112-407: Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon Ufficiale OMRI ( Italian pronunciation: [dʒanluˈiːdʒi bufˈfɔːn] ; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper . Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and by some the greatest ever, he is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances and holds
224-566: A Coppa Italia match against Fiorentina. Juventus were once again knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by runners-up Arsenal , and in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia on away goals to eventual runners-up Roma. Buffon was named IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper for the third time in his career and Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the sixth time. He was also placed second in
336-491: A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty; the result allowed Buffon to progress to his second career Champions League final with Juventus, 12 years after his last appearance. On 20 May, he won his first Coppa Italia title with Juventus, despite not featuring throughout the tournament that season. On 23 May, in his 900th career appearance, Buffon saved a Lorenzo Insigne penalty in a 3–1 home win over Napoli in Serie A. Buffon captained Juventus in
448-509: A penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. Source: FIFA [REDACTED] Júlio César [REDACTED] Dani Alves [REDACTED] Sergio Ramos [REDACTED] Thiago Silva [REDACTED] David Luiz [REDACTED] Andrés Iniesta [REDACTED] Andrea Pirlo [REDACTED] Paulinho [REDACTED] Neymar [REDACTED] Fernando Torres [REDACTED] Fred [REDACTED] Luiz Felipe Scolari Source: FIFA Fernando Torres
560-641: A 2–0 away defeat at the hands of Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. On 12 May 2006, several players, including Buffon, were accused of participating in illegal betting on Serie A matches. Buffon voluntarily co-operated, allowing himself to be interrogated by Turin magistrates. While admitting that he did place bets on sporting matches (until regulations went into effect in late 2005, banning players from doing so), he vehemently denied placing wagers on Italian football matches. Despite concerns that he had jeopardised his chance of playing for Italy in
672-625: A 2–0 away win over Lazio. For his performances throughout the previous season, Buffon was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the tenth time in his career on 14 December, and subsequently to the 2015 Serie A Team of the Year . Later that month, he was named one of the three finalists for the Globe Soccer Player of the Year Award . On 6 January 2016, he placed second in the 2015 IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award, once again behind Manuel Neuer. "Watching him close-up in training and during games
784-495: A 3–1 away win over Widzew Łódź on 13 August 1997, in the first leg of the second qualifying round , aged 19 years, 197 days, while he made his debut in the group stage in a 2–0 home victory against Galatasaray on 1 October later that year, aged 19 years, 246 days; Parma were ultimately knocked out in the first round of the competition , finishing second in their group, behind defending champions Borussia Dortmund . Buffon acquired his nickname " Superman " during
896-454: A 3–2 home win over Celtic . 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. Juventus also finished as runners-up in the Coppa Italia that season to Buffon's former club, Parma; Buffon only made one appearance in
1008-539: A 3–3 home draw against Chievo in 2009. Juventus and Buffon began the 2009–10 season strongly, although the squad suffered a severe dip in form as they were eliminated from the Champions League , finishing third in their group. They were subsequently eliminated in the Round of 16 of the Europa League against Fulham. Juventus were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia to eventual champions Inter, and finished
1120-559: A change of date. However, the AFC decided that the match day would only be adjusted for the AFC representative at the Confederations Cup, Japan . The official final schedule was presented in Rio de Janeiro on 30 May 2012. All times listed are Brasília official time ( UTC−03:00 ). All eight teams entered the group stage. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the semi-finals , while
1232-452: A clean sheet in a 2–0 away win over Empoli . On 24 November, Buffon was nominated for the 2014 FIFPro World XI for a record tenth time. He is currently the only goalkeeper to have been nominated for the award every year since its inception in 2005. The same week, Buffon was also nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year . On 15 December 2014, Buffon was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for
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#17328595073161344-563: 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, as Parma defeated Fiorentina on away goals. 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
1456-552: A contract extension to 2013. Buffon and Juventus finished the season on a high note, with two victories, finishing in second place behind Internazionale. They were knocked out of the Coppa Italia semi-finals by eventual champions Lazio and of the Champions League in the round of 16 by Chelsea . Buffon was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009 for the sixth consecutive season since first being nominated in 2004 . Buffon made his 300th appearance for Juventus in
1568-502: A contract extension with Juventus until 2012. In 2007, Buffon was also elected as the goalkeeper for the 2007 FIFPro XI for the second consecutive year, and the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper for a record-breaking fourth time. Buffon was a key player for Juventus in the 2007–08 season , their first back in the top flight, as he helped Juventus to a third-place finish, and Champions League qualification. Juventus lost to runners-up Inter in
