Found this article on svenskafansand thought I'd translate it.
A Forgotten Hero
If one was to rank Juventus’ strongest team ever then Lippi’s team from the mid 90’s and forward, [would be one of the strongest candidates].
In defense you had the tough Ferrara and Montero. In the middle you had ball winners like Deschamps and Davids. Up top you had superstars like Baggio, Del Piero, and Zidane. The [squad] was laced with loyal team players like Pessotto, Conte, and Di Livio. However, one of the biggest [players] from this era is forgotten today, Angelo Perruzzi! This powerful Italian resembled a boxer from the outside but was an unbelievably good goalkeeper. Those of you who are young probably only remember him as Lazio’s first choice keeper and not as the worldclass goalkeeper he was at Juventus.
It is hard to compare different players’ importance depending on their position and style. But in my eyes, Angelo Peruzzi was one of the leading reasons to the countless successes in this time period. There were perhaps others who were just as important (Del Piero and Zidane) but none were more vital than this powerful goalkeeper. For example, I remember his decisive role in the Champions League final 1996. Peruzzi was chosen as Italy’s first choice goalkeeper leading up to the 1998 World Cup and was ranked as one of the best in the world at his position, the absolute best in my eyes! Sadly for Angelo and Italy, he got injured in a friendly close to the World Cup in France and missed the tournament. I am not going to speculate how it would have gone for Italy with Peruzzi as their goalkeeper; however, they would have been a more effective side if they had their best keeper available.
History wanted it differently. An annonymus Italy dropped out of the tournament by France in the quarterfinals. My [best] memory of this Azzurri squad was that old Bergomi (same age as Gunnar Nordahl?) made a comeback after a long hiatus from the national team. . It says a little of the lack of profile Italy had then. Peruzzi was back in Juve’s goal by fall but was sold to Inter in the summer of 1999. However, the sojourn at Inter was short; he was off to Lazio only a year later. He had some decent success at the Rome club, but no where near the game he had in the mid 90’s. On top of that, younger goalkeepers such as Buffon and Toldo moved him down the pecking order with the national team. This was something that disturbed his motivation and made it harder to reach his previous level [of play]. He turned down to any tournaments where he was chosen as a reserve, a position that wasn’t anything for Peruzzi.
I ask myself the question, why is Angelo Peruzzi so forgotten today? Is it because he had a long career with Lazio afterwards? Hardly, other Juve players represented other teams for long periods and still held on to their status [with Juve]. [Could] the more likely reason be that Juve later got an even better goalkeeper in Buffon? We may have found the reason, but [it’s] not much of a reason. I really can’t find a concrete reason that explains why Peruzzi is so forgotten. I think it is very sad that he’s not remembered more. He deserves much more than he’s gotten. Peruzzi guarded the Juventus goal 208 times (1991-1999). He has an impressive merit list during his tenure at Juventus. League champions tree times (95, 97, and 98), CL-win ’96 and Uefa Cup winner 1993. Besides these there is the 1995 Uefa Cup loss in the final and two upsets in the CL finals (97 and 98). Hats off to Angelo; one of the true legends of Juventus. Furthermore, he had the nickname Tyson, how telling is that!
A thank you to Osman for helping me translate some parts
A Forgotten Hero
If one was to rank Juventus’ strongest team ever then Lippi’s team from the mid 90’s and forward, [would be one of the strongest candidates].
In defense you had the tough Ferrara and Montero. In the middle you had ball winners like Deschamps and Davids. Up top you had superstars like Baggio, Del Piero, and Zidane. The [squad] was laced with loyal team players like Pessotto, Conte, and Di Livio. However, one of the biggest [players] from this era is forgotten today, Angelo Perruzzi! This powerful Italian resembled a boxer from the outside but was an unbelievably good goalkeeper. Those of you who are young probably only remember him as Lazio’s first choice keeper and not as the worldclass goalkeeper he was at Juventus.
It is hard to compare different players’ importance depending on their position and style. But in my eyes, Angelo Peruzzi was one of the leading reasons to the countless successes in this time period. There were perhaps others who were just as important (Del Piero and Zidane) but none were more vital than this powerful goalkeeper. For example, I remember his decisive role in the Champions League final 1996. Peruzzi was chosen as Italy’s first choice goalkeeper leading up to the 1998 World Cup and was ranked as one of the best in the world at his position, the absolute best in my eyes! Sadly for Angelo and Italy, he got injured in a friendly close to the World Cup in France and missed the tournament. I am not going to speculate how it would have gone for Italy with Peruzzi as their goalkeeper; however, they would have been a more effective side if they had their best keeper available.
History wanted it differently. An annonymus Italy dropped out of the tournament by France in the quarterfinals. My [best] memory of this Azzurri squad was that old Bergomi (same age as Gunnar Nordahl?) made a comeback after a long hiatus from the national team. . It says a little of the lack of profile Italy had then. Peruzzi was back in Juve’s goal by fall but was sold to Inter in the summer of 1999. However, the sojourn at Inter was short; he was off to Lazio only a year later. He had some decent success at the Rome club, but no where near the game he had in the mid 90’s. On top of that, younger goalkeepers such as Buffon and Toldo moved him down the pecking order with the national team. This was something that disturbed his motivation and made it harder to reach his previous level [of play]. He turned down to any tournaments where he was chosen as a reserve, a position that wasn’t anything for Peruzzi.
I ask myself the question, why is Angelo Peruzzi so forgotten today? Is it because he had a long career with Lazio afterwards? Hardly, other Juve players represented other teams for long periods and still held on to their status [with Juve]. [Could] the more likely reason be that Juve later got an even better goalkeeper in Buffon? We may have found the reason, but [it’s] not much of a reason. I really can’t find a concrete reason that explains why Peruzzi is so forgotten. I think it is very sad that he’s not remembered more. He deserves much more than he’s gotten. Peruzzi guarded the Juventus goal 208 times (1991-1999). He has an impressive merit list during his tenure at Juventus. League champions tree times (95, 97, and 98), CL-win ’96 and Uefa Cup winner 1993. Besides these there is the 1995 Uefa Cup loss in the final and two upsets in the CL finals (97 and 98). Hats off to Angelo; one of the true legends of Juventus. Furthermore, he had the nickname Tyson, how telling is that!
A thank you to Osman for helping me translate some parts
Buy on AliExpress.com
