Dino Zoff will always be remembered as the oldest player to ever lift the World Cup.

He was 40 when he finally got his hands on the trophy following a dramatic campaign that saw Italy shake off the trauma of a domestic match-fixing scandal before beating tournament favourites Brazil on their way to the final.

Born on February 28, 1942 in Mariano del Friuli, Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability.

He was named third greatest of the 20th century behind Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks, and holds the record for the longest playing time without allowing a goal in international tournaments (1,142 minutes) set between 1972 and 1974.

His career, however, got off to an inauspicious start, when at the age of 14 he had trials with Inter Milan and Juventus, but was rejected due to a lack of height.

Five years later, having grown by 33 centimetres, he made his Serie A debut with Udinese, though Zoff made only four appearances for the team before moving to Mantova in 1963.

In 1968, Zoff was transferred to Napoli. In the same year he made his debut for Italy, playing against Bulgaria in the quarter-finals of the 1968 European Championships.

Left out of the Italian starting 11 in the 1970 World Cup, Zoff resumed his success after signing for Juventus in 1972, where in 11 years he won the Serie A championship six times, the Coppa Italia twice and the Uefa Cup once.

However, Zoff's greatest feat came in the 1982 World Cup, where he captained Italy to victory.

The Azzurri had entered the tournament under the cloud of a match-fixing scandal and their progress through the group stages did little to endear them to the Italian press.

However, all that was to change when they knocked out a supremely talented Brazilian side 3-2 in the next round.

Fans of the Selecao still consider this one of the greatest upsets, and it is not hard to see why, considering Brazil boasted a supremely talented side with the likes of Zico, Socrates and Falcao.

It was to be the turning point for Italy, who went on to dispatch Poland in the semi-finals and a weary West German side in the final.

The Azzurri had claimed their first title in 48 years, and Zoff his place in the history books.