1680-406: A debut like his for the personality and quality he showed." —Former goalkeeper and manager Dino Zoff on Buffon's debut. Buffon began playing youth football as a midfielder with La Spezia –based amaetuer club U.S.D. Canaletto Sepor, before returning to his hometown Carrara to play for Perticata and subsequently Bonascola. Despite offers from Bologna and Milan , Buffon began his career with
1792-565: A dislocated shoulder that required surgery. Milan loaned backup goalkeeper Christian Abbiati to Juventus as compensation while Buffon recovered. Buffon returned to the Juventus starting line-up in November, but injury again sidelined him until January. He recovered in time to help Juventus win their second consecutive Scudetto and his fourth overall, returning to the starting line-up in January 2006, in
1904-636: A dominating force in Serie A. Buffon re-found his form, and made numerous notable saves throughout the season, including stopping a penalty kick from Francesco Totti , which enabled Juventus to capture a crucial draw against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Buffon's fine form at the end of the first half of the season saw elected Juventus' Player of the Month in December 2011 by fans. Buffon kept his 15th clean sheet of
2016-503: A goal. Andrea Belotti finally ended his goalless streak by beating him from the penalty spot in the 48th minute of the same match. On 24 April, Buffon saved a late penalty from Nikola Kalinić to secure a 2–1 away victory over Fiorentina, his 13th penalty save in Serie A; following Napoli's defeat against Roma the following day, Juventus clinched their record fifth consecutive Serie A title with three games at hand. In addition to his decisive saves and record breaking unbeaten streak, Buffon
2128-505: A herniated disc, which frequently keep him sidelined during the next few seasons. On 10 March 2008, Buffon renewed his contract until 2013, expressing his desire to win everything with the club. In the 2008–09 season , Buffon was once again sidelined by several injuries. From September through January, reserve goalkeeper Alexander Manninger held his position between the sticks, gaining praise for his deputising. Due to recurring injuries, Manninger's performances and Juventus' poor form towards
2240-412: A penalty in the shootout, after a 1–1 draw. Juventus were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League that season by Deportivo de La Coruña and finished the Serie A season in a disappointing third 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
2352-461: A point deduction, rumours spread that Buffon would be placed on the transfer market. Buffon elected to remain with Juventus, despite the team's relegation, a decision which made him extremely popular with the Juventus fans. "Buffon is one of the greatest and best goalkeepers in football history. When Juventus were in Serie B, he showed himself to be faithful to the team, it was a great gesture." —Former Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes . During
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#17328595073162464-558: A record five clean sheets, Buffon won the Yashin Award and was elected to the Team of the Tournament , an honour he also received from UEFA after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2008 and the final of the 2012 European Championship . Buffon retired from international football in 2017, after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup ; although he reversed this decision to play in
2576-598: A record nine Serie A titles, four Coppa Italias, and five Supercoppa Italianas. He was the first goalkeeper to win the Serie A Footballer of the Year award, and was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record twelve times. After reaching the 2015 and 2017 UEFA Champions League finals , Buffon was named to the Champions League Squad of the Season on both occasions , and won the inaugural The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award in
2688-491: A record tenth top flight title with the club. The following season he continued to serve as a back-up, but started in the Coppa Italia, winning his record sixth title. In June 2021, Buffon returned to his boyhood club Parma, who had been relegated to Serie B for that season, before announcing his retirement from football in 2023 at the age of 45. With 176 international caps , Buffon is the most capped goalkeeper of all time,
2800-434: A record which was broken in 2016 by the acquisition of Gonzalo Higuaín . Buffon made his Juventus debut during the opening match of the 2001–02 Serie A season, on 26 August 2001, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 home win over Venezia . 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. He made his Juventus Champions League debut on 18 September, in
2912-471: A woman of mixed Amerindian and black African descent. Former Brazil captain Cafu was invited to officially unveil the ball. The competing national football associations received prize money from FIFA based on their representative team's final finishing position. The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first international tournament for national teams to use goal-line technology . The IFAB officially approved
3024-498: Is really quite impressive. Weaknesses? He has none." — Andrea Pirlo on Buffon. On 28 February 2016, Buffon kept his eighth consecutive clean sheet in Serie A in a 2–0 win over Inter. In the process, he set a new personal best in the top flight, and the outright sixth-best unbeaten streak in the history of the Italian league, after going 746 minutes without conceding a goal in Serie A, overtaking Morgan De Sanctis and Marchegiani. In
