June 6th, 2000
I'm just the man for a crisis, says Toldo 

by Paddy Agnew

ITALY (goalnetwork) -- Fiorentina goalkeeper Francesco Toldo, the man who
takes over from injured Gianluigi Buffon as Italy's first choice keeper at
Euro 2000, is no stranger to last-minute emergencies. 
In October 1995 uncapped Toldo was packing his bags for a brief holiday
when the phone rang. On the line was Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi summoning
him into the squad for Italy's vital European Championship qualifier
against Croatia in Split two days later. 
Toldo was brought into the squad as the reserve goalkeeper to Luca Bucci
after injury to Angelo Peruzzi, the original first choice. 
Two days later, Toldo was sitting on the bench watching the opening phases
of the Croatia v Italy tie when Bucci was sent off for bringing down Davor
Suker well outside his penalty area. Only nine minutes of the game had been
played before Toldo found himself making his international debut in front
of a partisan Croatian crowd. 
Toldo rose to the occasion with a series of decisive saves in a fairytale
debut that ended in a 1-1 draw that proved enough to see Italy qualify for
Euro 96 in England. 
As he prepared to keep goal for Italy at Euro 2000, 28-year-old Toldo
expressed his sympathy for Buffon. Toldo, capped eight times, said: "I told
Gigi that I would do my best out of respect for him, too. 
"At the moment, we're obviously experiencing contrasting feelings and I
have to be a bit sensitive about the way I admit to being delighted without
adding to his bitterness because, after all, he was the first choice. As
for numbers, I'll stick with my number 12 and the No 1 can go to Abbiati." 
The Milan and Italy Under 21 goalkeeper, Christian Abbiati, who has been
summoned to replace Buffon, will join the Italian squad in Rome today
(Monday) before departure for Belgium tomorrow. Abbiati travels to Rome
from Bratislava where he proved a key figure in Italy's Under 21 European
Championship-winning team. 

Taken from Goalnetwork