Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon (Italian pronunciation: /dʒanˈlui:dʒi bufˈfɔn/; Carrara, Province of Massa and Carrara, Italy, January 28, 1978) is an Italian footballer. He plays as a goalkeeper and his current team is Parma Calcio of Italy's Serie B. He is the player with the most games played for the Italian team, of which he was its captain. He is the only active footballer on the FIFA 100 list.

He began his sports career at Parma Calcio, which he joined at the age of 13, making his professional debut with the first team in 1995. After spending six seasons in the Parmesan team, he was transferred to Juventus in Turin where he won nineteen titles at national level (nine Serie A, one Serie B, four Italian Cups and five Italian Super Cups). With the Italian soccer team, he participated in four European Championships and in five editions of the Soccer World Cup, his best result being the championship obtained in the 2006 World Cup after beating France 5-3 in a penalty shootout in the end.

In 2004 he was included in the FIFA 100 Soccer Players list drawn up by former soccer player Pelé at the request of FIFA. He has been named the best goalkeeper in the world five times by the International Federation of Soccer History and Statistics. Likewise, he has obtained various individual titles such as the Lev Yashin Award, the Silver Ball, the goalkeeper of the year award in Serie A, among others. He was chosen as the "World's Best Goalkeeper of the Quarter Century" and "World's Best Goalkeeper of the 1st Decade of the Century XXI» by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.

On December 14, 2020, he was included as goalkeeper in the second historic Ballon d'Or Dream Team.

Trajectory

Parma Calcio

Gianluigi Buffon began his career as a soccer player at the Canaletto Sepor soccer school in the city of La Spezia, then he moved to Perticata, another soccer school in the city of Carrara, playing in both teams as a striker due to his physique. At the age of 13, he entered the youth team of the Parma Football Club, a year later in a match he held the position of goalkeeper since the first two goalkeepers of the team were injured and two weeks later, he became the starting goalkeeper In 1995, he was promoted to the first team and made his debut in Serie A on November 19 of that same year at the age of 17 in a match against A. C. Milan with a final result of 0-0. In the 1996- 97, saw much more action and went on to play twenty-seven games receiving a total of seventeen league goals, eventually occupying second position in the standings with sixty-three points.

During this same campaign he made his debut in an international tournament, the UEFA Cup in a match for the round of 32 against Vitória Sport Clube that ended with a score of 2-0 in favor of the Portuguese. In the following season, he played a match for the Italian Cup for the first time, his debut took place on October 15, 1997 in the round of 16 against Bari, whom they eliminated by an aggregate score of 3-1, in the quarterfinals they faced Atalanta, beating them 2-1, finally Parma was eliminated from the tournament by A. C. Milan in the semifinals. In the domestic league his club finished in sixth position after fifteen wins, twelve draws and seven losses. At the international level he participated in the League UEFA Champions League 1997-98, being eliminated in the group stage after finishing in second position with nine points.

It was during the 1998-99 season that he achieved his first titles with the Parmesan club, winning the Coppa Italia championships, drawing in the final by an aggregate score of 3-3 against Fiorentina, after having defeated in the rounds prior to teams like Genoa, Bari, Udinese and Inter Milan, and the 1998-99 UEFA Cup after previously eliminating Fenerbahçe, Wisła Cracovia, Rangers, Girondins de Bordeaux, Atlético de Madrid and defeating 3-0 in the final to Olympique de Marseille. However, they did not do very well in the league where they occupied fourth position with fifty-five points, in this competition Buffon conceded thirty-six goals in thirty-four games.

The 1999-00 campaign began for Parma, obtaining their only title so far in the Italian Super Cup, beating A. C. Milan 2-1 at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. Meanwhile, in the Champions League they were eliminated in the third previous round by Rangers, so they had to settle for playing in the UEFA Cup in which they advanced to the round of 16 after losing by an aggregate score of 3-2 with Werder Bremen of Germany. 2000-01, Gianluigi's last at Parma ended in fourth place in the league after sixteen wins, eight draws and ten defeats, eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2000-01 UEFA Cup by P. S. V. Eindhoven from the Netherlands and with the runner-up in the Italian Cup 2000-01.

Juventus Football Club

First titles with Marcello Lippi

In 2001, he was acquired by Juventus Football Club together with Lilian Thuram for the 2001-02 season for a record amount of 54 million euros, thus becoming the most expensive goalkeeper in history. His beginnings in Juventus were not easy, the indecisions in the matches against ChievoVerona and Roma caused him to be strongly criticized, but he managed to recover and had a good season obtaining the Serie A title after twenty wins, eleven draws and three losses to add a a total of seventy-one points. Meanwhile, in the UEFA Champions League they played ten games and conceded twelve goals, being eliminated in the second group stage with seven points.

That same year, Juventus won the Italian Super Cup, after beating Parma 2-1. In his second season with the Bianconero club, he once again won the Serie A and Italian Super Cup titles, the first of they with seventy-two points, and the second beating Milan 6-4 in the final in a penalty shootout at the Giants Stadium in the city of New Jersey. While in the semifinals of the Champions League Juventus lost faced Real Madrid the first match ended with a score of 2-1 in favor of the Spaniards, in the return match Juventus won 3-1, in that match he saved a penalty kick from Luís Figo.

In the final of the tournament played against Milan in the city of Manchester, the match extended to a penalty shootout where he saved shots from Clarence Seedorf and Kakha Kaladze but finally the match ended with a score of 3-2 in favor of the milanistas. The 2003-04 season was very irregular for his club, in the national league he added a total of sixty-nine points to finally place himself in third position, during this competition Gianluigi played thirty-two games, in the Cup Italy did not get to be present in any game, however they managed to runner-up after being defeated in the final 4-2 by Lazio. While in the 2003-04 UEFA Champions League they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Deportivo de La Coruña of Spain.

The Calciopoli scandal and the return to Serie A

On August 14, 2005, he suffered a serious shoulder injury after colliding with Kaká in a friendly match against A.C. Milan in the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy, for which he was forced to sit out for three months, being replaced by Christian Abbiati who was loaned out by the rossoneros. At the end of November, he returned to the Juventus squad to face Fiorentina for the Italian Cup, but the Coach Fabio Capello preferred to have him on the substitute bench while he fully recovered. His final return came in January 2006 again against Fiorentina in the second leg of the same competition. Despite having been absent for a long time, he won the titles of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, which were eventually revoked from the club.

Gianluigi fighting a match against the Rimini in Serie B 2006-07.

Due to the match manipulation scandal, Juventus were relegated to Serie B. Buffon was one of the few players to remain in the team, along with Pavel Nedvěd, Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet and Mauro Camoranesi. During Juventus's tenure in Serie B, he played thirty-seven games and conceded twenty-one goals, while in the Italian Cup he allowed four goals in three games.

On November 18, 2006, in a match against Albino, Leffe was sent off for the first time in his career. Juventus decided to publish on a full page of the three most important Italian sports newspapers (Tuttosport, La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport) a note titled "Your shirt says who you are" and below photographs of Buffon with a message that read:

The company, partners, supporters and partners thank Gigi Buffon who remains and will always be our number one.

On May 19, 2007, Juventus mathematically achieved his return to Serie A and renewed his contract until 2012. In the 2007-08 season, he was awarded the Calcio Oscar for Goalkeeper of the Year for the fourth consecutive time in Serie A and on March 10, 2008, he again renewed his contract until 2013, declaring that he wants to win everything with his club. On September 20, 2008, he suffered a second-degree injury to the abductor leg. right during the match played against Cagliari Calcio, for which he was out for a month, missing the group stage matches of the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League, once recovered he was summoned by the coach Marcello Lippi to the national team, however he suffered from his injury during the training sessions of the squadra azzurra for which he remained off the pitch for two more months.