3136-496: 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. He quickly adapted to this role, and within two weeks he had been promoted to first keeper of the Parma youth team. Ermes Fulgoni, the academy's goalkeeping coach, would soon become a mentor to the young goalkeeper. After an initial call-up to train with
3248-427: 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 . 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. Parma were once again eliminated in
3360-411: The 2006 Ballon d'Or (the first goalkeeper to do so since compatriot Dino Zoff in 1973) and eighth in the FIFA World Player of the Year Award behind his winning Italy teammate Fabio Cannavaro , and was elected as the starting goalkeeper for both the 2006 FIFPro XI and the UEFA Team of the Year , following his fifth consecutive nomination. Buffon made his 200th appearance for Juventus that season in
3472-525: The 2006 World Cup , he was officially named Italy's starting goalkeeper on 15 May and helped Italy to win their fourth title. Buffon was cleared of all charges by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on 27 June 2007. Following Juventus' punishment in the Calciopoli scandal , in which their two most recent Serie A titles were stripped and the squad were relegated to Serie B and penalised with
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3584-430: The 2006–07 Serie B season, Buffon made his debut in the Italian second division in a 1–1 away draw against Rimini on 9 September 2006; later that year, he also received the first red card of his career in a 1–1 away draw against AlbinoLeffe on 18 November. In total he made 37 league appearances throughout the season. After Juventus won the Serie B title, earning promotion to Serie A for the 2007–08 season, Buffon signed
3696-475: The 2010 World Cup , and he was replaced by his new deputy, Marco Storari . Juventus were knocked out of the Europa League group stage, the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals and finished the Serie A season in seventh place, failing to qualify for Europe, the first time since the 1990–91 season . During the 2011–12 season under new manager and former club midfielder Antonio Conte , Juventus were once again
3808-510: The 2013–14 season by defending their Supercoppa Italiana title, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Juventus defeated Lazio 4–0, with Buffon keeping a clean sheet in the competition for the first time; Buffon was praised for making several saves. On 24 November, Buffon made his 500th appearance in Serie A, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 away win against Livorno . On 6 December, Buffon recorded his seventh consecutive clean sheet, and his ninth of
3920-474: The 2015 Champions League final as the Turin club were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona at Berlin 's Olympiastadion . Buffon made the most saves throughout the tournament (39), and kept the most clean sheets (6), along with Danijel Subašić , Manuel Neuer and Marc-André ter Stegen . He was named to the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Team of the Season for his performances throughout the tournament. On 15 July 2015, Buffon
4032-419: The Champions League group stage. In the return group fixture against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 3 November, he made his 100th Champions League appearance, which ended in a 1–1 draw. On 21 November, he made his 552nd appearance for Juventus in a 1–0 home win over Milan, equalling Scirea as the club's second-highest appearance holder in all competitions, behind only Alessandro Del Piero. The following week, Buffon
4144-399: The Coppa Italia quarter-finals. Buffon produced 94 saves in 34 league appearances and was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the seventh time in his career. Buffon was also nominated for the 2008 Ballon d'Or for the sixth consecutive time in his career since 2003, and the FIFA World Player of the Year Award . During this season, Buffon began to suffer problems with his back, caused by
4256-471: The Parma youth system in 1991, at the age of 13, as the team's coach Ermes Fulgoni was struck by his physical qualities. 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 . His idol Thomas N'Kono inspired this change of position due to his notable goalkeeping performances for Cameroon at
4368-422: The Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award for the fifth time in his career. Juventus were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League , against eventual winners Liverpool , and in 2005, Buffon was nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year for the fourth consecutive year. In August 2005, Buffon collided with Milan midfielder Kaká during the annual preseason Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi match, suffering
4480-487: The Serie A1 , his father Adriano also practiced shot put, and his elder sisters Guendalina and Veronica Buffon [ it ] were professional volleyball players. He is a relative of Lorenzo Buffon , goalkeeper for Milan, Genoa, Inter, Fiorentina and the Italy national team: Lorenzo is Gianluigi's second cousin twice removed. In June 2017, he received honorary citizenship from the city of Latisana. "I've never seen
4592-471: The 1998 edition. He was the starting goalkeeper of the squad that won the 2006 tournament, being awarded the Golden Glove as the competition's best goalkeeper. He also represented Italy at four European Championships , at the 1996 Olympics , and at two FIFA Confederations Cups , winning a bronze medal in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Following his performances during the 2006 World Cup, where he kept
