Enzo Di Pede (born January 3, 1957) is a retired Italian-born
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
who played in the
North American Soccer League and the original
Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).
Career
In 1976, he played in the
National Soccer League with
Toronto Italia for three seasons.
Di Pede was a member of the MISL Champion New York Arrows as a backup goalkeeper in 1979–1980. Di Pede won MISL Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 1981 as a member of the
Chicago Horizons and later played for the
Kansas City Comets. On October 7, 1986, the
Minnesota Strikers
The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/St. Paul metropol ...
signed Di Pede, but he spent the season as a backup.
International career
Di Pede played with the
Canada men's national under-23 soccer team
The Canada U-23 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Olympic soccer team) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada.
Un ...
, and made his debut on April 1, 1979 against Bermuda.
Personal life
Born in Italy, he and his family immigrated to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario, Canada. Di Pede idolized long-time
Italian national team goalkeeper
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...
as a young soccer player.
Di Pede led a series of youth soccer camps in
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. with several fellow MISL players. After retiring, Di Pede, along with teammate Gino Schiraldi, opened a bagel shop and catering company in Kansas City.
References
External links
Career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Pede, Enzo
1957 births
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Canadian expatriate soccer players
Canadian soccer players
Toronto Italia players
Chicago Horizons players
Association football goalkeepers
Italian emigrants to Canada
Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players
Canadian National Soccer League players
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
New York Arrows players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Rochester Lancers (1967–1980) players
Living people
People from Sora, Lazio
Sportspeople from the Province of Frosinone
Footballers from Lazio