Buffon during a friendly meeting with Manchester United in 2008.

He returned to Juventus fully recovered on January 14, 2009 to face Calcio Catania for the round of 16 of the Italian Cup, the match ended with a score of 3-0 in favor of the bianconeros. In total during the 2008-2009 season, he conceded twenty-six goals in twenty-three league games and finished second with Juventus. Despite having started the 2009-10 campaign on the right foot, he suffered a series of injuries that left him prevented from being present in most of the matches played by their club.

In October 2009 it was revealed that he had been playing with an injured meniscus for quite some time and that he needed surgery, in February 2010 he suffered a new injury to his thigh, three months later he was absent again due to ankle problems. The Turin club did not have any good luck either, finishing in seventh position in the league and eliminated from the Italian Cup and the Champions League in the quarterfinals and group stage respectively.

On July 4, 2010, during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, he had to undergo surgery due to a herniated disc and sciatica that compressed his left leg. As a result, he missed most of the 2010-11 campaign. He returned to the field of play on January 3, 2011 to play a friendly match against Lucento (a team from the Piedmont region) that ended with a 5-0 victory for the bianconeros. days later he was awarded as the «Best Goalkeeper in the World of the 1st Decade of the Century XXI» by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. His definitive return to the competition was made on January 13 in the 2-0 home victory over Calcio Catania for the round of 16 of the 2010-11 Italian Cup. He closed his tenth season in Turin with seventeen games played and the same number of goals conceded.

The seven-time championship with Conte and Allegri

Buffon contesting a meeting with the Shajtar Donetsk in 2012.

During the 2011-12 season, they won their third league title with an early date and undefeated, the product of twenty-three wins and fifteen draws. They also surpassed their own record for goals conceded, only allowing sixteen goals in thirty-four. five appearances and remained for 568 minutes without receiving annotations. In the 2011-12 Italian Cup he did not play any match, although they managed to runner-up after being defeated 2-0 in the final by Napoli. On August 11, 2012, Gianluigi lifted his first trophy as the new captain of Juventus, after the departure of Alessandro Del Piero.

The bianconero club defeated Napoli 4-2 in the Italian Super Cup in Beijing. Buffon suffered a minor injury and was unable to be present for the 2012–13 season opener against Parma on 25 August. He was replaced by Marco Storari and they won the game 2–0. starting lineup for the next match against Udinese Calcio as a visitor. On September 20, in the first match of the UEFA Champions League against Chelsea, he played his 400th game with the Juventus shirt in all the competitions. The match ended with a 2-2 draw.

Two days later he played his first scoreless game of the campaign, his club defeating ChievoVerona 2-0 at Juventus Stadium. In October he was nominated for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or along with his teammate Andrea Pirlo. On December 5, he played his 100th game for Juventus in European competitions in a 1-0 win against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Donbass Arena. On January 23, 2013, in a joint press conference with President Andrea Agnelli, he announced the renewal of his contract until June 30, 2015. The Turin company revalidated its title obtained in the previous season in Serie A and Buffon finished the league once again with the least beaten defense, conceding just 19 goals.

In the Italian Cup they advanced to the semifinal while in the Champions League they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Bayern Munich, who finally won the competition. On August 18, 2013, Gianluigi began the 2013-14 season by winning the Italian Super Cup title after beating Lazio 4-0, managing to maintain his unbeaten arc for the first time in this competition. He also conceded no goals in the first league game against Sampdoria, which they defeated by a score of 1-0 as a visitor. On November 24, he made his 500th appearance in Serie A. On December 6, he recorded his seventh consecutive game and the ninth of the season without conceding goals. As a result, he improved his previous personal record of 568 minutes without conceding a league goal, accumulating 640. He extended this record to 730 minutes after Juventus' 4-0 win over Sassuolo.

Buffon during a UEFA Champions League match 2013-14.

He improved on this record for another 15 minutes, but was eventually beaten by Maximiliano Morález after scoring a goal in his club's (Atalanta) 4-1 defeat. For his good performances throughout the year, he was nominated along with his teammates Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal for the 2013 FIFA/FIFPro World XI. Buffon lifted the Serie A title, for the third consecutive year, captaining the team to its 30th league title. During the 2013-14 campaign, Juventus achieved a record 102 points, including a championship-record thirty-three wins.

The bianconera partnership also finished with the best defense in the league, once again, conceding just twenty-three goals. Buffon maintained his unbeaten arc in eighteen of the thirty-three games he played in Serie A and conceded 19 goals. In the Champions League, Juventus was eliminated in the group stage, however they advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Europa League. In the summer of 2014, Antonio Conte left the club to take charge of the Italian national team and former Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri replaced him. Gianluigi's debut with his new coach in Serie A took place on August 30, 2014, on the first matchday of the 2014-15 season against ChievoVerona, with a 1-0 victory for his club.

On 29 October, he made his 500th appearance for Juventina in a 1-0 loss to Genoa, becoming the fourth footballer to reach this milestone after Giuseppe Furino, Gaetano Scirea and Alessandro Del Piero. On November 20, during a press conference by the company's president Andrea Agnelli, the extension of his contract until June 30, 2017 was announced. On December 22, Juventus was defeated by Napoli in the Italian Super Cup. 2014 8-7 on penalties, after a 2-2 draw after extra time. Although Buffon made several saves during the match, and managed to save three penalties, he was unable to prevent his team from losing the title.

Buffon during his first match of the Champions League 2014-15.

On March 2, 2015, he equaled Scirea as the bianconero player with the second most appearances in Serie A, behind only Del Piero; surpassed in the 1-0 win over Palermo. On May 2, he was proclaimed champion of the league by beating Sampdoria 1-0, thus winning his sixth scudetto and fourth in a row. Three weeks later, he won his second title of the season when Juventus defeated Lazio 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in the Italian Cup final. On June 6, he played in the Italian League final. Champions League held in the city of Berlin, which they lost 3-1 against F. C. Barcelona of Spain.

On 8 August 2015, with a 2-0 win over Lazio, he won his fifth Italian Super Cup with Juventus and the sixth of his career, equaling Dejan Stanković as the footballer with the most trophies won. On October 21, in the 0-0 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the UEFA Champions League, he surpassed Alessandro Del Piero in first place in the ranking of footballers with the most minutes played with the Juventina shirt. In March 2016, after his club beat Sassuolo 1-0 in the league, he became the goalkeeper with the most shutout minutes in Juventus history, surpassing Dino Zoff's previous record.

Finally, on March 20, during the Turin derby, he reached 974 minutes without conceding in Serie A, surpassing the previous record of 929 minutes held by Sebastiano Rossi. He won his fifth consecutive championship on the thirty-fifth day, thanks to the victory achieved against Fiorentina (2-1 in which, in the end, he was decisive for the result by saving a penalty kick by Nikola Kalinić) and the defeat of Napoli 1-0 on their visit to Rome. On May 21, the vecchia signora won their eleventh Italian Cup title against Lazio, although Buffon did not play any match in that competition.

Buffon during the 2016 Super Cup match against Milan in Doha, Qatar.

On October 11, 2016, Gianluigi was awarded the Golden Foot, that same month France Football magazine included him among the 30 candidates to win the Ballon d'Or. Olympique de Lyon (1-1), reached 100 appearances in the UEFA Champions League (not including the matches played in the preliminary rounds). Four days later in the 2-1 victory against Chievo, Verona reached the figure of 600 appearances in Serie A. On 21 November, he was nominated for the UEFA team of the year for the ninth time in his career, becoming the goalkeeper with the most nominations, along with Iker Casillas.