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4704-404: The 2006 World Cup victory. Playing behind a strong three-man defensive line under Conte's newly established 3–5–2 formation , made up predominantly of Giorgio Chiellini , Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli , Buffon obtained a league record of 21 clean sheets in Serie A, and only conceded a personal best of 16 goals from 35 appearances (an average of 0.46 goals per game), as Juventus finished
4816-601: The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the best version of the tournament ever played. The competition was the first national team tournament to employ goal-line technology , which was also used at the 2014 World Cup. Six stadiums were used, each in a different city. The draw for the competition was held at the Palácio das Convenções in the Anhembi Convention Center in São Paulo , Brazil on 1 December 2012. Teams from
4928-415: The 2014 IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award, behind Manuel Neuer, Thibaut Courtois and Keylor Navas ; this was the 15th consecutive year in which he had been named as one of the world's top five goalkeepers. On 15 February 2015, Buffon surpassed Gaetano Scirea as the Juventus player with the second most minutes played in Serie A, behind only Giampiero Boniperti . On 2 March 2015, Buffon equalled Scirea as
5040-504: The Champions League. 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 goalkeeper Dida . He was once again elected as the Goalkeeper for the UEFA Team of the Year and as the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper. Buffon also received his first ever FIFA World Player of
5152-553: The Cup was produced by Adidas , a development of the Adidas Tango 12 . It was unveiled during the draw for the competition. The ball is named "Cafusa" ( pronounced [kɐˈfuzɐ] ) – a syllabic abbreviation of the words " ca rnaval " ( Carnival ), " fu tebol " ( football ) and " sa mba ", aside of being homophonous with cafuza , the Portuguese name for a zamba i.e.
5264-570: The FIFA Confederations Cup". FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke subsequently admitted that FIFA had held a "crisis meeting" involving the Brazilian government regarding the completion of the tournament, but sought to distance FIFA from the wider social unrest, stating that "the most important thing for us is to detach the World Cup or the Confederations Cup from these problems. We are not
5376-592: The FIFA deadline of 3 June 2013. The squads were announced by FIFA on 7 June 2013. The competition's dates were confirmed by FIFA on 27 July 2011 in the build-up to the draw for the 2014 World Cup's preliminary qualification rounds. As the competition partially overlapped with the fourth round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification in Asian zone , the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) asked FIFA to consider
5488-416: The Italy national team, with former Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri called in as his replacement. Juve opened the 2014–15 season with a 1–0 away win over Chievo, with Buffon keeping a clean sheet and saving from Maxi López in the second half. On 27 September, Buffon saved a Germán Denis penalty in a 3–0 away win over Atalanta, helping Juventus to keep their fifth consecutive clean sheet in Serie A. He
5600-572: The Juventus player with the third most appearances in Serie A, behind only Boniperti and Del Piero. He later surpassed Scirea on 14 March, making his 378th Serie A appearance with Juventus in a 1–0 away win over Palermo . After keeping a clean sheet in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Monaco on 22 April, Buffon overtook Dida as the goalkeeper with the fourth-highest number of clean sheets in Champions League history, with 36. On 26 April, Buffon made his 528th appearance for Juventus in all competitions, equalling Giuseppe Furino as
5712-417: The Serie A season in a disappointing seventh place, only qualifying for the 2010–11 Europa League through the playoff round. Buffon was often sidelined that season, due to several recurring injuries. In 2010, Buffon was voted goalkeeper of the decade by IFFHS. Buffon did not play for the first half of the 2010–11 season as he was recovering from surgery after an injury he endured to his sciatic nerve during
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#17328595073165824-409: The Serie A season, and conceded 19 goals. Juventus were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League , although they later managed to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League , losing to Benfica . Buffon was chosen as part of the 2013–14 Europa League Team of the Season for his performances throughout the tournament. On 1 July 2014, Buffon signed a contract extension that would keep him at
5936-621: The Year Award, as well as the Bravo Award , the trophy given to the best player under 23 years of age in Europe. He also placed fifth in the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper rankings, and received his first ever Ballon d'Or nomination. 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
6048-476: The Year award for the eighth time in his career. Juventus retained their Serie A title that season, and finished the league with the best defence, as Buffon conceded just 19 goals. The league victory allowed Buffon to lift the Serie A trophy as captain for the first time. Juventus were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia to winners Lazio, and in the quarter-finals of the Champions League to winners Bayern Munich . On 18 August 2013, Juventus began
6160-509: 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. He was also named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper for the first time in his career. Buffon was also nominated for the 2003 Ballon d'Or that season, finishing in ninth place. Buffon began the 2003–04 season with Juventus by defeating Milan on penalties in the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana , with Buffon saving
