Gianluigi Buffon

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Gianluigi Buffon
Personal information
Full name	Gianluigi Armagio Buffon
Date of birth	January 28, 1978 (age 29)
Place of birth	Carrara, Italy
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Nickname	Gigi
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Juventus F.C.
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995-2001 2001-	Parma F.C. Juventus F.C.	168 (0) 171 (0)
National team2
1995-1997 1997-	Italy U-21 Italy	9 (0) 72 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 February, 2007. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of November 15, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Cavaliere OMRI^{[citation needed]} (born January 28, 1978) is an Italian FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper. He is currently the first choice goalkeeper for Juventus F.C. and the Italian national team. He was transferred to Juventus from childhood club Parma F.C. in 2001, for what was the largest transfer figure ever for a goalkeeper at £32 million. He is regarded as one of the top goalkeepers of all time, winning IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award 3 times in 2006, 2004 and 2003.

Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Career 2.1 Club career 2.2 International career 3 Quotes 4 Trivia 5 Honours 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early life and family

Gianluigi Buffon was born in Carrara, into a sporting family: his mother Maria Stella was a discus thrower, his father Adriano a weightlifter, his two sisters Veronica and Guendalina volleyball players, and his uncle Angelo Masocco a basketball player. He is also related to former A.C. Milan and Italy goalkeeper Lorenzo Buffon, who is the cousin of Gianluigi's grandfather.

[edit] Career

[edit] Club career

As a young boy, Buffon played as a midfielder. Then, at the age of 14, he was forced to play as a goalkeeper because the two goalkeepers were both injured; after two weeks he became the first choice goalkeeper.

In 1995, at the age of 17, Buffon was signed by Parma A.C. (now Parma F.C.) and he made his debut in the Italian Serie A championship against A.C. Milan. After his excellent form for Parma, Buffon was awarded his first cap for the Italian national team at age 19, being called on to replace the injured Gianluca Pagliuca during the 1998 FIFA World Cup play-off game against Russia in Moscow. Buffon was chosen for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad, but did not play a single game as Pagliuca remained first choice. After helping Italy through a successful Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, Buffon transferred from Parma to Juventus F.C. in 2001, for a world-record goalkeeper's fee of €52.29 million.^[1] He has said this is too much money for one player, but that he does not feel under pressure because of it. Buffon started for Italy at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In 2003, he won the "Most Valuable Player" and "Best Goalkeeper" awards at the UEFA European Football Awards. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. In 2004-05, Buffon helped Juventus to their third Serie A title in four seasons. In the summer of 2005, during the annual match for the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy, Buffon needed surgery for a dislocated shoulder after colliding with Milan's Kaká. His operation was successful and he returned to the pitch in November, but played only once as injury again returned him to the sidelines until January.

On May 12, 2006, it was revealed, amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding Juventus and the Serie A match-fixing scandal, that Buffon, along with former Juventus goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti and several other players, participated in illegal betting on Serie A matches while with Parma. The following day, he voluntarily allowed himself to be questioned by Turin magistrates in an attempt to clear his name. While admitting that he did bet on sports (until regulations went into effect in late 2005, banning players from doing so), he vehemently denied placing wagers on Italian football matches. Fears arose that he had placed his 2006 FIFA World Cup squad spot in jeopardy, but he was officially named Italy's starting goalkeeper on May 15.

On July 14, Juventus was relegated to Serie B following the outcome of the Italian match-fixing scandal, while Lazio, Milan and Fiorentina were penalized in a point deduction. Juventus was also deducted 30 points for the next season's campaign (later reduced to 17 and then to 9 under appeal). Because of this, rumours about a transfer for Buffon spread, as teams such as Arsenal F.C.,^[2] Milan, Barcelona and A.S. Roma were interested in him. It was also rumoured Buffon would go to Chelsea in January with the absence of Cech with a long injury. However, Buffon preferred to stay in Torino. At first Milan offered to exchange Christian Abbiati for Buffon, but opted to loan Abbiati to Torino Calcio. On July 19th, Buffon's agent announced he would stay at Juventus even in Serie B, saying "it is a division he has never won and he wants to try to do this."

[edit] International career

Buffon was a member of the Italian Olympic Team at the 1996 Olympic Games, and played for Italy in the Euro 2004 tournament.

In an outstanding performance at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Buffon let in only two goals - one an own goal from his own teammate Cristian Zaccardo in the game against the USA, and a Zinedine Zidane penalty in the final. He kept a 453-minute scoreless streak at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, putting him fifth in the all-time ranking for unbeaten goalkeepers. FIFA declared Buffon FIFA best goalkeeper of the 2006 World Cup. In the final against France, Buffon made several crucial saves, including Zidane's powerful header in extra time. The match led to a penalty shoot out in which neither Buffon or Fabien Barthez could make a save. Italy ended up winning because of David Trezeguet's effort hitting the cross bar and bouncing right in front of the line.

[edit] Quotes

• "I would say that I am having less sex now that I’m playing in Serie B – there is more to think about in this division.” -- Buffon, as quoted in Football Italia
• “My worst vice is gluttony. I try to keep myself under control because I’m an athlete, but once a week I like to pig out and act like a normal person.” -- Buffon, as quoted in Football Italia (07/01/07)
• "Gigi Buffon is in every way an original. His talent very quickly made him the number one of both Parma and Italy, whilst his personality, which is never banal, is characterised by great bravery both in his statements to the press and as he comes out to smother the ball at the feet of onrushing players." -- Leo Turrini

[edit] Trivia

• Buffon shares his exact birthdate with Liverpool footballer Jamie Carragher. They met in the quarter-finals of the 2005 UEFA Champions League when Juventus faced Liverpool.
• His transfer to Juventus was interesting because £25million was paid for his goalkeeping ability, while the other £7million was allegedly paid for his personality.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Honours

• Italian Cup: 1999
• Italian Super Cup: 1999, 2002, and 2003
• Italian Serie A: 2002, 2003
• UEFA Cup: 1999
• the Mediterranean : 1997
• European Under-21 Football Championship: 1996
• UEFA Champions League runners up: 2003
• FIFA World Cup: 2006 (winner)
• FIFA World Player of the Year - Best Goalkeeper: 2004, 2005,2006
• Yashin Award: 2006
• World Cup All-Star Team: 2006
• FIFPro World XI All-Star Team: 2006
• FIFPro World XI Goalkeeper: 2006
• European Footballer of the Year - Best Goalkeeper: 2003, 2004, 2006
• European Footballer of the Year - Silver Ball: 2006
• UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2003
• UEFA Club Football Awards - [edit] Best Goalkeeper: 2003
• IFFHS World's best goalkeeper - Best Goalkeeper: 2003, 2004, 2006
• Oscar calcio - Best Goalkeeper: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
• Onze d'Or - Best Goalkeeper: 2003, 2006
• Bravo Award - Best young football (soccer) player in Europe: 1999
• FIFA 100 - 125 greatest living players, as selected by Pelé: 2004

[edit] References

1. ^ Gianluigi Buffon at UEFA
2. ^ "Liverpool set for raid on Juve." The Sunday Times (London) (online edition). 16 July 2006. Accessed 16 July 2006.

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• FootballDatabase profile and career stats
• Quotes of the Week - Football Italia, 10/19/06

Preceded by Oliver Kahn	Yashin Award 2006	Succeeded by incumbent
Preceded by Zinedine Zidane	UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player 2002-03	Succeeded by Deco
Preceded by Francesco Toldo	Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year 2001 ~ 2006	Succeeded by current holder
Preceded by Angelo Peruzzi	Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year 1999	Succeeded by Francesco Toldo

	Italy squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists
1 Toldo | 2 Bergomi | 3 P. Maldini | 4 Cannavaro | 5 Costacurta | 6 Nesta | 7 Pessotto | 8 Torricelli | 9 Albertini | 10 Del Piero | 11 D. Baggio | 12 Pagliuca | 13 Cois | 14 Di Biagio | 15 Di Livio | 16 Di Matteo | 17 Moriero | 18 R. Baggio | 19 Inzaghi | 20 Chiesa | 21 Vieri | 22 Buffon | Coach: C. Maldini

	Italy squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Buffon | 2 Panucci | 3 Maldini | 4 Coco | 5 Cannavaro | 6 Zanetti | 7 Del Piero | 8 Gattuso | 9 Inzaghi | 10 Totti | 11 Doni | 12 Abbiati | 13 Nesta | 14 Di Biagio | 15 Iuliano | 16 Di Livio | 17 Tommasi | 18 Delvecchio | 19 Zambrotta | 20 Montella | 21 Vieri | 22 Toldo | 23 Materazzi | Coach: Trapattoni

	Italy squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Champions (4th Title)
1 Buffon | 2 Zaccardo | 3 Grosso | 4 De Rossi | 5 Cannavaro | 6 Barzagli | 7 Del Piero | 8 Gattuso | 9 Toni | 10 Totti | 11 Gilardino | 12 Peruzzi | 13 Nesta | 14 Amelia | 15 Iaquinta | 16 Camoranesi | 17 Barone | 18 Inzaghi | 19 Zambrotta | 20 Perrotta | 21 Pirlo | 22 Oddo | 23 Materazzi | Coach: Lippi

Juventus F.C. - Current Squad
1 Buffon | 2 Birindelli | 3 Chiellini | 4 Kovač | 5 Tudor | 6 C. Zanetti | 8 Giannichedda | 9 Bojinov | 10 Del Piero | 11 Nedvěd | 12 Mirante | 13 Piccolo | 14 Balzaretti | 15 Marchisio | 16 Camoranesi | 17 Trézéguet | 18 Boumsong | 19 Paro | 20 Palladino | 22 Belardi | 23 Guzmán | 25 Zalayeta | 27 Zebina | 29 De Ceglie | 30 Legrottaglie | 32 Marchionni | 33 Urbano | Coach Deschamps