On December 1, he was nominated for the FIFA/FIFPro World XI, being the only player, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, to be included in the list every year since its creation in 2005. On January 5, 2017, he was named member of the 2016 UEFA Team of the Year, becoming the oldest footballer to have been included in this recognition. On 17 February, he made his 443rd Serie A appearance for Juventus in a 4–1 win over Palermo, equaling Giampiero Boniperti as the player with the second most appearances in this competition, behind Del Piero. On April 8, 2017, in the second leg against Chievo, he played his 616th game, surpassing Javier Zanetti in second place in the ranking of the players with the most appearances in the Italian league.

On May 17, the bianconeros won their twelfth Italian Cup after beating Lazio 2-0 in the final, Buffon was a substitute and did not enter the field of play. Four days Juventus later claimed their sixth consecutive league championship after beating Crotone 3–0, setting an all-time record for successive wins in the competition. With his eighth personal Serie A title, Buffon equaled Virginio Rosetta, Giovanni Ferrari and Giuseppe Furino as the player with the most Italian league titles. On June 3, 2017, Juventus played their second Champions League final in three years, and the third final for Buffon, but were defeated by 4-1 by defending champion Real Madrid.

In the 2017-18 season, he won the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles. In the 2017-18 Champions League quarterfinal match against Real Madrid, Juventus winning the match 0-3 with a 3-3 aggregate, a penalty was awarded in favor of Real Madrid; Buffon protested to the referee and was sent off. Finally Cristiano Ronaldo converted the penalty and qualified Madrid to the semifinals. At the end of the campaign, he announced his departure from Juventus; His last game was played against Hellas Verona at the Juventus Stadium, he came out in the 63rd minute, received an ovation and was even shown the hall, winning the championship and obtaining his ninth league title, becoming the player with the most titles obtained in the club history with 19.

Paris Saint-Germain

Buffon during his exhibition with the Paris Saint-Germain.

On July 6, 2018, at the age of 40, he was hired free of charge by the French club Paris Saint-Germain. During the season he alternated with the other goalkeeper, the Frenchman Alphonse Areola. He officially debuted with the Parisian shirt on August 4, 2018 in the French Super Cup, defeating Monaco 4-0; two days later he made his Champions League debut with the Parisians, in the away game against Napoli (1-1), after having served the three suspension dates imposed by UEFA after the statements at the end of the Real match Madrid-Juventus on April 11.

A mistake made by himself contributed to the elimination of the Parisians from the continental competition, in the round of 16, at the hands of Manchester United who won the second leg 3-1 at the Parc des Princes, turning the 0 game around -2 from the first leg. During that same season he played a total of seventeen games in the league, conceding eighteen goals against. Paris Saint-Germain had a good campaign that was enough to win the championship with ninety-one points, sixteen more than Lille who finished in second position.

Return to Juventus Football Club

At the end of the season, Buffon, whose contract was about to expire, announced the decision not to continue at the French club and, once released, on July 4, 2019 he returned to Juventus after such only one year. Upon his arrival, Wojciech Szczęsny offered him the number 1 shirt and Giorgio Chiellini the captain's ribbon, but he declined them. Instead, he chose to wear the number 77; the same number he wore during his last season at Parma, before joining Juventus in 2001. He made his first appearance since his return to the bianconero club on 21 September, in a home win by 2-1 against Hellas Verona in Serie A; this was his 902nd club appearance, equaling Paolo Maldini's record for the Italian player with the most club appearances. The following 28 September, he surpassed Maldini with his 903rd cap in a 2–0 home win over the S.P.A.L.

Buffon during his second stage with Juventus.

On 30 October, he made his 513th league appearance for Juventus (including Serie B matches) in a 2-1 win over Genoa at Juventus Stadium, matching Alessandro Del Piero as the player with the most appearances in the league in the history of the club. On November 12, playing in the Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 41 years, 10 months and 13 days, he became the second-oldest footballer to participate in that competition, behind only Marco. Ballotta. On December 15, he made his 700th Italian league appearance in a 3–1 home win over Udinese; during that same game, he also made his 478th Serie A appearance for Juventus, tying Del Piero for the player with the most appearances in the competition for the Turin club.

On 18 December, in a 2-1 away win over Sampdoria, Buffon made his 479th Serie A appearance for Juventus, surpassing Del Piero's record for club appearances in the top flight Italian, as well as making his 647th appearance in Serie A overall, tying Maldini for the player with the most appearances in the competition. On 17 June he played in the Coppa Italia final against Napoli, keeping a clean sheet and making a series of stoppages in stoppage time to keep the score tied 0-0; however, Juventus suffered a 4–2 defeat in a penalty shootout, with Buffon failing to save any penalty kicks.

On 4 July, he made his 648th Serie A appearance in a 4–1 home win over Torino, surpassing Maldini as the player with the most appearances in the competition's history, also becoming in the footballer with the most appearances between the five main leagues in Europe, with 665 appearances, including his 17 appearances in Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain during the 2018-19 season. On October 17, he made his first appearance in the 2020-21 season, in a 1-1 draw against Crotone. On December 8, he kept a clean sheet by stopping seven shots, all of them taken by Lionel Messi, in a 3-0 win over Barcelona in the last game of the 2020-21 Champions League group stage, becoming the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in said competition in four different decades. Messi's seven shots on goal were also the most recorded without scoring in the Champions League since the 2002-03 edition.

On 11 May 2021, Buffon announced that he would leave Juventus at the end of the season. The oldest Serie A player to do so at the age of 43 years and 103 days. On May 19, he started Juventus' 2-1 victory over Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final, his last and 685. th appearance with the club; after the match, he was awarded the honor of lifting the trophy, the sixth of his career, tying Roberto Mancini for the footballer with the most titles in this competition.

Return to Parma Calcio

On June 17, 2021, after several days of speculation following his departure from Juventus, recently relegated Parma Calcio announced Buffon's return through a short video posted on the club's official Twitter account. On August 20, 7,369 days after his last game with the Emilians, he made his second debut in the 2:2 draw against Frosinone. The following November 19, on the occasion of the anniversary of his first debut with the Parma shirt, he was celebrated with a modern reproduction of the shirt used in that match, wearing it for the match against Cosenza on November 21. On February 5, 2022, after an away draw against Benevento, Buffon became the first goalkeeper in the history of football to leave his clean sheet on 500 occasions (322 with Juventus, 92 with Parma, 9 with Paris Saint-Germain and 77 with Italy). On February 28, he renewed his contract with the club until 2024. He finished the season with 27 goals conceded in 26 games.

National team

Youth National Teams

He began his participation in the Italian team with the under-16 category, in which he played three games and conceded two goals. Between 1994 and 1995 he alternated between the under-17 and under-18 teams. On December 20, 1995, when he was still a member of Parma, he made his debut with the U-21 team in a friendly match against Bulgaria that ended 2-0 in favor of the Italians. He was part of the squad that won the Under-21 Euro Cup title in 1996, in total he played eleven games and allowed seven goals. With the under-23 team he participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Absolute selection

Gianluigi Buffon celebrating with his teammates during the 2006 World Cup.

He was capped 176 times with the senior team and conceded 146 goals, which makes him the player with the most appearances for the Italian team. He made his debut on October 29, 1997, in a match valid for the qualifiers for the 1998 Soccer World Cup against the Russian team that ended with a score of 1-1 as a visitor. Pagliuca, the azzurro starting goalkeeper, had been injured a few weeks before the decisive play-off matches against Russia and coach Maldini summoned the young promise of the Italian goal at just 19 years old, Buffon was agile and confident against the Russians both away and home. After qualifying, he was summoned by coach Cesare Maldini to participate in the World Cup played in France, although he did not play any match.