6272-472: The Year nomination in 2004 , finishing in 21st place alongside countryman Paolo Maldini . In the summer of 2004, Marcello Lippi left Juventus to take charge of the Italy national team and was replaced by Fabio Capello . In his fourth season with the club, Buffon made 38 appearances in Serie A and 48 in all competitions that season as he won his third Serie A title in four years with Juventus, winning once again
6384-471: The answer to all problems and we are definitely not the reason for such a crisis. We are just part of what Brazil is doing for the next 20 years....the light FIFA is being shown in here, is the wrong one". He also reaffirmed that the protests had not caused FIFA to consider moving the 2014 World Cup away from Brazil. Just before the final in Rio de Janeiro, a large crowd marched towards the stadium both in support of
6496-454: The best goalkeeper of the 21st century, of the past 25 years and of the decade by the same organisation . Buffon was born in Carrara , Tuscany , although he is of Friulian origin, from Latisana . He was born into a sporting family: his mother Maria Stella Masocco was three times Italian champion in shot put and discus throw , his uncle Dante Masocco was a basketball player who played in
6608-432: The bottom two teams in each group were eliminated from the tournament. The ranking of the teams in each group was determined as follows: If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows: In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time would be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by
6720-459: The calendar year. He obtained his first Champions League clean sheet, against Nordsjælland , on 7 November, a match which Juve won 4–0 at Juventus Stadium . He also kept clean sheets as Juventus beat defending champions Chelsea 3–0 at home, and Shakhtar Donetsk 1–0 away from home, on Buffon's 100th club appearance in European competitions. Juventus topped their group undefeated, and advanced to
6832-485: The club until 2017. "He is a benchmark for me, and for every keeper of my generation. When I started playing, I had a dream – I dreamed of becoming like him, and every time I play against him it's a real pleasure." —former captain and goalkeeper for both Real Madrid and Spain Iker Casillas on Buffon and his 500th appearance with Juventus. In the summer of 2014, manager Antonio Conte left Juventus to take charge of
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#17328595073166944-416: The club's fifth all-time appearance holder. Buffon lifted the Serie A title for the third consecutive year, captaining the team to their 30th league title. During the 2013–14 season , Juventus managed an Italian-record of 102 points, including a Serie A record of 33 victories; Juventus finished with the best defence of the league, yet again. Buffon managed 89 saves and 18 clean sheets in 33 appearances during
7056-403: The competition. Juventus were eliminated in the second group stage of the UEFA Champions League . Despite coming under criticism in the media for some errors early on in the season, in particular against Chievo, Buffon was awarded his third Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award at the end of the season for his performances throughout the year, and he was nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year for
7168-460: 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. In his fourth season with the club, Buffon won his first European trophy, the UEFA Cup , keeping
7280-531: The end of the 2017–18 season. Throughout the 2015–16 season, Buffon had managed to equal his personal best of 21 clean sheets in a single league season, and was voted Juventus' Player of the Season. Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( Italian : Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana ) is the most senior Italian order of merit . It
7392-404: The end of the season (as Buffon was seen despondent whilst the team drew with both Lecce and Atalanta ), there were further rumours that Buffon was displeased and wanted to part ways with the club. He admitted he was disappointed with the current results, but assured that he had no intention of leaving. After a discussion with management, he said he was reassured about the club's future and signed
7504-405: The final remaining Champions League spot . Parma lost 3–1 to Inter in the European playoff match. 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; but the team suffered a third-round elimination in the UEFA Cup . Parma also finished
7616-426: The final, winning 4–3 on aggregate. 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
7728-435: The first team during the summer of 1994, Buffon was promoted to the senior squad in 1995, and at the age of 17 years, 295 days, 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. Buffon made notable saves against Ballon d'Or winners Roberto Baggio and George Weah , as well as Marco Simone , throughout
7840-491: The first time a rank higher than Knight. The minimum age requirement is normally 35. The Knight Grand Cross with Collar is awarded only to heads of state . 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup , which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup . The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in
7952-489: The first time in his career, losing out to Rüştü Reçber . At the beginning of the 2002–03 season , Juventus won the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana against Parma. 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 at Old Trafford following extra time. Buffon managed to save two penalties, but Milan won
8064-402: The following league match against Atalanta on 6 March, he extended his unbeaten record by keeping another clean sheet in a 2–0 away win, also equalling Dino Zoff's and Sebastiano Rossi's league record of nine consecutive clean sheets in Serie A. His unbeaten streak of 836 minutes without conceding a goal was the third best unbeaten streak in Serie A history, behind only Zoff and Rossi, and was also
8176-438: The knockout stages for first time since 2008–09 . Buffon kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 Coppa Italia win against Cagliari on 12 December, allowing Juventus to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament . On 16 December, Juventus defeated Atalanta 3–0, allowing Juventus to once again claim the unofficial title of "Serie A Winter Champions", with the best defence in Serie A, having only conceded ten goals in 17 matches. This
8288-461: The last time he had conceded a goal was when he was beaten by Antonio Cassano , in the 64th minute of a 2–1 away win over Sampdoria, on 10 January 2016. Buffon surpassed Rossi's record of 929 minutes by 45 minutes in a 4–1 away win over inter-city rivals Torino on 20 March, also surpassing Gianpiero Combi 's Italian league record unbeaten streak of 934 minutes in the process; he set the new all-time record at 974 consecutive minutes without conceding
8400-528: The latter year. Buffon signed with French club Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 40 in 2018, where he was used in a rotational role with Alphonse Areola ; he won the Trophée des Champions and Ligue 1 title in his only season with the team, before returning to Juventus the following year. During the 2019–20 season, Buffon served primarily as a back-up to Wojciech Szczęsny , but still managed to break Paolo Maldini 's record of 647 appearances in Serie A , as he won
8512-525: The liberty of the citizens) encircling the head of Italia turrita on the reverse. The six degrees with corresponding ribbons are as follows (with numbers to 2 June 2020): The order is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic , as head of the orders of knighthood, on the recommendation of the President of the Council of Ministers . Except in exceptional circumstances, no one can be awarded for
8624-406: The longest period a goalkeeper has gone without conceding a goal since three points for a win were introduced in Serie A during the 1994–95 season. He overtook Zoff in a 1–0 home victory over Sassuolo on 11 March, achieving a league record 10 consecutive clean sheets, and extended his unbeaten streak to 926 minutes without conceding a goal, only three minutes behind the all-time record holder, Rossi;
8736-443: The match 4–1. On 20 September, in Juventus' first Champions League match of the season against defending champions Chelsea, Buffon made his 400th appearance for Juventus; the match ended in a 2–2 away draw. Buffon obtained his first clean sheet of the season in a 2–0 home win against Chievo on 22 September. Buffon was nominated for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or and the 2012 UEFA Team of the Year following his performances throughout
8848-465: The match. 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. In
8960-422: The most capped player in the history of the Italy national team , and the fourth-most capped European international player ever. Buffon also holds the record for most appearances for Italy as captain after he inherited the armband in 2010. Buffon was called up for a record of five FIFA World Cup tournaments (in 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 and 2014 ) after making his debut in 1997; he was an unused substitute in
9072-530: The new Juventus captain , following Alessandro Del Piero 's departure as Juventus defeated Napoli 4–2 in extra time in the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana in Beijing. Buffon suffered a minor injury and missed the first Serie A match of the 2012–13 season against Parma on 25 August 2012. He returned to the starting line-up for the next match against Udinese in Udine on 2 September, wearing the captain's armband; Juventus won
9184-413: The ninth time in his career, and was elected to the 2014 Serie A Team of the Year . On 22 December, Juventus were defeated by Napoli in the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana 8–7 on penalties, following a 2–2 draw after extra time. Although Buffon made several saves during the match, and managed to stop three penalties in the shoot-out, he was unable to prevent his team from losing the title. Buffon placed fourth in
9296-731: The order are OMRI . The order effectively replaced national orders such as the Civil Order of Savoy (1831), the Order of the Crown of Italy (1868), the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1572) and the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (1362). Investiture takes place twice a year – on 2 June, the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic , and on 27 December, the anniversary of
9408-561: The pitch and directed at both goals. It was used in the match for third place between Uruguay and Italy to determine the scorer of Italy's first goal. Prior to the opening ceremony at the Brasilia National Stadium on 15 June, demonstrations took place outside the stadium, organised by people unhappy with the amount of public money spent to enable the hosting of the FIFA World Cup. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to quell
9520-494: The player with third-most appearances for the club; he overtook Furino on 29 April. On 2 May, Buffon kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 away win over Sampdoria , as Juventus won their fourth consecutive Serie A title. On 13 May, Buffon produced a man of the match performance as Juventus drew 1–1 with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final, only being beaten by
