Gianluigi Buffon

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Gianluigi Buffon
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Buffon with Juventus in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Gianluigi Buffon[1]
Date of birth	(1978-01-28) 28 January 1978 (age 46)[1]
Place of birth	Carrara, Italy
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1991–1995	Parma
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–2001	Parma	168	(0)
2001–2018	Juventus	509	(0)
2018–2019	Paris Saint-Germain	17	(0)
2019–2021	Juventus	17	(0)
2021–2023	Parma	43	(0)
Total		754	(0)
International career
1993–1994	Italy U16	3	(0)
1995	Italy U17	3	(0)
1994–1995	Italy U18	3	(0)
1995–1997	Italy U21	11	(0)
1997	Italy U23	4	(0)
1997–2018	Italy	176	(0)
Managerial career
2023–	Italy (team coordinator)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Italy FIFA World Cup Winner 2006 Germany UEFA European Championship Runner-up 2012 Poland-Ukraine FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 Brazil UEFA European Under-21 Championship Winner 1996 Spain
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon Ufficiale OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [dʒanluˈiːdʒi bufˈfɔːn]; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is one of the few players to make over 1,100 professional career appearances and he holds the record for the most appearances in Serie A.

Buffon made his Serie A debut at Parma in 1995 and helped Parma win the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the Supercoppa Italiana in 1999. After joining Juventus in 2001 for the world record fee for a goalkeeper of €52.9 million at the time, Buffon won consecutive Serie A titles in his first two seasons at the club. In his first spell at Juventus, which spanned 17 years, he won a record nine Serie A titles,^{[nb 1]} four Coppa Italias, and five Supercoppa Italianas. He was the first goalkeeper to win the Serie A Footballer of the Year award and was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record twelve times. After reaching the 2015 and 2017 UEFA Champions League finals, Buffon was named in the Champions League Squad of the Season on both occasions and won the inaugural The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award in 2017. Buffon signed with French club Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 40 in 2018, where he and Alphonse Areola were used rotationally; he won the Trophée des Champions and Ligue 1 title in his only season with the team before returning to Juventus the following season. During the 2019–20 season, Buffon served primarily as a substitute to Wojciech Szczęsny, but still managed to break Paolo Maldini's record of 647 appearances in Serie A, as he won a record tenth Serie A title with the club. The following season, he continued to serve as a substitute, but he started in the Coppa Italia, winning his record sixth title. In June 2021, Buffon returned to his boyhood club Parma, who had been relegated to Serie B for that season, before announcing his retirement from football in 2023 at the age of 45.

With 176 international caps, Buffon is the most capped goalkeeper of all time, the most capped player in the history of the Italy national team, and the fourth-most capped European international player ever. Buffon also holds the record for most appearances for Italy as captain after he inherited the armband in 2010. Buffon was called up for a record of five FIFA World Cup tournaments (in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) after making his debut in 1997; he was a substitute in the 1998 edition. He was the starting goalkeeper of the squad that won the 2006 tournament and was awarded the Golden Glove as the competition's best goalkeeper. He also represented Italy at four European Championships, at the 1996 Olympics, and at two FIFA Confederations Cups, winning a bronze medal in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Following his performances during the 2006 World Cup, where he kept a record five clean sheets, Buffon won the Yashin Award and was named in the Team of the Tournament. He was also named in the UEFA Euro Team Of The Tournament after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2008 Euro and the final of the 2012 Euro. Buffon retired from international football in 2017 after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup; although he reversed this decision to play some friendlies with Italy, he officially confirmed his international retirement in May 2018.

Buffon was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. He is the only goalkeeper to win the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award, which he achieved after reaching the 2003 Champions League final; he also won UEFA's award for best goalkeeper that year and was named into the UEFA Team of the Year on five occasions. Buffon was the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2006 and was named in the FIFPro World11 three times. He was the first ever goalkeeper to win the Golden Foot Award and was also named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper a record five times, alongside Iker Casillas and Manuel Neuer. He would go on to be named the best goalkeeper of the 21st century by the same organisation.

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