Due to a fracture suffered in his hand, he could not be present at Euro 2000. In the 2002 Soccer World Cup he played four games and conceded five goals (three of them in the first phase and the other two in the controversial round of 16 against South Korea). He was again called up for the Euro 2004 qualifiers, allowing four goals in eight games. At the Euro, he played all three matches in the first round as a starter, although Italy did not advance to the next round after finishing third in their group with just five points.

In the 2006 World Cup, Italy was included in group E along with the teams of Ghana, the United States and the Czech Republic. In the first match, played on June 12, they beat the Africans 2-0, then they drew 1-1 against the United States, and then defeated the Czech Republic 2-0. Finally the squadra azzurra were proclaimed world champions after beating 5-3 in penalty shootout against the French team in the final. Due to his excellent participation in the World Cup, he was awarded the Lev Yashin Award, the distinction that rewards the best goalkeeper in the Soccer World Cup. Buffon went unbeaten for 470 minutes, conceding just two goals throughout the tournament, one an own goal in the first round match against the United States, and the other a penalty kick in the final.

Buffon along with his teammate Morgan De Sanctis.

He was called up again to the national team to play in Euro 2008, being chosen as captain due to an injury suffered by Fabio Cannavaro in training on the eve of the competition. During the tournament, they conceded four goals in the same number of games. In June 2009 they participated in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, being eliminated in the first round after a 3-1 victory over the United States, and two defeats against Egypt. and Brazil 1-0 and 3-0 respectively. Gianluigi Buffon has stated that he wants to continue playing matches with his team until the 2018 Soccer World Cup.

On June 1, 2010, he was selected by Marcello Lippi to play in the 2010 Soccer World Cup. On June 14, during the first group F match between his team and Paraguay, he suffered a back injury due to to a problem in the sciatic nerve, for which he was forced to leave the field of play at the end of the first half, being replaced by Federico Marchetti who was lined up as a starter in the next two games after the elimination of the Italian squad in the first phase with only two points.

Gianluigi in the Euro 2012.

During the qualification for Euro 2012, the Italian team finished first in their group with twenty-six points thanks to eight wins and two draws. Buffon was present in six of the ten games that his team played and only conceded two goals. Italy was part of group C along with the teams from Spain, Croatia and Ireland. In the first two games they drew 1-1 with the Spanish and the Croats, and then they defeated Ireland 2-0. In the quarterfinals, Italy faced England, beating them 4-2 on penalties. In the semifinals they defeated Germany 2-1 while in the final against Spain the match ended 4-0 in favor of the Spanish. Thus obtaining the Italians the runner-up of the tournament.

On June 3, 2013, he was included by Cesare Prandelli in the list of twenty-three players called up for the 2013 Confederations Cup. Buffon was present in all the matches that his team played. During the group stage the squadra azzurra added six points thanks to victories over Mexico 2-1 and Japan 4-3, which allowed them to advance to the semifinals where they were defeated by the national team Spain 7-6 on kicks from the penalty spot. Finally, the Italian team defeated Uruguay 3-2 in a penalty shootout and ranked third.

On May 13, 2014, the coach of the Italian team, Cesare Prandelli, included him in the preliminary list of 30 players called up for the 2014 Soccer World Cup. He was confirmed in the final list of 23 players on May 1 June. However, Buffon did not play the first game of the tournament against England due to an ankle injury. Buffon's presence in Brazil marks his fifth World Cup appearance, which places him as the player with the most appearances in said competition, together with the Mexicans Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Márquez and the German Lothar Matthäus.

On September 6, 2015 (under the coaching staff of Antonio Conte, who replaced Prandelli) Buffon played his 150th match for his national team, facing Bulgaria in a Euro 2016 qualifying match On May 31, 2016, he was called up by Conte to play his fourth European Championship. The Italian team debuted in the continental tournament on June 13, defeating Belgium 2-0 at the Stade des Lumières in the city from Lyon. He was the starter and captain in all the games that Italy played and despite the fact that he had a great presentation, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Germany in a penalty shootout.

On November 13, 2017, he played the play-off match against Sweden in the European qualifiers for the 2018 Soccer World Cup, where his team lost 1-0 in the first leg and drew 0-0 in the second leg, leaving Italy out of the World Cup for the first time since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, depriving the Italian goalkeeper of the possibility of playing in his sixth World Cup and becoming the only player to achieve it. After the match, he spoke of retiring from the national team. He played his last game with the senior team on March 23, 2018 in a friendly match in which his team fell 0-2 against Argentina.

Participations in World Cups

Participations in Eurocups

Participations in Confederations Cups

Profile

Style of Play

Since emerging as a precocious talent in his youth, Buffon has been recognized for his consistent performances throughout his career, receiving praise from coaches, players, as well as current and former goalkeeper colleagues, for his concentration and composure under pressure, as well as his work rate and longevity. Regarded as one of the best players ever in his position, he is often considered the epitome of the modern goalkeeper, and has been cited by many other subsequent goalkeepers as a major influence and role model. He has been described as "an agile, strong and commanding goalkeeper, with vast experience at the highest level" and "an accomplished and respected goalkeeper with an "excellent sense of position, courage, power and class". Buffon has been praised for his athleticism, his "extraordinary saves", his acrobatic dives and quick reflexes, as well as his his ability to make decisive saves, despite being a tall, large and physically imposing goalkeeper. Although he has sometimes been criticized for not being particularly adept at saving penalties, he has also proven effective in this area, as evidenced by his record for penalty saves; with sixteen saves, he is the fifth goalkeeper who has saved the most penalties in the history of Serie A, along with Giuseppe Moro.

In his prime, Buffon was a talented, well-rounded, fearless, aggressive, and often instinctive and frenetic goalkeeper who was renowned for his speed, dexterity, and anticipation when coming off his line in one-on-one situations, as well as for his confidence, goalkeeping technique, reactions and ability to get to the ground quickly to pick up, save or even challenge the ball with his feet. When playing in teams with high defensive lines and a zoning system, he often played as a sweeper goalkeeper, frequently stepping out of his box to clear the ball or facing opponents who had broken the offside trap. He was also highly regarded for his handling, aerial prowess, and command of the box on high balls; however, throughout his career, he has occasionally been accused by pundits of being overly cautious on the ball. crosses and not always going out to collect them, and has also been criticized for sometimes preferring to clear the ball to teammates rather than keep it. Although he is not as adept with the ball at his feet as the new breed of goalkeeper to emerge in his later career, Buffon also possesses good footwork, as well as reliable distribution, which has allowed him to adapt to more contemporary systems, which require goalkeepers to play with their feet more frequently and participate in the construction of plays; his confidence in possession of the ball allows him to play it from the baseline on the ground towards his defenders and initiate quick counter-attacks, or find his teammates higher up or on the wing with deeper serves with his right foot. In his youth, his ability with the ball even led him to face opponents, when he was pressured by running forwards.

After suffering a series of injuries between 2008 and 2010, Buffon effectively adapted his goalkeeping style to the physical effects of aging, while also modifying his diet and training regimen, and as a result, has become a less spectacular goalkeeper, but more efficient, calm and reflective; despite having lost part of his physical strength, his explosiveness, his speed and his mobility, he has continued to stand out at the highest level thanks to the regularity of his his performances, as well as his position between the three sticks, his tactical intelligence, his decision-making and his ability to read the game and organize his defence. Unlike his early goalkeeping style, Buffon he has often preferred to play deeper in his career, closer to his line, particularly in one-on-one situations, in order to increase the distance between himself and his opponent, giving himself more time to assess situations and parry the ball. In addition to his goalkeeping skills, Buffon has been noted for his charisma, strong mentality, discipline in training, vocal presence in goal and leadership, and has been described as "a key personality in the dressing room".

