Gianluigi Buffon Profile
Nationality: Italian
Date and Place of Birth: Born January 28, 1978 in Carrara, Italy
Playing Position: Goalkeeper
Current Club: Juventus (Italian Serie A)
Club Career: 1995-2001 Parma
2001-Present Juventus
International Career: 1997 – Present - Italy
Born into a family of athletes in Carrara, Italy in January 1978, Gianluigi Buffon always seemed destined to become a professional sportsman in his own right. Eschewing the athletic background of his parents, young Buffon followed in the footsteps of his grandfather's cousin, Lorenzo Buffon, a former Inter Milan and Italian international goalkeeper during the 1950s and 1960s.
Gigi Buffon worked his way through the youth ranks at Parma and was signed as a professional at the age of 17 in 1995, going on to make his Serie A debut for the club against AC Milan that year and winning the UEFA Cup with Parma in 1999.
Buffon went on to make 168 appearances for Parma while building a reputation as one of Europe's best young goalkeeping talents and it wasn't long until the major clubs starting looking his way. Juventus won the auction for Buffon's services in 2001 and paid Parma a world record fee of over £32m for the 23 year old shot stopper. Personal accolades such as UEFA's Most Valuable Player Award and Best Goalkeeper Awards have continued to add to Buffon's trophy cabinet alongside notable club and international successes as Scudetto champions with Juventus and in 2006 a World Cup victory with Italy.
The Calciopoli scandal which saw Juventus relegated to Serie B did not scare Buffon away from the club and he duly helped the club to the Serie B title in 2006/2007 as they battled their way back to Serie A in only one season.
Buffon's international career began as a 19 year old when he replaced the injured Gianluca Pagliuca in goal but it was to be a few years before he made the position his own. Buffon's greatest career triumph has to be the 2006 World Cup where he kept a 453-minute scoreless streak as he helped propel Italy to World Cup glory.
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
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