date = 8 April 2017 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20170415051744/https://www.ilgiorno.it/varese/cronaca/dc-9-volandia-1.3025537 | archive-date = 15 April 2017 | url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author = l.Landoni | url = https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/04/04/news/volandia_dc_9_pertini_apre_pubblico-162161074/ | title = Volandia, apre al pubblico il Dc 9 dello scopone Mundial tra Pertini e Bearzot | trans-title = Volandia opens to the puvlic the Dc 9 of the Mundial scopone between Pertini and Bearzot | date = 4 April 2017 | journal = [[la Repubblica]] | location = Milan | archive-url = https://archive.today/20190729093631/https://oasjs.repubblica.it/cookielex/set-cookie.short.redir?backurl=aHR0cHM6Ly9taWxhbm8ucmVwdWJibGljYS5pdC9jcm9uYWNhLzIwMTcvMDQvMDQvbmV3cy92b2xhbmRpYV9kY185X3BlcnRpbmlfYXByZV9wdWJibGljby0xNjIxNjEwNzQvP3JlZnJlc2hfY2U=&val=0 | archive-date = 29 July 2019 | url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.askanews.it/video/2016/07/19/il-dc-9-di-pertini-arrivato-al-museo-volandia-di-milano-malpensa-20160719_video_16570420/ | title = Il Dc-9 di Pertini arrivato al museo Volandia di Milano-Malpensa | publisher= [[Askanews.it]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url = https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/milano/bordo-dc-9-pertini-e-wojtyla-1383760.html | title = A bordo del Dc-9 di Pertini e Wojtyla | date = 8 April 2017 | journal = [[Il Giornale]] | archive-url = https://archive.today/20200927153522/https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/milano/bordo-dc-9-pertini-e-wojtyla-1383760.html | archive-date = 27 September 2020 | url-status = live}}</ref>

Zoff also holds the record for the longest stretch (1,142 minutes) without allowing any goals in international football, set between 1972 and 1974. That clean sheet stretch was ended by Haitian player [[Emmanuel Sanon|Manno Sanon]]'s beautiful goal during Italy's 3–1 win over Haiti in the first round of the 1974 World Cup. Zoff made his final appearance for Italy on 29 May 1983, in a 2–0 away loss to [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]], in a [[UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying|Euro 1984 qualifying match]]. At the time of his retirement, Zoff's 112 caps were the most ever by a member of the Italy national team. He currently sits in sixth place in this category, as well as second among goalkeepers, with Gianluigi Buffon having surpassed the latter record.<ref name="Italy’s towering guardian"/><ref name="autogenerated1"/>