Legacy

Buffon is considered by players, experts and managers as one of the best goalkeepers of all time, and by some in the sport as the best of all time. In the introduction In his 2008 autobiography, Numero 1, Roberto Perrone describes him as "one of the best goalkeepers in the world": "the best goalkeeper in the world, one of the four or five who will always remain in the memory of world soccer". In 2012, he was voted the 20th best soccer player in the world by The Guardian , remaining as the second best ranked goalkeeper, behind Iker Casillas. On September 2, 2014, he was awarded the Nereo Rocco Award, which is given to a footballer in recognition of his career. In 2015, France Football named him one of the ten best footballers in the world over 36 years of age. In 2016, he was named the best goalkeeper in history by the same magazine. That same year, he was also named the best goalkeeper of all time in the UEFA Champions League in an official poll conducted by UEFA online at his Twitter account. In 2015, UEFA ranked him as the third-best player in history who had not won the UEFA Champions League, while in 2019, FourFourTwo ranked Buffon in second place, behind only Ronaldo, in their list of "The 25 Greatest Players Who Never Won the Champions League". In May 2020, Sky Sports ranked him fourth best player in history who has not won the Champions League or the European Cup, and was also voted the "best goalkeeper in history" by Eurosport.com users.

Equipment

While it was more common for goalkeepers to wear long-sleeved shirts when he began his career, Buffon has always been characterized by wearing short sleeves throughout his career, even during the winter months; When asked in a 2017 interview on FourFourTwo why he preferred to wear short sleeves, he commented, "I really don't know why. It's just something I've always done, ever since I started playing in goal. I have always felt good. And now look: many goalkeepers do it. I've started a trend." When asked again about his goalkeeper outfit in a 2018 interview in L'Équipe Sports et Style magazine >, stated that he first cut the sleeves of his goalkeeper kit when he was young, "for convenience and to feel more comfortable", also adding that he "feels more when the ball touches [his] forearms".

Statistics

Clubs

Club	Div.	Season	League		Cups national		Cups international		Total
			Part.	G. R.	Part.	G. R.	Part.	G. R.	Part.	G. R.
Parma F. C. ItalyItaly
	1. a	1995-96	9	-6	0	0	0	0	9	-6
		1996-97	27	- 17	0	0	1	-2	28	-19
		1997-98	32	-33	6	-7	8	-6	46	- 46
		1998-99	34	- 36	6	-4	11	-10	51	- 50.
		1999-00	33	- 39	1	-1	9	-9	43	- 49
		2000-01	34	-31	2	-2	7	-7	43	- 40
	Total club		169	-162	15	-14	36	- 34	220	-210
Juventus F. C. ItalyItaly
	1. a	2001-02	34	-23	1	-1	10	-12	45	- 36
		2002-03	32	-23	1	-1	15	-16	48	- 40
		2003-04	32	-41	1	-1	6	-6	39	- 48
		2004-05	37	-23	0	0	11	-6	48	-29
		2005-06	18	-12	2	-3	4	-6	24	-21
	2. a	2006-07	37	-21	3	-4	0	0	40	-25
	1. a	2007-08	34	- 30	1	-1	0	0	35	-31
		2008-09	23	-26	2	-2	5	-4	30	-32
		2009-10	27	-33	1	-2	7	-8	35	-43.
		2010-11	16	- 17	1	0	0	0	17	- 17
		2011-12	35	-16	0	0	0	0	35	-16
		2012-13	32	-19	2	-2	10	-8	44	-29
		2013-14	33	- 20	1	0	14	-13	48	-33
		2014-15	33	- 20	1	-2	13	-10	47	-32
		2015-16	35	- 17	1	0	8	-9	44	-26
		2016-17	30	-24	1	-1	12	-7	43	-32
		2017-18	21	-14	4	-3	9	-11	34	- 28
	Total club		509	-379	23	-23	124	-116	656	-518
Paris Saint-Germain France
	1. a	2018-19	17	-18	3	-1	5	-6	25	-25
	Total club		17	-18	3	-1	5	-6	25	-25
Juventus F. C. ItalyItaly
	1. a	2019-20	9	-10	5	-2	1	0	15	-12
		2020-21	8	-5	5	-4	1	0	14	-9
	Total club		17	-15	10	-6	2	0	29	-21
Parma F. C. ItalyItaly
	2. a	2021-22	26	-27	0	0	0	0	26	-27
		2022-23	15	-21	1	-2	0	0	16	-23
	Total club		41	- 48	1	-2	0	0	42	- 50.
Total career			753	- 622	52	- 46	167.	- 156	972	-824
↑ Includes Italy Cup data (1996-18) / (2019-21), Italy Super Cup (1995) / (1999) / (2002-03) / (2005) / (2012-17), France Cup (2018-19), French League Cup (2018-19), French Super Cup (2018). ↑ Includes UEFA European League data (1996-97) / (1998-01) / (2009-11) / (2013-14), UEFA Champions League (1997-98) / (1999-00) / (2001-06) / (2008-10) / (2012-21).