9632-552: The promulgation of the Italian Constitution . However, those awards on Presidential motu proprio , related to termination of service or granted to foreigners, may be made at any time. The badge, modified in 2001, bears the inscription Al Merito della Repubblica encircling the national coat of arms on the obverse and the Latin Patriæ Unitati (for the union of the country) and Civium Libertati (for
9744-472: The protests. The demonstrations were part of wider unrest and rioting in Brazilian cities initially sparked by increased ticket prices on public transport, but growing to express deeper public disenchantment with the financial management of the country by its government, specially due to the high inflation. The Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff as well as FIFA president Sepp Blatter were heavily booed as they were announced to conduct their speeches at
9856-496: The record for the most appearances in Serie A . Buffon made his Serie A debut at Parma in 1995, helping Parma to win the Coppa Italia , the UEFA Cup and the Supercoppa Italiana in 1999. After joining Juventus in 2001, for the world record fee for a goalkeeper of €52.9 million at the time, Buffon won Serie A titles in both of his first two seasons at the club. In his first spell at Juventus enduring 17 years, he won
9968-433: The same confederation were not drawn into the same group, therefore, one team each from UEFA and from CONMEBOL was drawn in each group. Brazil and Spain had automatically been assigned as A1 and B1 respectively, therefore, Italy and Uruguay were assigned respectively to Group A and Group B. Ten trios of officials were announced by FIFA on 13 May 2013. Teams had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by
10080-560: The season in Juventus' victory over rivals Inter in the Derby d'Italia ; after the match, he was described as "the best goalkeeper in Italy and probably the World". Juventus finished the season unbeaten, winning their first Scudetto since the Calciopoli scandal, and qualifying for the 2012–13 Champions League after a two-year absence. Buffon described it as the second highest point of his career, after
10192-515: 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. On 3 July 2001, Buffon was sold to Juventus for a world-record goalkeeper's transfer fee of 100 billion lire , (€51,645,690) (Or €51.956 million including other minor costs that could be capitalised) with part of
10304-529: The season with the best defence in Italy, and became the European team with the second-best defence that season, after Porto . Buffon made 81 saves in Serie A that season and his 82% save percentage was the highest of any goalkeeper playing in one of Europe's five major leagues . Buffon was included in the 2011–12 Serie A Team of the Year for his performances. Juventus also made the Coppa Italia final that season, although Buffon did not play in this competition. On 11 August 2012, Buffon lifted his first trophy as
10416-467: The season; as a result, he bettered his previous personal record of 568 minutes without conceding a goal in Serie A, going 640 minutes without being beaten in the Italian League. Buffon was finally beaten by Maximiliano Moralez in a 4–1 win over Atalanta, after going 745 minutes without conceding a goal in Serie A, and equalling Luca Marchegiani 's sixth-best unbeaten streak in Serie A history . Buffon
10528-456: 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 Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães on 24 September 1996, aged 18 years, 240 days. In the 1997–98 season , Parma finished in fifth place in Serie A and reached the Coppa Italia semi-finals. Buffon also made his debut in the UEFA Champions League that season: his first appearance came in
10640-480: The shootout 3–2. Buffon drew praise for making a reaction save from a close-range header by Filippo Inzaghi in the final during regulation time, which he later described as the most difficult save of his career in his 2008 autobiography, and as one of the most beautiful in 2014. Buffon saved a Luís Figo penalty in the second leg of the semi-finals, against defending champions Real Madrid , in Turin . Juventus progressed to
10752-568: The team's friendlies the following year, he officially confirmed his international retirement in May 2018. Buffon was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. He is the only goalkeeper to win the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award, which he achieved after reaching the 2003 Champions League final ; he also won UEFA's award for best goalkeeper that year, and
10864-401: The tournament's opening. Further protests took place the following day prior to the game between Mexico and Italy in Rio de Janeiro. Blatter said that the protesters "should not use football to make their demands heard", and that the public expenditure on staging the tournaments was on "items that are for the future, not just for the World Cup". As the protests continued to intensify during
10976-543: The tournament, along with hosts Brazil and UEFA Euro 2012 runners-up Italy , who qualified because the Euro 2012 winners, Spain , had also won the most recent FIFA World Cup in 2010 thus securing a spot in the tournament. Host nation, Brazil successfully defended their title with a 3–0 win over Spain in the final. It was their fourth Confederations Cup title and third in a row, after previous wins in 1997 , 2005 and 2009 . According to then FIFA president Sepp Blatter ,
11088-426: The transfer fees paid via the transfer of Jonathan Bachini to Parma for an undisclosed fee (which saw Juventus make a capital gain of €10M, i.e. he was sold for equal to or more than €10M). Buffon transferred from Parma to Juventus on 3 July 2001 for €52.9 million, along with former Parma teammate Lilian Thuram , and was handed the number 1 shirt as the starting goalkeeper, replacing Edwin van der Sar , who
