Gianluigi Buffon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buffon playing for Juventus in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gianluigi Buffon | ||
| Date of birth | 28 January 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Carrara, Tuscany, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
|
Juventus | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1995 | Parma | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–2001 | Parma | 169 | (0) |
| 2001– | Juventus | 434 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1997– | Italy | 154 | (0) |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 November 2015. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2015 |
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Buffon was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. He has been named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record nine times. Buffon was the winner of the 2006 Yashin Award following Italy's World Cup victory, in which he 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 after reaching the Champions League final; 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, an honour which he also achieved in 2007.[20][21] After reaching the 2015 Champions League final, he was named to the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season,[22] and placed fourth in the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.[23]
He has been named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper four times (second only to Iker Casillas, with five awards) and was also named the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, of the past twenty five years, and of the decade, by the same organisation.[24][25] With the Italian national side, Buffon has been called up for an international record of five World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014), featuring in four of them as Italy's starting goalkeeper (Buffon was an unused substitute in the 1998 World Cup).[26] At club level, Buffon's professional career began with Parma in 1995, where he was soon promoted to the role of starting goalkeeper; during his time with the club, he won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the Supercoppa Italiana. Since joining Juventus, Buffon has won six Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, and five Supercoppa Italiana titles with the club.
Contents
- 1 Club career
- 2 International career
- 2.1 Youth career, early call-ups and Euro 2000 qualification
- 2.2 Trapattoni era: World Cup and European Championship debut
- 2.3 Lippi era: 2006 world champion
- 2.4 After the World Cup victory: Donadoni, and Lippi's return
- 2.5 Prandelli era: Italy captain and Euro 2012 runner-up
- 2.6 World Cup 2014 Qualifying and 2013 Confederations Cup under Prandelli
- 2.7 2014 World Cup under Prandelli
- 2.8 The Conte era: Euro 2016 qualification
- 3 Style of play
- 4 Controversy
- 5 Media
- 6 Personal life
- 7 Outside of professional football
- 8 Statistics
- 9 Honours
- 10 Notes
- 11 References
- 12 External links
Club career
Parma
Youth career and early professional career
Despite offers from Bologna and Milan,[27] Buffon began his career with the Parma youth system in 1991, at the age of 13.[28] During his time in the youth academy, he initially played in several out-field positions, in particular as a midfielder, before switching to his current position of goalkeeper.[29] His idol Thomas N'Kono inspired this change of position due to his notable goalkeeping performances for Cameroon at the 1990 World Cup in Italy; as a result, when both of the Parma youth team's keepers suddenly suffered injuries, Buffon was called upon due to his interest, height, and physical attributes.[29][30][31] He quickly adapted to this role, and within two weeks he had been promoted to first keeper of the Parma youth team.[29][27] Ermes Fulgoni, the academy's goalkeeping coach, would soon become a mentor to the young goalkeeper.[27]After an initial call-up to train with the first team during the summer of 1994,[27] Buffon was promoted to the senior squad in 1995, and at the age of 17, he made his Serie A debut for Parma under Nevio Scala, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 home draw against eventual Serie A Champions Milan on 19 November 1995.[28] Buffon made notable saves against Ballon d'Or winners Roberto Baggio and George Weah, as well as Marco Simone, throughout the match.[32] Buffon went on to make seven more first team appearances that season as well as one appearance in the Coppa Italia, making his debut in the competition, as Parma were eliminated in the second round. Parma finished in sixth place in Serie A that season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. During his time at Parma, he trained under goalkeeping coach Villiam Vecchi, a person to whom Buffon attributes much of his confidence, development, and success.[33]
1996–2001: Making the starting eleven, early success and recognition
In the 1996–97 Serie A season, his second full season with the club, Buffon was named as the starting goalkeeper ahead of Luca Bucci, and Alessandro Nista.[29] Parma finished the 1996–97 season as runners-up in Serie A, behind Juventus, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. Buffon conceded 17 goals in 27 appearances, and his consistent performances began to gain attention in Italy.[29] Parma were once again eliminated in the second round of the Coppa Italia and in the first round of the UEFA Cup that season, where Buffon made his European debut in a 2–0 defeat to Vitória Guimarães on 24 September 1996.[29]In the 1997–98 season, Parma finished in fifth place in Serie A and reached the Coppa Italia semi-finals, whilst they were knocked out in the group stage of the Champions League, finishing second in their group to defending champions Borussia Dortmund. Buffon acquired his nickname "Superman" during the course of the season, when he stopped a penalty by Inter striker and Ballon d'Or holder Ronaldo. Buffon celebrated the save by showing the Parma fans a Superman T-shirt, which he was wearing underneath his jersey; the nickname was also a reference to Buffon's athleticism, agility and aerial ability.[34]
In his fourth season with the club, Buffon won his first European trophy, the UEFA Cup,[28] keeping a clean-sheet in the final against Marseille, which ended in a 3–0 win for Parma; he also won the Coppa Italia with the club that season. Parma finished fourth in Serie A, which allowed them to reach the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League, although they were relegated to the UEFA Cup after losing to Rangers. Buffon's performances that season earned him his first Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award, as well as the Bravo Award, the trophy given to the best Under 23 player in Europe; he also placed fifth in the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper rankings,[35] and received his first ever Ballon d'Or nomination.[36]
In the following season, he won his first Supercoppa Italiana title against Serie A Champions Milan, and Parma finished fourth in Serie A once again, tied with Inter for the final remaining Champions League spot; however, Parma lost 3–1 to Inter in the European playoff match.[37] The club was knocked out in the round of 16 of both the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia.