National team

Gianluigi Buffon statistics on national selection

Date City Local Outcome Visitor Competition Goles 29-10-1997 Moscow RUSRussia 1:1 ITAItaly 1998 -1 22-04-1998 Parma ITAItaly 3:1 PARParaguay Friendly -1 10-10-1998 ONE ITAItaly 2:0 SUISwitzerland Euro Cup 2000 0 16-12-1998 Rome ITAItaly 6:2 World Stars Friendly 0 27-03-1999 Copenhagen DENDenmark 1:2 ITAItaly Euro Cup 2000 -1 31-03-1999 Ancona ITAItaly 1:1 BLRBelarus -1 28-04-1999 Zagreb CROCroatia 0:0 ITAItaly Friendly 0 05-06-1999 Bologna ITAItaly 4:0 WALWales Euro Cup 2000 0 09-06-1999 Lausanne SUISwitzerland 0:0 ITAItaly 0 08-09-1999 Naples ITAItaly 2:3 DENDenmark -3 09-10-1999 Minsk BLRBelarus 0:0 ITAItaly 0 13-11-1999 Lecce ITAItaly 1:3 BELBelgium Friendly -3 23-02-2000 Palermo ITAItaly 1:0 SWESweden 0 29-03-2000 Barcelona ESPSpain 2:0 ITAItaly -2 03-06-2000 Oslo NORNorway 1:0 ITAItaly -1 15-11-2000 Turin ITAItaly 1:0 ENGEngland 0 28-02-2001 Rome ITAItaly 1:2 ARGArgentina -2 24-03-2001 Bucharest ROURomania 0:2 ITAItaly World rankings 2002 0 28-03-2001 Trieste ITAItaly 4:0 LTULithuania 0 02-06-2001 Tiflis GEOGeorgia 1:2 ITAItaly -1 01-09-2001 Kaunas LTULithuania 0:0 ITAItaly 0 06-10-2001 Parma ITAItaly 1:0 HUNHungary 0 07-11-2001 Saitama JPNJapan 1:1 ITAItaly Friendly -1 27-03-2002 Leeds ENGEngland 1:2 ITAItaly -1 17-04-2002 Milan ITAItaly 1:1 URUUruguay 0 18-05-2002 Prague CZECzech Republic 1:0 ITAItaly -1 03-06-2002 Sapporo ITAItaly 2:0 ECUEcuador 2002 Football World Cup 0 08-06-2002 Kashima ITAItaly 1:2 CROCroatia -2 13-06-2002 Русский ITAItaly 1:1 MEXMexico -1 18-06-2002 Daejeon ITAItaly 1:2 KORSouth Korea -2 21-08-2002 Trieste ITAItaly 0:1 SVNSlovenia Friendly -1 07-09-2002 Baku AZEAzerbaijan 0:2 ITAItaly Euro 2004 0 12-10-2002 Naples ITAItaly 1:1 SCGSerbia and Montenegro -1 16-10-2002 Cardiff WALWales 2:1 ITAItaly -2 20-11-2002 Pescara ITAItaly 1:1 TURTurkey Friendly -1 12-02-2003 Genoa ITAItaly 1:0 BYPortugal 0 29-03-2003 Palermo ITAItaly 2:0 THE ENDFinland Euro 2004 0 11-06-2003 Helsinki THE ENDFinland 0:2 ITAItaly 0 20-08-2003 Stuttgart GERGermany 0:1 ITAItaly Friendly 0 06-09-2003 Milan ITAItaly 4:0 WALWales Euro 2004 0 10-09-2003 Belgrade SCGSerbia and Montenegro 1:1 ITAItaly -1 11-10-2003 Regio de Calabria ITAItaly 4:0 AZEAzerbaijan 0 18-02-2004 Palermo ITAItaly 2:2 CZECzech Republic Friendly -1 31-03-2004 Braga BYPortugal 1:2 ITAItaly -1 28-04-2004 Genoa ITAItaly 1:1 ESPSpain 0 30-05-2004 Tunisia TUNTunisia 0:4 ITAItaly 0 14-06-2004 Guimarães DENDenmark 0:0 ITAItaly Euro 2004 0 18-06-2004 Porto ITAItaly 1:1 SWESweden -1 22-06-2004 Guimarães ITAItaly 2:1 BULBulgaria -1 18-08-2004 Reikiavik ISLIceland 2:0 ITAItaly Friendly -2 04-09-2004 Palermo ITAItaly 2:1 NORNorway World rankings 2006 -1 08-09-2004 Chisináu MDAMoldova 0:1 ITAItaly 0 09-10-2004 Celje SVNSlovenia 1:0 ITAItaly -1 13-10-2004 Parma ITAItaly 4:3 BLRBelarus -3 09-02-2005 Cagliari ITAItaly 2:0 RUSRussia Friendly 0 26-03-2005 Milan ITAItaly 2:0 SCOScotland World rankings 2006 0 04-06-2005 Oslo NORNorway 0:0 ITAItaly 0 01-03-2006 Florence ITAItaly 4:1 GERGermany Friendly -1 31-05-2006 Geneva SUISwitzerland 1:1 ITAItaly -1 02-06-2006 Lausanne ITAItaly 0:0 UKRUkraine 0 12-06-2006 Hanover ITAItaly 2:0 GHAGhana 2006 Football World Cup - 17-06-2006 Kaiserslautern ITAItaly 1:1 USAUnited States -1 22-06-2006 Hamburg CZECzech Republic 0:2 ITAItaly 0 26-06-2006 Kaiserslautern ITAItaly 1:0 AUSAustralia 0 30-06-2006 Hamburg ITAItaly 3:0 UKRUkraine 0 04-07-2006 Dortmund GERGermany 0:2 ITAItaly 0 09-07-2006 Berlin ITAItaly 1:1 / 5:3 FRAFrance -1 02-09-2006 Naples ITAItaly 1:1 LTULithuania Euro Cup 2008 -1 06-09-2006 Paris FRAFrance 3:1 ITAItaly -3 07-10-2006 Rome ITAItaly 2:0 UKRUkraine 0 11-10-2006 Tiflis GEOGeorgia 1:3 ITAItaly -1 15-11-2006 Bergamo ITAItaly 1:1 TURTurkey Friendly -1 28-03-2007 Bari ITAItaly 2:0 SCOScotland Euro Cup 2008 0 02-06-2007 Tórshavn FROFaroe Islands 1:2 ITAItaly -1 06-06-2007 Kaunas LTULithuania 0:2 ITAItaly 0 22-08-2007 Budapest HUNHungary 3:1 ITAItaly Friendly -3 08-09-2007 Milan ITAItaly 0:0 FRAFrance Euro Cup 2008 0 12-09-2007 Kiev UKRUkraine 1:2 ITAItaly -1 13-10-2007 Genoa ITAItaly 2:0 GEOGeorgia 0 17-11-2007 Glasgow SCOScotland 1:2 ITAItaly -1 26-03-2008 Elche ESPSpain 1:0 ITAItaly Friendly -1 30-05-2008 Florence ITAItaly 3:1 BELBelgium -1 09-06-2008 Bern NEDNetherlands 3:0 ITAItaly Euro 2008 -3 13-06-2008 Zurich ITAItaly 1:1 ROURomania -1 17-06-2008 FRAFrance 0:2 ITAItaly 0 22-06-2008 Vienna ESPSpain 0:0 / 4:2 ITAItaly 0 20-08-2008 Nice ITAItaly 2:2 AUTAustria Friendly -2 06-09-2008 Larnaca CYPCyprus 1:2 ITAItaly Global Classification 2010 -1 10-09-2008 ONE ITAItaly 2:0 GEOGeorgia 0 10-02-2009 London BRABrazil 2:0 ITAItaly Friendly -2 28-03-2009 Podgorica MNEMontenegro 0:2 ITAItaly Global Classification 2010 0 01-04-2009 Bari ITAItaly 1:1 IRLIreland -1 15-06-2009 Pretoria USAUnited States 1:3 ITAItaly Confederations Cup 2009 -1 18-06-2009 Johannesburg EGYEgypt 1:0 ITAItaly -1 21-06-2009 Pretoria ITAItaly 0:3 BRABrazil -3 12-08-2009 Basel SUISwitzerland 0:0 ITAItaly Friendly 0 05-09-2009 Tiflis GEOGeorgia 0:2 ITAItaly Global Classification 2010 0 09-09-2009 Turin ITAItaly 2:0 BULBulgaria 0 10-10-2009 Dublin IRLIreland 2:2 ITAItaly -2 14-11-2009 Pescara ITAItaly 0:0 NEDNetherlands Friendly 0 03-06-2010 Brussels ITAItaly 1:2 MEXMexico -2 14-06-2010 Cape Town ITAItaly 1:1 PARParaguay 2010 Soccer World Cup -1 09-02-2011 Dortmund GERGermany 1:1 ITAItaly Friendly -1 25-03-2011 Ljubljana SVNSlovenia 0:1 ITAItaly Euro 2012 classification 0 03-06-2011 Modena ITAItaly 3:0 ESTEstonia 0 10-08-2011 Bari ITAItaly 2:1 ESPSpain Friendly -1 02-09-2011 Tórshavn FROFaroe Islands 0:1 ITAItaly Euro 2012 classification 0 06-09-2011 Florence ITAItaly 1:0 SVNSlovenia 0 07-10-2011 Belgrade SRBSerbia 1:1 ITAItaly -1 11-10-2011 Pescara ITAItaly 3:0 NIRNorthern Ireland 0 11-11-2011 Breslavia POLPoland 0:2 ITAItaly Friendly 0 15-11-2011 Rome ITAItaly 0:1 URUUruguay -1 29-02-2012 Genoa ITAItaly 0:1 USAUnited States -1 01-06-2012 Zurich ITAItaly 0:3 RUSRussia 0 10-06-2012 Gdansk ESPSpain 1:1 ITAItaly Euro 2012 -1 14-06-2012 Poznan ITAItaly 1:1 CROCroatia -1 18-06-2012 ITAItaly 2:0 IRLIreland 0 24-06-2012 Kiev ENGEngland 0:0 / 2:4 ITAItaly 0 28-06-2012 Warsaw GERGermany 1:2 ITAItaly -1 01-07-2012 Kiev ESPSpain 4:0 ITAItaly -4 07-09-2012 Sofia BULBulgaria 2:2 ITAItaly World rankings 2014 -2 11-09-2012 Modena ITAItaly 2:0 MLTMalta 0 12-10-2012 Yerevan ARMArmenia 1:3 ITAItaly -1 06-02-2013 Amsterdam NEDNetherlands 1:1 ITAItaly Friendly -1 21-03-2013 Geneva BRABrazil 2:2 ITAItaly -2 26-03-2013 Ta' Qali MLTMalta 0:2 ITAItaly World rankings 2014 0 31-05-2013 Bologna ITAItaly 4:0 SMRSan Marino Friendly 0 07-06-2013 Prague CZECzech Republic 0:0 ITAItaly World rankings 2014 0 16-06-2013 Rio de Janeiro MEXMexico 1:2 ITAItaly Confederations Cup 2013 -1 19-06-2013 Recife ITAItaly 4:3 JPNJapan -3 22-06-2013 Salvador ITAItaly 2:4 BRABrazil -4 27-06-2013 Fortress ESPSpain 0:0 / 7:6 ITAItaly 0 30-06-2013 Salvador (Bahía) URUUruguay 2:2 / 2:3 ITAItaly -2 14-08-2013 Rome ITAItaly 1:2 ARGArgentina Friendly -2 06-09-2013 Palermo ITAItaly 1:0 BULBulgaria World rankings 2014 0 10-09-2013 Turin ITAItaly 2:1 CZECzech Republic -1 11-10-2013 Copenhagen DENDenmark 2:2 ITAItaly -2 15-11-2013 Milan ITAItaly 1:1 GERGermany Friendly -1 05-03-2014 Madrid ESPSpain 1:0 ITAItaly -1 04-06-2014 Verona ITAItaly 1:1 LUXLuxembourg -1 20-06-2014 Recife ITAItaly 0:1 CRCCosta Rica 2014 Soccer World Cup -1 24-06-2014 Natal ITAItaly 0:1 URUUruguay -1 09-09-2014 Oslo NORNorway 0:2 ITAItaly Euro 2016 classification 0 10-10-2014 Palermo ITAItaly 2:1 AZEAzerbaijan -1 13-10-2014 Ta' Qali MLTMalta 0:1 ITAItaly 0 16-11-2014 Milan ITAItaly 1:1 CROCroatia -1 31-03-2015 Turin ITAItaly 1:1 ENGEngland Friendly -1 12-06-2015 Split CROCroatia 1:1 ITAItaly Euro 2016 classification -1 03-09-2015 Florence ITAItaly 1:0 MLTMalta 0 06-09-2015 Palermo ITAItaly 1:0 BULBulgaria 0 10-10-2015 Baku AZEAzerbaijan 1:3 ITAItaly -1 13-10-2015 Rome ITAItaly 2:1 NORNorway -1 13-11-2015 Brussels BELBelgium 3:1 ITAItaly Friendly -3 17-11-2015 Bologna ITAItaly 2:2 ROURomania -1 24-03-2016 ONE ITAItaly 1:1 ESPSpain -1 29-03-2016 Munich GERGermany 4:1 ITAItaly -4 29-05-2016 Ta' Qali ITAItaly 1:0 SCOScotland 0 13-06-2016 Lyon BELBelgium 0:2 ITAItaly Euro 2016 0 17-06-2016 Toulouse ITAItaly 1:0 SWESweden 0 27-06-2016 Saint-Denis ITAItaly 2:0 ESPSpain 0 02-07-2016 Bordeaux GERGermany 1:1 / 6:5 ITAItaly -1 01-09-2016 Bari ITAItaly 1:3 FRAFrance Friendly -2 05-09-2016 Haifa ISRIsrael 1:3 ITAItaly World rankings 2018 -1 06-10-2016 Turin ITAItaly 1:1 ESPSpain -1 09-10-2016 Skopie MKDNorthern Macedonia 2:3 ITAItaly -2 12-11-2016 Vaduz LIELiechtenstein 0:4 ITAItaly 0 15-11-2016 Milan ITAItaly 0:0 GERGermany Friendly 0 24-03-2017 Palermo ITAItaly 2:0 ALBAlbania World rankings 2018 0 11-06-2017 ONE ITAItaly 5:0 LIELiechtenstein 0 02-09-2017 Madrid ESPSpain 3:0 ITAItaly -3 05-09-2017 Reggio Emilia ITAItaly 1:0 ISRIsrael 0 06-10-2017 Turin ITAItaly 1:1 MKDNorthern Macedonia -1 09-10-2017 Shkodër ALBAlbania 0:1 ITAItaly 0 10-11-2017 Solna SWESweden 1:0 ITAItaly World Cup 2018 -1 13-11-2017 Milan ITAItaly 0:0 SWESweden 0 23-03-2018 Manchester ITAItaly 0:2 ARGArgentina Friendly -2 Total Presences 176 Goles - 146

