Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒidʒi bufˈfon]; born 28 January 1978 in Carrara, Italy), is an Italian goalkeeper who plays for and captains bothSerie A club Juventus and the Italian National Team. Buffon is the record appearance holder for the Italian national football team, and he is widely considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.^[4][5] He is known for his "outstanding shot-stopping" 

and for being "a vocal organizer of the defence and a key dressing room personality."^[6][7]

Buffon was declared by Pelé to be one of the 125 greatest living footballers in the world. He has been named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record eight times and was the winner of the 2006 Yashin Award following Italy's World Cup victory, in which Buffon was also elected to be part of the Team of the Tournament; an honour which he also received after reaching the final of the 2012 European Championships. Buffon is the only goalkeeper to have won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year Award, which he won in 2003; he also won the award for best Goalkeeper that year and was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2006. In 2006, Buffon was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or and was elected to be part of the FIFPro World XI in 2006 and 2007.^[8][9].He has been named the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) goalkeeper of the year four times and was named goalkeeper of the 21st century and of the decade by the same organisation.^[10]

Juventus

Buffon transferred from Parma to Juventus in the summer of 2001 for €51 million and was handed the number 1 shirt as the starting goalkeeper, replacing former keeper Edwin Van der Sar, who had been sold to Fulham.^[20] It was later revealed by Buffon that Juventus were not his first choice when he joined them. Initially, Buffon had preferred Roma and Barcelona before Luciano Moggi and the Agnelli family stepped in to seal the deal.^[21]

In his first season with Juventus, Buffon appeared in 45 official matches, helping his team to the Serie A title, as Juventus finished the season with the best defence in Italy, with Buffon only conceding 22 goals in 34 matches. Juventus also finished as runners-up in theCoppa Italia that season to Buffon's former club Parma. Juventus were, however, eliminated in the second group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Buffon was awarded his third Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award at the end of the season for his performances.

At the beginning of the 2002–03 season, Juventus won the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana against Parma, avenging the Coppa Italia final defeat of the previous season. Buffon had a dominant year, totalling 47 appearances in all competitions, of which 32 were in Serie A that season. He helped Juventus to the UEFA Champions League Final, only for his team to lose in a penalty shoot-out to Milan after a 0–0 draw. Buffon managed to save two penalties, but Milan won the shootout 3–2.^[11] Buffon drew praise, however, for making a notable reactions save on a close-range header by Filippo Inzaghi during the final. During the knockout stages, Juventus had also previously eliminated Barcelona in the quarter-finals, and defending champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Buffon saved a crucial Luis Figopenalty in the second leg of the semi-finals, in Turin, which allowed Juventus to progress to the final, winning 4–3 on aggregate. Juventus were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia by Perugia, although they did manage to celebrate their second consecutive Serie A title in two years, that season. Juventus once again finished the season with the best defence, with Buffon conceding 23 goals in 32 appearances. In 2003, Buffon received the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the fourth time. He also became the first and only goalkeeper ever to win the now defunct UEFA Most Valuable Player or UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award, and won the UEFA Best Goalkeeper award, being elected as part of the UEFA Team of the Year for the first time. He was also named theIFFHS Goalkeeper of the Year for the first time in his career.^[22]

Buffon began the 2003–04 season by avenging the Champions League final loss of the previous season as Juventus defeated Milan on penalties in the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana, with Buffon saving a penalty in the shootout. Juventus were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League that season by Deportivo La Coruña and finished the Serie A season in a disappointing 3rd place, although they managed to reach the Coppa Italia Final, losing to Lazio. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004 and was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the fifth time. He was once again elected as the Goalkeeper for theUEFA Team of the Year and as the IFFHS Goalkeeper of the Year.

International career

Buffon was a member of Italy's 1996 UEFA under-21 championship winning squad.^[72] The squad also contained Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta and Francesco Totti,^[73] who ten years later would, along with Buffon, be members of Italy's 2006 FIFA World Cup winning team. He was also selected as the backup goalkeeper for Italy's 1996 Olympic team.^[11][74]However, Italy did not qualify for the second round, losing their opening two matches toMexico and Ghana.^[75]

Buffon was awarded his first cap for Italy's senior team under Cesare Maldini on 29 October 1997, at the age of nineteen, as an injury replacement for Gianluca Pagliuca during the first leg of the crucial 1998 World Cup qualification play-off against Russia played in Moscow. Buffon made notable saves under snowy conditions in an important 1–1 away draw, only being beaten by an own goal by Fabio Cannavaro.^[11] The result helped Italy to qualify for the upcoming World Cup. He was a member of the squad for the 1998 World Cup finals, initially as the third choice goalkeeper. After Peruzzi's injury, he was promoted to second choice keeper, with Toldo being called up as the third choice keeper, but Buffon did not play a single game as Pagliuca remained first choice throughout the tournament. Italy were eliminated in the Quarter finals on penalties to hosts and eventual 1998 World Cup Champions France.

Buffon became the first choice goalkeeper during the Euro 2000 qualifying campaign and was due to start in goal during the finals under manager and former Italy goalkeeping legendDino Zoff, but he broke his hand in a warm up match against Norway, just a few days before Italy's opening match against Turkey. His starting place was taken by backup goalkeeper Francesco Toldo and Christian Abbiati was called up as a replacement third keeper, with Francesco Antonioli being promoted to second keeper. Italy reached the final of the tournament, losing once again to France on a golden goal in extra time, with the match ending 2–1.