He was loaned to Hellas Verona in 1989, but was one of the two Roma players (the other being Andrea Carnevale) to be suspended for a year in October 1990 after failing a doping test because of an appetite suppressant he was taking at the time, which contained the banned substance Phentermine.

The following season, he transferred to Lazio for 40 billion lire (€20.658 million; in a cash plus Marco Ballotta deal),[14][17] and made over 200 appearances in Serie A and European competitions with the club, winning the Supercoppa Italiana in 2000 and the Coppa Italia in 2004.

[23] Peruzzi did not play for Italy again until making a substitute appearance in a friendly against Spain on 28 April 2004,[24] and was subsequently called up by Giovanni Trapattoni as a backup keeper at Euro 2004: Trapattoni's choice appeared unusual, since Italy's third-choice goalkeeper for World Cups and European Championships was generally selected among young, promising ones;[25] instead, the contemporary presence of two veteran keepers such as Peruzzi and Toldo raised doubts about their actual role behind Buffon, because neither of them would have easily accepted to play a marginal part.

Even though he did not take the field, teammate Daniele De Rossi highlighted Peruzzi's important role in the squad as a key dressing room personality, due to his leadership and experience.

[29] A powerful, athletic, complete, and consistent goalkeeper – although injury-prone[8][30] –, Peruzzi was renowned for his physical strength, positioning, explosive reactions, speed, and agility, in spite of his sturdy physique; he particularly excelled at quickly rushing off his line to parry or collect the ball on the ground,[8][30][31] as well as at anticipating his opponents outside the penalty area,[32] which made him particularly effective in teams which relied on a zonal marking defensive system with high defensive lines.

[32] While he was extremely gifted both technically and acrobatics-wise,[35][36] he was an efficient goalkeeper, who performed spectacular dives only in case of strict necessity: he indeed believed that "a great keeper must walk across the line: this way he disheartens the opposing strikers, because he seems to save shots effortlessly".

[36][37][41] A precocious talent in his youth,[30] he was regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world in his prime during the 1990s,[10][11][12][42] but also stood out for his longevity in his later career, which enabled him to maintain a consistently high level of performances.