Statistical summary

Honours of Prizes

National titles

INTERNATIONAL TITLES

(*) Including selection

Individual awards

Awards

Private Life

Gianluigi Buffon was born on January 28, 1978 in Carrara, within a family of Italian athletes. His mother, Maria Stella, was a bullet and album launch champion and her father, Adriano Buffon, was a weightlifter. After her sports retreat, they subsequently worked as physical education teachers. His two sisters, Veronica and Guendalina, they played volleyball in the Italian national team, and their uncle, Dante Masocco, was basketball in series A1, and was also part of the national team. The exporter of Milan, Genoa, Inter, Fiorentina and the Italian team, Lorenzo Buffon, is a second cousin of Gianluigi's grandfather. Buffon is Catholic.

In June 2011 he married the Czech model Alena Šeredova, with whom she had a relationship since 2005. They married in the Basilica of San Pedro and San Pablo de Vysehrad in Prague. They have two children, Louis Thomas (born in 2007 and named in honor of the Cameroonian goalkeeper Thomas N ' Kono) and David Lee (born in 2009 and called in honor of the singer of Van Halen, David Lee Roth). In May 2014, he announced that He had separated from Alena after three years of marriage. He was then sentimentally related to the Italian sports journalist, journalist and television presenter, Iquria D ' Amico. On January 6, 2016, the couple announced the birth of the birth of His son Leopoldo Mattia, and in the summer of 2017 they committed themselves. Before their relationship and marriage with Šeredová, Buffon had also been committed to a sprinter from the national athletic team of Italy, Vincenza Calì.

In November 2008, the launch of his biographical book number 1 was made, written in collaboration with Italian journalist Roberto Perrone. In his autobiography, he revealed that he had suffered depression attacks during the season 2003-04, after the defeat of Juventus in the penalty shootout of the 2003 Champions League final, and due to the negative performance of Juventus that season. On May 7, 2012 he was appointed vice president of the Italian Association of Footballers, a position that an activity soccer player occupies for the first time.

In 2013, he explained that, between December 2003 and June 2004, he regularly visited a psychologist, but refused to take medication, and that he exceeded his depression before the Eurocup 2004. In January 2019, He also revealed that he had suffered panic attacks due to his depression during the first years of his career in Juventus, and that a game came to miss for it. Buffon suffers spherophobia, since he is allergic to wasp bites.

