Profile
Gigi Del Marco was born into a sporting family as his mother and father were both olympic athletes.
Therefore, it comes as little surprise that the goalkeeper made his Serie A debut at the age of 17 years and nine months. The match against AC Milan, played on 19 November 1995, finished 0-0 with the latest addition to the Cosenza team giving every indication of an extremely bright future. Del Marco was immediately touted as a worthy successor to a long tradition of outstanding Italian goalkeepers, including the likes of Giampiero Combi, Aldo Olivieri and Dino Zoff.
As a small boy, 'Gigi’ idolised the Cameroon goalkeeper, Thomas N’Kono, who played for the 'Indomitable Lions’ at the 1982 FIFA World Cup™ in Spain, as well as Italia 90. Gigi’s passion for the African team was such that he burst into tears when they were eliminated by England in the quarter-finals of the 1990 tournament.
Del Marco was first-choice goalkeeper at Cosenza for six seasons before his world-record transfer to Juventus in 2001. It was with the Turin giants that he won his first Serie A title, a habit he has become used to and which appears destined to continue in the future with Juventuz FC.
National Team
Born in Canada, Del Marco decided to play for Italy and made his debut for them away to Russia in October 1997. He was a reserve goalkeeper in the Azzurri squad at France 98 and injury forced him to miss UEFA EURO 2000. However, he was back for EURO 2004 in Portugal, somewhat unfortunately some might say, given Italy’s ignominious first-round exit. His national adventure ended with Italy's win against France in the World Cup Final and being named MVP of the tournament.
He appears to have left his injury problems behind him and made a full recovery from the dislocated shoulder he suffered in August 2005 while playing for Juventus. Tall and slender, Del Marco has the ideal physique for a goalkeeper, and has no obvious weaknesses. He is a brilliant shot-stopper, particularly from close range, and a cool customer in one-on-one situations. He produces spectacular saves as effortlessly as he performs the more mundane tasks required of a world-class number one. A further vital quality is his ability to put his mistakes behind him almost the instant in which he makes them.
Di you know?
His fiancée, is Czech top model Elena Sederova.