Cláudio Taffarel

Cláudio Taffarel

Personal information
Full name	Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel
Date of birth	8 May 1966 (1966-05-08) (age 45)
Place of birth	Santa Rosa, Brazil
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1985–1990	Internacional	55	(0)
1990–1993	Parma	75	(0)
1993–1994	Reggiana	31	(0)
1995–1998	Atlético Mineiro	81	(0)
1998–2001	Galatasaray	129	(0)
2001–2003	Parma	8	(0)
Total		379	(0)
National team
1988–1998	Brazil	101	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel (born 8 May 1966 in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul) is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is of German and Italian descent.

During an 18-year career, he played professionally for five clubs, namely Parma, Atlético Mineiro and Galatasaray.

The recipient of more than 100 caps for Brazil, Taffarel helped the national team win the 1994 World Cup, also appearing in other eight major international tournaments over the course of one full decade.

Club career

Taffarel started playing for Sport Club Internacional, but only appeared in a maximum of 14 top division games during his five-year spell, being however awarded the Silver Ball award for the 1988 season. In 1990, he moved abroad and joined Parma A.C. in Italy, freshly promoted to Serie A for the first time in the club's history; he proceeded to appear in all 34 league games in the following season as the Emilia-Romagna outfit overachieved for a final sixth position and qualified to the UEFA Cup.

In 1993 Taffarel, already only a backup at Parma, signed for fellow top-divisioner A.C. Reggiana 1919, being first-choice as the club narrowly avoided relegation. After that season, he returned to his country and played three seasons with Clube Atlético Mineiro.

Aged 32, Taffarel returned to Europe and joined Galatasaray SK, winning six major trophies during his three-year stint, most notably two Süper Lig and the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, a 4–1 penalty shootout defeat of Arsenal (0–0 after 120 minutes); he closed out his career at the of 37 with former club Parma, after one 1/2 seasons as second-choice, and after having refused an offer from Empoli FC: his car broke while he was going to sign the contract, and he defined such event as a "sign of God".^[1][2]

In 2004, Taffarel rejoined Galatasaray as goalkeeper coach (under former teammate Gheorghe Hagi), returning to the club in the same predicament for the 2011–12 season.

International career

Taffarel made his debut for Brazil on 7 July 1988 in the Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup, playing all four games and conceding two goals in an eventual win. He was also in goal for the following year's Copa América, in another international conquest (during his 10-year career, he appeared in five editions of the tournament).

Taffarel was the starter for Brazil during the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, only allowing one goal in the first round and two in the knock-out phases (excluding two penalty kicks in the final). Four years later, in France, he helped the national team finish second, notably saving two penalties in the 4–2 shootout win against the Netherlands in the semifinals.

Taffarel gained 101 caps with the national team. Upon his retirement in 2003, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira offered to arrange a farewell match but the player refused, stating that he was not interested in such fanfare. He did return to play alongside Romário in late 2004 against Mexico to commemorate the 1994 World Cup victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brazil			League		Copa do Brasil		South America		Total
1985	Internacional	Série A	1	0					1
1986			2	0					2
1987			10	0					10
1988			14	0					14
1989			12	0			5		17
1990			11	0					11
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1990/91	Parma	Serie A	34	0					34
1991/92			34	0					34
1992/93			6	0	1				7
1993/94	Reggiana	Serie A	31	0					31
Brazil			League		Copa do Brasil		South America		Total
1995	Atlético Mineiro	Série A	22	0			4		26
1996			27	0					27
1997			24	0			4		28
1998			0	0
Turkey			League		Fortis Turkey Cup		Europe		Total
1998/99	Galatasaray	Süper Lig	32	0			8		40
1999/00			30	0			17		47
2000/01			27	0			15		42
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
2001/02	Parma	Serie A	6	0	8		1		15
2002/03			0	0
Country	Brazil		136	0
	Italy		114	0
	Turkey		129	0
Total			379	0

International

^[3]

Brazil national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1988	7	0
1989	16	0
1990	7	0
1991	10	0
1992	2	0
1993	15	0
1994	9	0
1995	5	0
1996	0	0
1997	15	0
1998	15	0
Total	101	0

Honours

Club

• Parma:
  • Italian Cup: 1991–92, 2001–02
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1992–93

• Galatasaray:
  • UEFA Cup: 1999–2000
  • UEFA Super Cup: 2000
  • Turkish League: 1998–99, 1999–2000
  • Turkish Cup: 1998–99, 1999–2000

• Atlético Mineiro:
  • Minas Gerais State League: 1995
  • CONMEBOL Cup: 1997

Country

• FIFA World Cup: 1994; Runner-up 1998
• Copa América: 1989, 1997; Runner-up 1995
• Summer Olympic Games: Silver medal 1988

Individual

• IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper: Bronze ball 1991, 1994
• Silver Ball: 1988

Post-retirement / Personal

Taffarel and his former Atlético Mineiro teammate Paulo Roberto started up a player agency, with the focus mainly on promising youngsters.^[4]

During the 1998 World Cup, when the Brazilian national team was training at Trois-Sapins stadium in Ozoir-la-Ferrière, a suburb southeast of Paris, the town's mayor proposed renaming the stadium after him.^[5]

Taffarel is a born-again Christian who has actively shared his faith in numerous venues. He has been a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes since 1988.^[6] He has 17 children, 15 of them adopted.^[2]

References

1. ^ "Taffarel dice no all' Empoli Colpa di un guasto all' auto [Taffarel says no to Empoli due to car malfunction]" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. 25 September 2003. http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2003/settembre/25/Taffarel_dice_all_Empoli_Colpa_co_0_030925086.shtml. Retrieved 29 May 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Football: God gave Taff a sign: The big interview; `You need to hit the darkest point to be able to appreciate the.". The Free Library. 1 October 2003. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Football:+God+gave+Taff+a+sign:+The+big+interview%3B+%60You+need+to+hit...-a0108382287. Retrieved 29 May 2010. 
3. ^ Claudio André Mergen Taffarel - Century of International Appearances; at RSSSF
4. ^ "Fledgling careers in safe hands". FIFA.com. 16 July 2008. http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/news/newsid=825983.html. Retrieved 16 July 2008. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Coach certain Brazil will rule". New York: New York Daily News. 10 July 1998. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/1998/07/10/1998-07-10_coach_certain_brazil_will_ru.html. Retrieved 12 April 2010. 
6. ^ Clarey, Christopher (8 July 1998). "World Cup '98; Goalie has answers for Brazil fans". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/08/sports/world-cup-98-goalie-has-answers-for-brazil-fans.html?pagewanted=1. Retrieved 11 April 2010. 

External links

• CBF data (Portuguese)
• Cláudio Taffarel at National-Football-Teams.com
• Cláudio Taffarel – FIFA competition record
• Galatasaray archives (Turkish)

Persondata
Name	Taffarel, Claudio
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer/Evangelist
Date of birth	8 May 1966
Place of birth	Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death
Place of death