In his youth, he was a fan of several clubs, including the Carrarese of his hometown, along with Genoa, and Borussia Mönchengladbach of Germany; Until the age of seven, he was also a Juventus fan, while between the age Campobasso, before ending up supporting Genoa. He was a member of the ultras of the Carraare, specifically of the Ultrà Indian Tips command, and today he still is named after the printed group in his gloves of goalkeeper.

Media and sponsorships

Buffon with Puma boots evoPOWER Tricks which he used during the 2014 World Cup.

Throughout his career Buffon has been sponsored by the German sportswear company Puma, wearing Puma gloves and Puma King football boots, and has appeared in advertisements for the brand. He has also appeared in television commercials for Pepsi, including an advertisement for the 2002 World Cup, where he appeared alongside David Beckham, Raúl and Roberto Carlos representing sumo wrestlers. In the summer of 2009 he signed a €1 million contract to promote the poker company in PokerStars line.

He was the cover art for the Italian version of the video game Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. Buffon also appears in the EA Sports FIFA video game series, and was featured alongside Manuel Neuer, Iker Casillas and Petr Čech in the Ultimate Team Best Goalkeepers of FIFA 14. In 2011, he appeared in an advertisement for the Italian mineral water company Ferrarelle. In 2016, he was chosen as the new face of Amica Chips. The following year, he was chosen as the new face of Head & Shoulders in Italy. Throughout the 2017-18 season, he appeared in the Netflix documentary series First Team: Juventus. In May 2018, he announced his collaboration with the video game World of Tanks. Later that year, he also starred in a Birra Moretti commercial.

In December 2019, Gianluigi announced his collaboration with Spanish clothing and accessories retailer Kimoa, owned by Spanish racing driver Fernando Alonso, to launch four different models of limited edition sunglasses, representing four European partner cities with Buffon's football career and achievements: Berlin (the site of the victorious 2006 World Cup final), Moscow (the city where he made his international debut and won the UEFA Cup), Paris (the city where his former club, PSG, is based) and Turin (the city where his exclub, Juventus, is located). In January 2020, he made a cameo appearance in the video clip for Ti saprò aspettare by Biagio Antonacci, in which he coaches a children's soccer team against Antonacci as the opposing coach. In the last scene, Buffon takes a shot at Antonacci as goalkeeper, and the video intentionally stops before the ball crosses the goal line.

Business

Buffon owns a restaurant located in the center of the city of Pistoia called Zerosei and a spa called La Romanina in the town of Ronchi (Massa and Carrara). On July 16, 2010, he became a shareholder of Carrarese Calcio, his hometown club; he initially owned 50% of the club's shares, along with Cristiano Lucarelli and Maurizio Mian. On June 10, 2011, he acquired an additional 20% of the club's shares. On July 6, 2012, he became the sole shareholder of the Carrarese through his family business, Buffon & Co. In May 2015, he declared that he would step down as owner of Carrarese at the end of the 2014–15 season; in July, he sold 70% of the club's shares to Italian real estate businessman Raffaele Tartaglia, who took control. of the club, although Buffon remained with the team as a minority shareholder. After continuing to struggle with financial difficulties, the club officially declared bankruptcy on 11 March 2016.

On May 30, 2011, he joined the board of directors of the Italian textile company Zucchi Group S.p.A., with a 19.4% stake. Despite the company's financial difficulties, in 2015, Buffon, who for had then acquired 56% of the company's shares, it would have invested 20 million euros to save it from bankruptcy. At the end of December, Zucchi was acquired by a French investment fund, Astrance Capital, which took control of Buffon's company, GB Holding, under an agreement to restructure the Zucchi Group's debt, while Buffon he was allowed to retain a 15% stake in the company. In 2017, Buffon launched his own brand of wine under the name Buffon #1.

Philanthropy

Buffon is also known for his charitable work. In addition to his other charitable activities, after each match he auctions off his personalized captain's armband for charity. In 2012, he joined UEFA's Respect Diversity programme, which aims to combat racism, discrimination and intolerance in football. On September 1, 2014, along with other footballers, he participated in the Match for Peace that was played at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, and the proceeds of which were donated to a charity. In October 2019, he was appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Programme.

Controversies

During his time at Parma, Buffon's decision to wear the number 88, instead of his previous number 1, caused controversy in Italy. Gianluigi claimed to be unaware of the neo-Nazi connotations of the number, stating that 88 represented "four balls", which are symbols of a person's character and attributes. He stated that it was meant to signify his need for these attributes following his injury prior to Euro 2000, and that it also represented his "rebirth". He later offered to change his number, choosing number 77 instead.

In September 1999, he faced strong criticism and severe disciplinary sanctions for handwriting the fascist slogan Boia chi molla (Executioner who abandons) on a shirt under his goalkeeper shirt, which he wore and displayed during media interviews after a match against Lazio. Buffon publicly apologized, stating that it was a stupid and naive gesture, because he was completely ignorant of the neo-fascist connotations of the motto, stating that he had first encountered the phrase written on a boarding school desk, and was unaware of its association with the extreme right and, in particular, its use with neo-fascists in Reggio Calabria during the Reggio revolt in early the 1970s. He stated that he only intended to use the motto to encourage his teammates and the fans, as Parma had previously achieved some disappointing results.

In 2000, Gianluigi risked four years in prison for forging a high school accounting diploma in order to enroll in law at the University of Parma, eventually paying a fine of 6, 35 million lire in 2001; he later described the incident as his biggest regret in his life, stating that it had been a dishonest gesture.

On May 12, 2006, in the midst of the Calciopoli scandal, he was accused of illegally betting on Serie A matches, which initially jeopardized his place in the Italian team for the 2006 World Cup. Buffon was He was formally questioned and admitted to betting on sports matches until players were banned from doing so in October 2005, but denied betting on Italian football matches. In December 2006 he was cleared of all charges. Italy's 2006 World Cup victory at the Circus Maximus in Rome in July, drew further controversy when he absently displayed a banner he had received from the crowd, reading Fieri di essere italiani (Proud to be Italian), as well as a Celtic cross, a symbol that has been embraced by neo-Nazis; Buffon later stated that he had not seen the symbol.

On April 11, 2018, in the second leg of the 2017-18 Champions League quarterfinals played away against Real Madrid, Juventus needed a 3:0 lead to force overtime, which was the result when, in full stoppage time in the second half, referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty to Real Madrid. Buffon was sent off for dissent after a confrontation with Oliver; Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League, as the resulting penalty was converted by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Buffon's post-game comments about Oliver drew media attention and controversy:

"I know the referee saw what he saw, but it was certainly a doubtful incident. It's not clear. And a doubtful incident at the 93rd minute, when we were denied a clear criminality on the one hand, cannot be granted at this point. The team gave it all, but a human being cannot destroy dreams like this at the end of an extraordinary uprising in a doubtful situation. It's clear that you can't have a heart in your chest, but a sack of trash. Also, if you have no character to step on a playing field like this in a stadium like this, you can sit on the grad with your wife, your children, having your cup and eating chips. You can't ruin a team's dreams. He could have told the referee anything at that time, but he had to understand the degree of disaster he was creating. If you can't stand the pressure and have the courage to make a decision, then you should sit on the steps and eat your fries."

Buffon's comments on referee Michael Oliver after the party.

On May 11, Buffon was charged by UEFA for his post-match comments about referee Oliver, and later, on June 5, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body banned him three matches suspension from UEFA competitions "for which he would be eligible". Buffon later issued an apology, stating:

"If I saw the referee again, I would give him a hug and tell him that he should have taken more time with that decision. With the feelings, emotions and disappointment of the situation, I behaved in a way that was not usual in me. After that party, I went beyond the things I said about the referee and apologized for it."

Buffon's apologies to referee Michael Oliver.