Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and by some as the greatest ever. With 176 international caps, he is the most capped player in the history of the Italy national team, and the second-most capped European international player ever. He won a record ten Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia titles, and five Supercoppa Italiana titles with Juventus. After 17 years with Juventus, he signed with French club Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 40 in 2018.

About Gianluigi Buffon in brief

Summary Gianluigi BuffonGianluigi Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and by some as the greatest ever. Buffon holds the record for the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history of over 12 league matches. With 176 international caps, he is the most capped player in the history of the Italy national team, and the second-most capped European international player ever. With Juventus, he won a record ten Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia titles, and five Supercoppa Italiana titles. After 17 years with Juventus, Buffon signed with French club Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 40 in 2018, where he was used in a rotational role with Alphonse Areola. He won the Trophée des Champions and the Ligue 1 title in his only season with the team, before returning to Juventus the following year. He retired from international football in 2017, after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, although he later came out of retirement for the team’s friendlies. He has been voted into the UEFA Team of the Year five times and has been elected into the FIFPro World XI three times. He was named the Best Goalkeeper of the World five times, alongside Iker Casillas, and was also named the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, by the same organisation and of the decade, for the past 25 years.

He also won the UEFA Club Footballer of the year award in 2003, after reaching the UEFA Champions League Final. He made his debut for Parma in 1995, and made his Serie A debut in 1995. Despite offers from Bologna and Milan, he began his career with the youth system of Parma. He joined Juventus in 2001, for a world record fee for a goalkeeper of €52 million at the time. In 2006, he was part of the squad that won the World Cup and won the Ballon d’Or in 2006, as well as the Golden Ball award for best goalkeeper. In 2010, he became the first goalkeeper ever to win Serie A Footballer Of The Year award. In 2012, he broke Paolo Maldini’s record of 647 appearances in the Serie A and won his record tenth Serie A title. In 2013, he also became the only goalkeeper to have won the Golden Boot award for the Italian Serie A season. In 2015, he went unbeaten for 974 consecutive minutes during the 2015–16 season, achieving the most consecutive clean sheets during that run. In the same season, he kept a record five clean sheets during the 2014-15 season. He became the second goalkeeper to win the Golden Goalkeeper Award a record 12 times. In 2014, he received the FIFA Best FIFA Goalkeeper award for his performances at the 2006 World Cup. In 2007, he reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 European Championship and the final of the 2012 European Championship, and won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics.