Serie A is one of the most respected leagues in the world. It’s a nursery of legends, and goalkeepers aren’t an exception.
We have seen some of the greatest shot-stoppers in history don the gloves and make moments that we cannot forget, and such moments still give us goosebumps. Italian football has a rich history when it comes to goalkeeping greats, but who cuts?
This brings us down to ten, and the selections will arguably always be disputable.
To avoid controversies, I will put a limit to having goalkeepers who played for Serie A since the league’s official birth in 1929, and the round-robin system it has today.
Now, let’s get into the details of the top 10.
1. Gianluigi Buffon

When one speaks of the debate regarding who is the greatest of all time in Serie A, one name always seems to pop up above the rest: Gianluigi Buffon. With a total of ten league titles to his name, he is the most decorated player in Serie A history.
The number could have been even higher if not for the Calciopoli scandal that cost him two more championships.
But Buffon’s dominance extends into more than just titles.
He leads in all-time appearances with 656 games over 24 seasons—that is a big indicator of his enduring quality and dedication. He has outlasted and outperformed some of the greatest names in Italian football history, such as Paolo Maldini and Francesco Totti.
Buffon rewrote the record books with an unrivalled 299 clean sheets in Serie A.
Indeed, he remains to be the only goalkeeper who has had a clean sheet 21 times in a single season; actually, he did it not once but twice. His longest consecutive run without letting one in? An incredible 974 minutes—probably the record that will never get broken.
He is a legend who debuted at just 17 and continued playing at an elite level until 43. His passion, shot-stopping ability, and leadership have inspired generations of football fans.
2. Dino Zoff

For many Italian football fans, especially those who witnessed the greatness of Dino Zoff and Walter Zenga, Buffon may not be the automatic choice as the greatest goalkeeper of all time in Serie A.
Now, for me, there is an exceptionally strong case to be made for Buffon’s supremacy. But let’s delve deep into Zoff’s incredible journey.
First rejected by Inter Milan and then by Juventus, Zoff had setbacks that would have broken many men.
Instead, he used them as fuel to drive his success. From an inauspicious start, which included a five-goal debut and relegation with Udinese, Zoff fought back with determination.
He earned a move to Mantova, then Napoli, where he would eventually make 143 Serie A appearances and help his team challenge for titles. The team that once rejected him, Juventus, came calling finally in 1972.
Zoff became integral to Juve’s golden era, winning six Serie A titles, and developed into probably one of the finest goalkeepers in the world.
He made a name for himself that transcended his playing days; these awards from the International Federation of Football History & Statistics firmly put him as one of the greatest goalkeepers of the 20th century.
3. Walter Zenga

The homegrown hero who captured the hearts of Inter Milan fans.
Zenga helped establish himself as a starting goalkeeper due to his very explosive saves and rather unconventional style after being an unknown in the club’s youth academy.
He has 473 of the most appearances by an Inter goalkeeper to his credit, and fans do associate him with loyalty and consistency. His Inter career wasn’t adorned with trophies, but Zenga’s brilliance shone through.
He was consistently one of Serie A’s finest at keeping clean sheets and the fewest goals conceded, enough to win him the prestigious IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper award for three years on the spin.
Work lives on, not just with his performances on the pitch but with his status as one of the greatest.
4. Angelo Peruzzi
23 Oct 1999: Angelo Peruzzi in goal for Inter Milan against AC Milan during the Serie A match at the San Siro in Milan, Italy. Mandatory Credit: Claudio Villa /Allsport
One thinks of Juventus FC goalkeepers and thinks of names such as Gianluigi Buffon, Dino Zoff, and maybe even Gianpiero Combi for those proper Serie A fans.
However, there is one unsung hero worth some loving: Angelo Peruzzi.
The road to glory was not an easy trip, though. Scepticism over his height and build and a dope scandal in 1990 cast a shadow on his career.
However, he persisted and finally found his feet at Juventus in 1991. Although an understudy at first, Peruzzi became the No 1 keeper when Stefano Tacconi left in 1992.
He went on to make 202 Serie A appearances, earning recognition as one of the world’s top goalkeepers—third of three Serie A titles, back-to-back wins in 1997 and 1998, and individual awards in the Serie A, such as Goalkeeper of the Year and the Guerin d’Oro.
He may probably not be in the same league as Zoff and other goalkeepers, but it’s his determination and talent that puts him on par with the goalkeepers in this list of Juventus’ greats.
5. Francesco Toldo

