Gianluigi Buffon Biography
One of the best goalkeepers to ever play the game, Gianluigi Buffon is considered by some to be the greatest goalkeeper ever. In this article, we want to take a deep look at all of the aspects of his life and help you get to know him the best.
Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Juventus F. C. in Italy's Serie A. He is the player with the most games played for the Italian national team, of which he is the captain. He began his sports career at Parma Football Club, which he joined at the age of 13, making his professional debut with the first team in 1995.
He is considered one of the most talented goalkeepers in the history of football. During his career, he won 10 Serie A titles- an absolute record -, 1 Serie B, 6 Italian Super Cups, 5 Italian Cups, a UEFA Cup, a Trophée des Champions and a Ligue 1. With the Italian national team, for which he holds the record of appearances (176), he was world champion in 2006 and runner-ups of Europe in 2012, he has also participated in five World Cups (a record shared with Antonio Carbajal, Rafael Márquez and Lothar Matthäus), four European Championships and two Confederations Cups. Before joining the Italy national team he won a European Championship with the Under-21 in 1996, and in the same year, he took part in the Olympic Games.
He holds the clean sheet record in Serie A, having kept his goal unbeaten for 974 minutes in the 2015-2016 season. He is the player with the most appearances in the history of Serie A, as well as the one who has played the most games in the Italian top league with the Juventus shirt; together with Paolo Maldini, he is also one of the two Italian players to have exceeded 1000 career appearances.
All You Should Know about Gianluigi Buffon Biography
He is also the second oldest player to have played a match in the Italian top division, just behind Marco Ballotta, and second in the Champions League, behind Ballotta himself. In 2006 he was elected by FIFA as the best goalkeeper of the World Cup and ranked second - behind fellow countryman Fabio Cannavaro - in the Ballon d'Or, an award for which he was nominated on several other occasions. In 2003, UEFA awarded him the title of the best goalkeeper and, the only instance among players in his role, best player of the season. Between 2003 and 2017, he was elected "Goalkeeper of the Year" five times by the IFFHS, a record shared with Iker Casillas; another six times, between 2008 and 2016, he was runner-up.
Also by the IFFHS, he was awarded as the best goalkeeper of the decade 2000-2010, of the quarter-century 1987-2011 and of the 21st century (but only taking into account the results obtained from 2001 to 2011). In 2009 he was included in the best team of the decade by the Sun, while in 2004 he was included in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living players, selected by Pelé and FIFA on the occasion of the centennial celebrations of the federation. In 2016, in Monte Carlo, he was awarded the Golden Foot, becoming the first goalkeeper in history to receive such an award.
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Gianluigi Buffon Information
In this section of Gianluigi Buffon bio, we will take a look at some of the general information about him. Stay tuned!
Gianluigi Buffon Bio
Real Name: Gianluigi Buffon
Nickname: Superman
Profession: Professional Footballer
Gianluigi Buffon Physical Stats
Weight: 92 Kg
Height: 1.92 m
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Gianluigi Buffon Football Information
Position: Goalkeeper
Jersey Number: 1
Professional Debut: 1995
Gianluigi Buffon Date of Birth and Personal Info
Date of Birth: 28 January 1978
Birth Place: Carrara, Tuscany, Italy
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
Nationality: Italian
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Gianluigi Buffon Early Life
Buffon was born in Carrara, Tuscany,
Gianluigi Buffon nationality
is Italian. He was born in a family of athletes: his mother Maria Stella Masocco was a three-time Italian champion in the shot put and discus throw, his uncle Dante Masocco played at the national level and in the A1 Division of basketball, his father Adriano played in the national shot put team and his sisters Guendalina and Veronica were famous volleyball players. He is a relative of Lorenzo Buffon, the goalkeeper for Milan, Genoa, Inter, Fiorentina and the national team: Lorenzo is a second cousin of Gianluigi's grandfather.
Although he has been a Genoa fan since he was a child, starting with the 2002-2003 season he has had the acronym "C.U.I.T." written on his gloves, which means Commando Ultrà Indian Trips, or the name of a group of Ultra fans of Carrarese, in which he was a shareholder. He owns a restaurant in the center of the city of Pistoia, called "Zerosei", and the bathing establishment "La Romanina" in the district of Ronchi.