11200-613: The use of goal-line technology in July 2012, and it was first used in a FIFA competition for the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup in December 2012. Having trialled systems from both Hawk-Eye and GoalRef during the Club World Cup, FIFA announced on 2 April 2013 that the German technology GoalControl had been chosen as the official goal-line technology for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Its system, GoalControl-4D, uses 14 high-speed cameras located around
11312-499: The week, with a reported participation of over a million people taking to the streets in a hundred different towns and cities, reports in the Brazilian media suggested that FIFA was having to negotiate with the teams to keep them in Brazil and that the tournament could be abandoned. However, a FIFA statement on 21 June insisted that "to date, neither FIFA nor the local organising committee have ever discussed any such possibility of cancelling
11424-567: Was additionally voted into the UEFA Team of the Year on five occasions. Buffon was the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2006 , and was elected part of the FIFPro World11 three times. He was the first ever goalkeeper to win the Golden Foot Award, and was also named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper a record five times, alongside Iker Casillas and Manuel Neuer . He would go on to be named
11536-420: Was also Buffon's 20th clean sheet in 2012, the most of any other goalkeeper in Europe. Buffon was voted second in the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award, behind Iker Casillas , and was named as goalkeeper of the century by the same organisation. On 23 January 2013, Buffon signed a contract extension with Juventus, keeping him at the club until 2015. On 27 January 2013, Buffon was awarded the Serie A Goalkeeper of
11648-472: Was announced that he placed fourth in the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award . Buffon was named the first Juventus Player of the Month of the 2015–16 season for September by fans after a series of consistent performances. On 21 October 2015, Buffon overtook Alessandro Del Piero's record for most minutes played with Juventus in the 73rd minute of Juventus' 0–0 home draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach , in
11760-576: Was awarded the Golden Boot award on tie-breakers. Both he and Fred scored five goals and made one assist, but Torres was given the award due to having played fewer minutes over the tournament. In total, 68 goals were scored by 38 different players, with three of them credited as own goals. Source: FIFA Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. The official match ball for
11872-405: Was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic , Luigi Einaudi . The highest-ranking honour of the Republic, it is awarded for "merit acquired by the nation" in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers. The post-nominal letters for
11984-619: Was eventually beaten by a Francesco Totti penalty in a 3–2 home win over Roma on 5 October after going unbeaten for 616 minutes that season. Including the previous season, Buffon managed to go 801 minutes in total without conceding a league goal; at the time, this record had only been bettered by Dino Zoff and Sebastiano Rossi . On 29 October, Buffon made his 500th appearance for Juventus in a 1–0 away loss to Genoa. On 1 November 2014, Buffon made his 400th League appearance with Juventus (37 of which were in Serie B, and 363 of which were in Serie A), keeping
12096-589: Was named to the ten-man shortlist for the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award . His save on Dani Alves in the Champions League final was also nominated for the UEFA Save of the Season Award, finishing on a tied third-place in the voting. On 8 August, Buffon kept a clean sheet as Juventus defeated Lazio 2–0 in the 2015 Supercoppa Italiana to win the title for a record seventh time. This was also Buffon's record sixth title, and his fifth with Juventus. On 12 August, it
12208-465: Was nominated for the 2013 FIFPro XI and the 2013 Ballon d'Or for his performances throughout the calendar year. In 2013, Buffon was once again named the second best goalkeeper in the world by IFFHS, behind Manuel Neuer . His performances earned him the Juventus player of the month award for December 2013. On 16 March 2014, Buffon saved the 20th penalty of his career in a 1–0 away win over Genoa , equalising Dino Zoff 's 476 appearances for Juventus as
12320-520: Was nominated for the 2015 UEFA Team of the Year, also making his 100th appearance for Juventus in European Club Competitions in a 1–0 home win over Manchester City on 25 November. The following day, Buffon was included in the player shortlist for the 2015 FIFPro World XI, despite having previously been omitted from the list of candidates for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or. On 4 December 2015, Buffon made his 400th Serie A appearance with Juventus in
12432-493: Was praised for his leadership, and his role in motivating the team following their defeat against Sassuolo on 28 October 2015, as Juventus subsequently went on a 25-match unbeaten streak to come back from 12th place after ten matches to win the title. For his key performances in helping Juventus capture the league title, Buffon was named the Juventus Player of the Month for April 2016. On 11 May, Buffon extended his contract until
12544-495: Was sold to Fulham . 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 . This transfer fee made Buffon Juventus' most expensive purchase ever ,
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