In the 2000–01 season, Buffon helped lead Parma to another Coppa Italia Final, in which they were defeated by Fiorentina; the team suffered a third-round elimination in the UEFA Cup, however. Parma also finished the season in fourth place for the third consecutive year, which allowed them to go through to the Champions League play-off round. Buffon was voted Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the second time in his career, and he also placed third in the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award.[38]
In the summer of 2001, Buffon was sold to Juventus for a world-record goalkeeper's transfer fee of 100 billion lire, (€51,645,690)[28][39] (Or €51.956 million including other minor cost that could be capitalised)[40][41] with part of the transfer fees paid via the transfer of Jonathan Bachini to Parma.[42]
Juventus
2001–2004: Dominance under Lippi
Buffon transferred from Parma to Juventus in the summer of 2001 for €52 million, along with former Parma team-mate Lilian Thuram, and was handed the number 1 shirt as the starting goalkeeper, replacing Edwin van der Sar, who was sold to Fulham.[43] Buffon later said that there had been an initial possibility for him to join Roma, but they signed Ivan Pelizzoli instead, and although negotiations were ongoing with Barcelona, he chose Juventus because his father convinced him he would be likely to achieve his ambition of winning the Scudetto.[44] This transfer fee made Buffon Juventus's most expensive purchase ever.[45]Buffon made his Juventus debut in Serie A during the 2001–02 season, on 26 August 2001, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 home win over Venezia in the opening match of the Serie A season.[46] He kept two more clean sheets until he was beaten by Massimo Marazzina in a 3–2 home win over Chievo on the fourth match-day.[47] 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 Serie A matches.[48] Juventus also finished as runners-up in the Coppa Italia that season, to Buffon's former club, Parma; Buffon only made one appearance in the competition that season. 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, and he was nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year for the first time in his career, losing out to Rüştü Reçber.[49]
At the beginning of the 2002–03 season, Juventus won the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana against Parma.[50] Buffon had a dominant year, totalling 47 appearances in all competitions, of which 32 were in Serie A. 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.[28] Buffon drew praise, however, for making a reaction save on a close-range header by Filippo Inzaghi during the final.[51] Buffon saved a Luis Figo penalty in the second leg of the semi-finals, against defending champions Real Madrid, in Turin. Juventus progressed to the final, winning 4–3 on aggregate.[52] Juventus managed to celebrate their second consecutive Serie A title that season, finishing the season with the best defence yet again, as Buffon conceded only 23 goals in 32 appearances. In 2003, Buffon received the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the fourth time. He also became the only goalkeeper ever to win the now defunct UEFA Most Valuable Player or UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award. He also won the UEFA Best Goalkeeper award, and was elected to the UEFA Team of the Year for the first time.[53][54] He was also named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper for the first time in his career.[55] Buffon was also nominated for the 2003 Ballon d'Or that season, finishing in 9th place.
Buffon began the 2003–04 season with Juventus by defeating Milan on penalties in the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana, with Buffon saving a penalty in the shootout, after a 1–1 draw.[56] 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. Buffon made his 100th appearance for Juventus that season on 30 September 2003, in a 2–1 away win over Olympiacos, in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[47] He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004, but missed out on the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award, which went to Milan's league winning keeper Dida. He was once again elected as the Goalkeeper for the UEFA Team of the Year and as the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeer.[57] Buffon also received his first ever FIFA World Player of the Year nomination in 2004, finishing in 21st place alongside compatriot Paolo Maldini.