Gianluigi Buffon Profile
He started his football in the Canaletto football school, an amateur football club of La Spezia. After passing the junior level, he returned to Carrara to play in Perticata, another amateur team. During
Gianluigi Buffon childhood
, when he was 12 years old, he moved to Bonascola, the team of his hometown.
At the age of 13, on June 13, 1991, he was hired by Parma for 15 million liras payable in two years. After his early years as a midfielder, he played between as a goalkeeper at the age of 14 to make up for the absence of team goalkeepers, who were injured. From that moment on, he kept playing as a goalkeeper, inspired - as he revealed in the following years - by the Cameroonian goalie N'Kono. In Parma youth ranks, he improved his goalkeeping skills thanks to the guidance of Ermes Fulgoni (goalkeeper coach, considered a master by Buffon himself) and Villiam Vecchi.
Due to the injury of Luca Bucci, the manager Nevio Scala added Buffon (still a youngster) to the first team because he was impressed by his qualities. He debuted in Serie A on November 19, 1995, in the match against AC Milan ended 0-0. The young goalkeeper was among the best in the pitch. The following Sunday, in the match against Juventus, he received his first goal from Ciro Ferrara: the match ended 1-1. The 24 September 1996 he debuted in the continental cups, playing against the Vitoria Guimaraes in the UEFA Cup: the Portuguese team won 2-0, eliminating Parma from the tournament.
In the 1996-97 season, he became a key part of the Parma team, reaching the second place in the
Serie A. He stayed with the Parma team until 2001, receiving the nickname "Superman" and winning three trophies. In 1999 Parma won the UEFA Cup, the Italian Cup and the Italian Super Cup.
Juventus
Buffon continued to play at Parma during the 2000/01 season, turning down offers from major European clubs. It wasn't until the summer of 2001 that he moved to Juventus Turin for €54.1 million. At the time, this was a record fee for paid a goalkeeper, which was only topped in 2018. At Juventus, Buffon was to succeed the underperforming Edwin van der Sar. With him, Lilian Thuram also transferred to Turin, who until then, together with Fabio Cannavaro, was the heart of the solid defence in front of Buffon.
With Juventus, the goalkeeper won the league at the first attempt under Marcello Lippi and was even able to defend this title in the following season 2002/03. He also reached the Champions League final with Juventus Turin in 2003, which they lost 3-2 on penalties to AC Milan. In the 2004/05 season, Buffon again celebrated the Scudetto with
Juventus, but it was later revoked due to the manipulation scandal.
On August 14, 2005, Buffon suffered a serious shoulder injury in a collision with Kaká in a friendly for the Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi at AC Milan and was out for several months. During this time, Christian Abbiati, who had come on loan from AC Milan, replaced him in the Juventus goal. He was able to return to full fitness at the end of November. In the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Arsenal London, Buffon played his 50th European Cup match for Juventus. In May 2006, he came under suspicion of having bet illegally on Serie A matches. However, Buffon was later found innocent by the public prosecutor and vindicated.
Despite Juventus Torino's forced relegation to Serie B for the 2006/07 season due to its involvement in the manipulation scandal, Buffon, unlike many of his teammates, did not leave Juventus Torino. He won immediate promotion with the team coached by Didier Deschamps. On June 7, 2007, he extended his contract at Juventus until 2012, putting an end to all the transfer rumours surrounding him. Less than a year later, his contract was extended by another year. In 2007/08 and 2008/09, Buffon finished third and second respectively in Serie A with Juventus under Claudio Ranieri. This was followed by two less successful seasons, each finishing seventh.
In the summer of 2011, ex-Juventus captain Antonio Conte, who had played with Buffon until 2004, became manager of the Turin club. Under Conte, Buffon won three consecutive Italian League titles, conceding the fewest goals against any Serie A club as a goalkeeper. In September 2012, his contract was extended until the end of 2016.
After three league titles in three years, but several less successful performances at European level, Conte resigned as manager at Juventus at the end of the 2013/14 season. He was succeeded by Massimiliano Allegri, who led the club to the double title wins of Serie A and Coppa Italia as well as reaching the final of the Champions League at the first attempt. On June 6, 2015, Buffon, then 37, played in his second Champions League final against FC Barcelona at Berlin's Olympiastadion. Juventus lost the match 1-3.
