Sebastiano Rossi

After the 2001–02 campaign Rossi moved to Perugia, who were facing a goalkeeper crisis at the time. He contributed relatively as the team retained its top level status, then retired at the end of that sole campaign at the age of 39.

After beating out newcomer Jens Lehmann (who would leave after playing only five matches) for the number-one jersey in 1998–99, Rossi was ultimately usurped by upstart Christian Abbiati, who had replaced him in the Perugia match.

Following their 1996 Scudetto victory, Milan sharply declined thereafter, finishing 11th in 1997 and tenth in 1998, as Rossi's own career declined and saw him battling Massimo Taibi for the top spot. During round 17 of the 1998–99 season, Milan were leading A.C. Perugia Calcio 2–0 when they conceded a late penalty. After Hidetoshi Nakata converted it, teammate Cristian Bucchi was struck from behind by Rossi while retrieving the ball from the back of the net. Rossi was sent off and later was punished with a five-match ban.

During a 21-year professional career, he appeared in 346 Serie A games, most notably representing A.C. Milan (12 seasons) with which he won 12 major titles, including five national championships and the 1994 Champions League.

Rossi then briefly battled for starting duties with Francesco Antonioli, before becoming Milan's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper, being part of a defensive line that included, amongst others, Mauro Tassotti, Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Paolo Maldini, regarded as one of the greatest defensive units of all time. However, unlike the aforementioned defenders, Rossi wasn't selected to represent Italy in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, since former Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi, who was the commissioner of the Italian national team during this time, assigned the three goalkeeping spots to Gianluca Pagliuca, Luca Marchegiani and Luca Bucci. Under Sacchi, Rossi received two international call-ups by the end of 1994, but failed to make a single appearance for his country, although several pundits regarded him as a viable alternative to the then first-choice keeper Pagliuca; he still managed to have a successful club career under the tutelage of Fabio Capello, as the Invincibles went on a 58-match unbeaten run and won four Scudetti in five seasons, as well as the UEFA Champions League in 1994.

Rossi held the record for the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history. In an 11-match span, from 12 December 1993 to 27 February 1994, he kept a clean sheet for 929 consecutive minutes before being beaten by a long-range strike by U.S. Foggia's Igor Kolyvanov; he surpassed the previous mark set by Dino Zoff in 1972–73 by 26 minutes, and his own record of longest consecutive minutes without conceding was surpassed by Gianluigi Buffon on 20 March 2016, by 45 minutes.

After his first season in Italy's top flight, Rossi was noticed by A.C. Milan, and joined the Rossoneri (also dubbed the Dream Team) that dominated Italian football for much of the 1990s. In his debut campaign he backed up Andrea Pazzagli, but the veteran left for Bologna F.C. 1909 in the ensuing summer.

After two more loans, Rossi returned to Cesena for the 1986–87 campaign, only missing five games as the Emilia-Romagna club promoted to Serie A, and retaining first-choice status in the following three top division seasons, with the team finishing 12th in 1989–90; he made his debut in the competition on 13 September 1987, in a home match against S.S.C. Napoli.

Rossi joined his hometown's club, A.C. Cesena, in 1979, at the age of 15. In 1982–83, on loan, he made his senior debuts with A.C. Forlì in the Serie C1, being backup in a relegation-ending season.

Sebastiano Rossi (born 20 July 1964) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.