Toldo’s path to being described as a Serie A legend wasn’t always the most straightforward. He had been developed through the youth department of AC Milan but had never made an appearance at the senior team.
But, instead, he got his feet with ACF Fiorentina, with which he signed in 1993, his Serie A debut coming in the following year.
The number one jersey at Fiorentina belonged to Toldo for eight years when the club was living its golden era with top-five finishes and Coppa Italia wins in 1996 and 2001.
The fine form he showed earned him the AIC Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2000.
In 2001, Toldo made the move to Inter Milan for a huge €30 million, becoming a fan favourite and playing a major role in domestic and continental successes.
Though he eventually paved the way for Júlio César, Toldo remained useful as he won five Serie A titles with domestic cups in 2005 and 2006.
Contrasting him with other goalkeepers, the career of Toldo will remain the pointer whose great level of dedication and talent has put him among the fine goal-stoppers in Serie A history.
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6. Sebastiano Rossi
Sebastiano ROSSI – 29.11.1992 – Juventus de Turin / Milan AC – Serie A, Photo : Alain Gadoffre / Icon Sport
The late 1980s and 1990s were truly the golden era of Serie A goalkeeping, and Sebastiano Rossi was clearly one of the finest.
The fact that Rossi never received an international call-up does not detract from a fantastic club career that certainly sees him rank among the great Serie A goalkeepers.
Tall and athletic, Rossi made his Serie A debut in 1987 and retired in 2003, with a quite brilliant spell at AC Milan in between.
He was one of the protagonists of maybe one of the greatest Milan teams ever, winning eight domestic trophies, including three consecutive Serie A titles from 1992 to 1994.
He is in Milan’s Hall of Fame, having, at one time, held the record for the longest unbeaten streak (929 minutes) while still holding the record for fewest goals conceded in a 34-game season (11).
7. Gianluca Pagliuca

Gianluca Pagliuca was a very fast riser to the top.
Only just a few seasons into his professional football career, this young goalie was already an idol with U.C. Sampdoria. Making his debut in 1987, Pagliuca quickly brought Sampdoria into unchartered territory, winning two Coppa Italias back-to-back in 1988 and 1989.
The latter victory was a thrilling upset over Diego Maradona’s S.S.C. Napoli, with Pagliuca yielding one goal in two legs.
But his greatest personal triumph came in the 1990-1991 season when Sampdoria seized their first-ever Serie A title, in which Pagl
iuca starred in 32 out of the 34 games, just letting in 24 goals.
His performances were so overwhelming, and he was internationally recognized. Clubs like Inter Milan could not just drop his fantastic skills. In 1994, Pagliuca, through a record deal of £7 million, transferred to Inter, thus being named among the greatest goalkeepers in the world.
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8. Júlio César

Júlio César moved to Europe in the mid-2000s, having had a splendid career with Flamengo back in Brazil. In those days, he was technically an Inter Milan player, but the club preferred to have him registered with ChievoVerona as Serie A had a non-European player quota rule.
He didn’t play on the field with the Gialloblu jersey but was official with them, while by July 2005, César had his formal appearance for Inter.
Starting the campaign as deputy to Francesco Toldo, César had managed to win the Nerazzurri number one shirt come the end of the season, making 29 Serie A appearances and helping Inter win the domestic double.
And it was the start of an incredible five-year ride as César backstopped Inter to the next four scudetti from 2007 through 2010. Of those, he played all the league matches and the Coppa Italia final to complete the historic treble-winning campaign in 2009/2010. A two-time Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year, César made an Inter record of most league clean sheets in a season, taking it to 17.
His performances have just been stunning, propelling him as one of the best worldwide. At this point, I’d say let’s give what belong to Cesar to Julio Cesar.
9. Dida
Dida the goalkeeper of AC Milan shouts during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico on November 8, 2009 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
Well, Dida’s rise to fame started in 1992 with Vitoria in Brazil, but it was in the year 2000, after moving to AC Milan, that his journey began.
Two years later Dida returned to Milan following a brief loan spell at Corinthians in 2002 and succeeded Abbiati, helping Milan through to a 1-0 Champions League qualifier against Slovan Liberec.
On his debut day, Dida ended up being Milan’s first-choice goalkeeper and had a successful eight-year spell that could be termed phenomenal, with two Champions League titles and being named FIFPro Goalkeeper of the Year in 2005. He broke racial barriers in his native Brazil, becoming the first Afro-Brazilian starting goalkeeper in 50 years for the national team.
Dida was the coolest and most authoritative goalkeeper of his time and, apparently, one of the best in the 21st century.
The series of the most ridiculous blunders should not neglect Dida’s career: the Scudetto of 2003-04, Supercoppa Italiana of 2004, and the FIFA Club World Championship for 2007.
10. Gianpiero Combi

This may place Combi outside of good goalkeepers, but this ranking places him within the confirmation of the girth abilities possessed by goalkeepers who have plied their trade in Serie A.
Since we’re only considering performances after 1929, Combi’s impressive pre-1929 career takes a backseat.
However, his five years at Serie A were nothing less than spectacular. Combi steered Juventus to four consecutive Serie A championships, from 1931 to 1934, the only glitch on his record being his team’s finishing third in the league’s first season.
With Virginio Rosetta and Umberto Caligaris, Combi made the legendary ‘Trio Combi-Rosetta-Caligaris’, a defensive trio that was almost unbeatable.
By the time Combi retired at only 31, he had established himself as the first starting goalkeeper to win four consecutive Italian championships and Juventus’ all-time appearance leader for goalkeepers.
Although this period in itself had limitations, Combi made his contribution to the annals of Serie A history.
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