In May 2016, Buffon extended his contract at Juventus Turin until June 2018, and on November 6, 2016, he became the fourth player to reach the number of 600 Serie A matches played when he played against Chievo Verona. In the 2016/2017 Serie A season, Juventus became champions, losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
On May 17, 2018, Buffon announced that he would leave Juventus Turin at the end of the 2017/18 season after 17 years. He made a total of 509 league appearances for Juventus.
PSG
Buffon moved to
Paris Saint-Germainin the French Ligue 1 for the 2018/19 season. He signed a one-year contract with the reigning league and cup winners, with an option for a further season. Under Thomas Tuchel, Buffon rotated with Alphonse Aréola in goal. In addition to 17 league games, Buffon made five appearances in the Champions League, including both round of 16 matches in which PSG was eliminated by Manchester United. With PSG he won the Super Cup and the Ligue 1.
Buffon returned to Juventus Turin for the 2019/20 season. He signed a contract until the end of the season and was drafted in as a backup goalkeeper alongside Wojciech Szczęsny, and was expected to take on another role at the club when his contract ended in June 2020. At the end of September, Buffon surpassed Paolo Maldini as the Italian player with the most professional appearances at club level when he made his second appearance for Juventus after coming back in a win over SPAL Ferrara. On December 15, 2019, Buffon made his club-record 700th league appearance when he was between the posts in a 3-1 win over Udinese Calcio.
Buffon has played in all ranks of
Italy national teamsince 2013 when he was selected to play for Italy U16. His first match for the Italian national team came in 1997 when he came up from the bench as a replacement for the injured Gianluca Pagliuca in the first leg of the 1998 World Cup qualification play-off against
Russia. He went on to play 176 matches for his country in 21 years, becoming the most capped Italian footballer.
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Style of Play
Buffon has been known for his outstanding achievements during his career since his breakthrough as a wonder kid in his teens and has won acclaim from coaches, players, along with both current and former teammates in goalkeeping, for his focus and cool composure under tension, and also his work-rate and consistency.
He is also regarded to be the symbol of the contemporary goalkeeping, as one of the greatest players ever in his role, and has been regarded as a significant influence and role model by several other goalkeepers. He was identified as "an athletic, powerful, and controlling shot-stopper, who is highly established at the top level" and "an experienced and well-recognized keeper" with an "outstanding positional awareness, bravery, power and class."
Buffon was lauded for his agility, his "exceptional shot-stopping" his acrobatic dives, and his fast reflexes, and also his capacity to deliver crucial saves. While he has often been blamed for not being especially adept at saving penalty shots, he has often proved to be successful in this area, as his penalty-saving record shows; he has saved the sixth-highest amount of penalty shots in Serie A history with 15 saves.
Reception
Buffon is commonly recognized as being one of the best goalkeepers of all times by players, critics and coaches, even as the best ever by others in the football. Roberto Perrone defines Buffon in the intro of his 2008 autobiography, Numero 1 (Number 1), as: "the best goalkeeper in the world, one of the four or five players that will always live on in the memory of world football."
Buffon was named in The Sun's "Team of the Decade" in December 2009. In 2012, The Guardian named him the 20th greatest player in the world, placing behind Iker Casillas as the second top-ranking goalkeeper. On 2 September 2014, Buffon was given the Nereo Rocco Trophy, which is granted to a footballer in appreciation of his or her career. France Football ranked him in 2015 as one of the world's ten greatest footballers over the age of 36.
In 2016, the same magazine called him the best goal-keeper in history. Later that year, in a formal UEFA online Twitter survey, he was also voted the best goalkeeper of all-time in the UEFA Champions League. In 2015, UEFA rated him as the third-best player ever that hasn't won the UEFA Champions League, while in 2019, FourFourTwo put Buffon at second position only behind
Cristiano Ronaldoin the list of "The 25 best footballers never to win the UEFA Champions League."
Goal Celebration
As you already know, it is not common for goalkeepers to score goals and since Buffon never scored any goals, we still don’t know how exactly he celebrates his goals!
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Gianluigi Buffon Outside Football
Between December 2003 and June 2004, Buffon suffered from depression. In his autobiography, he states that he recovered before the 2004 European Championship. He was a regular commentator on Darwin Pastorin's program, "Le partite non finiscono mai" between September 2006 and May 2007.
On November 14, 2008, he published Numero 1, an autobiographical book written with Roberto Perrone, in which Buffon is defined in the introduction as "the greatest goalkeeper in the world, one of the four or five that will remain forever in the world of football".
On July 16, 2010, he became a shareholder of Carrarese, the team of his hometown, acquiring 50% of the property together with Cristiano Lucarelli and Maurizio Mian. On June 10, 2011, he acquired 20% of the club's shares and became its sole shareholder the following year.
On May 30, 2011, he joined the Board of Directors of Zucchi with a 19.4% share. In July 2011, CONSOB fined him about €60,000 "for failing to account for having exceeded the relevant thresholds of 2%, 5% and then 10% in Zucchi's capital". In 2014, he acquired 56% of the shares, becoming the majority shareholder. This operation aroused some concern from the media, as it was one of the sponsors of the FIGC. On May 7, 2012, he was elected vice-president of the Associazione Italiana Calciatori (Italian Footballers' Association), the first time this had been done for an active player.
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Gianluigi Buffon Personal Life
As we’ve already told you, Gianluigi Buffon comes from a family of athletes where his parents, his two sisters and his uncle were all professional athletes.
Gianluigi Buffon religion
is Christianity. In this section of Gianluigi Buffon biography, we are going to take a look and
Gianluigi Buffon Life Story
and his family.
Family, Children and Relationships
Having started their relationship in 2005, Gianluigi Buffon married the Czech actress Alena Seredova, in June 2011. They are parents of two boys, Louis Thomas (born in 2007) and David Lee (born in 2009). The couple, were together for just 3 years, before announcing their divorce shortly before the 2014 World Cup. Gianluigi Buffon, now in engaged with journalist and TV presenter Ilaria D'Amico, announced the birth of his third son, Leopoldo Mattia, on January 6, 2016, on his Twitter account.
He gives his eldest son the name of the Cameroonian goalkeeper, the mythical Thomas Nkono: "I've put the name of my idol Nkono to my son. This boy is dedicated to him. At the 1990 World Cup, I was an unconditional supporter of the Indomitable Lions. Thomas Nkono fascinated me. My passion for Cameroon stems from this fact. The Cameroonian had such an exceptional way of interpreting the role of goalkeeper that in the end, he could only be appealing to me. Moreover, Nkono changed the course of my career and inevitably of my life. From midfielder, I became a goalkeeper in order to follow in the footsteps of my idol.”
Philanthropy
Gianluigi Buffon is one of the most famous footballers who is well recognized for charitable works he does. Besides his other humanitarian and charitable endeavours, he sells his customized captain's armband for charity after every match he plays. In 2012, Gianluigi Buffon joined the Respect Diversity Program through UEFA, which aims to tackle discrimination, racism and football hatred.
Buffon, along with several current and retired football players, actively participated in the 'Match for Peace' on 1 September 2014, which was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with the funds being given to charity. Buffon was appointed a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Programme in October 2019.
Legal Issues
He is considered one of the greatest footballers with a clean record who always puts fair play as his priority. However, in May 2006, he was suspected of illegally betting on Serie A games. Nonetheless, Buffon was later found not guilty by the prosecutor’s office and vindicated.
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Gianluigi Buffon Career Statistics
In his career which hasn’t been ended yet at club level, Gianluigi Buffon has played many matches in different competitions both on the club and international level. Stay tuned to read more about Gianluigi Buffon biography and his career statistics.
Club
During his 25 years in the professional football playing for
Parma, Juventus and Paris Saint Germain, Gianluigi Buffon has played a total of 921 matches in all league, cup and European competitions. As of 19 December 2020, he holds the record for most appearances in Serie A with 653 matches played.
International
In 21 years playing for Italy national team, Gianluigi Buffon has managed to play 176 matches for his country and is the most capped Italian player of all time. He has also holds the record of most goalkeeper appearances as captain for Italy.
Gianluigi Buffon Honors
During his professional career, Gianluigi Buffon has won many titles both at the club and international level. The most notable of the includes UEFA Cup with Parma, 10 Serie A titles with Juventus, 5 Coppa Italia titles with Parma and Juventus and one
Ligue 1with PSG. He has also been UEFA Champions League runner-up 3 times.
His sole international honor and maybe the best of his career is the 2006 World Cup which Italy won in Germany.
Buffon has also won many individual awards, namely Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award for 12 times, UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for 2 times, Best European Goalkeeper for 3 times, Serie A Footballer of the Year and many others.
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