Gianluigi Buffon

He would go on to be named 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 the Serie A1, his father Adriano also practiced shot put, and his elder sisters Guendalina and Veronica Buffon were professional volleyball players.

He is a relative of Lorenzo Buffon, goalkeeper for Milan, Genoa, Inter, Fiorentina and the Italian national team: Lorenzo is Gianluigi's second cousin twice removed.

Gianluigi Buffon (born 28 January 1978), also known as Gigi Buffon, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances and holds the record for the most appearances in the Serie A.

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.

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.

Despite offers from Bologna and Milan, Buffon began his career with the Parma youth system in 1991, at the age of 13.

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.

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 an initial call-up to train with the first team during the summer of 1994, Buffon was promoted to the senior squad in 1995, and at the age of 17 years, 299 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 the 1998 edition.

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 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.

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 was additionally voted into the UEFA Team of the Year on five occasions.

Buffon was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.

He was the starting goalkeeper of the squad that won the 2006 tournament, being awarded the Golden Glove as the competition's best goalkeeper.

Following his performances during the 2006 World Cup, where he kept 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 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.

Buffon also holds the record for most appearances for Italy as captain after he inherited the armband in 2010.

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 the latter year.

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 the team's friendlies the following year, he officially confirmed his international retirement in May 2018.

In June 2017, he received honorary citizenship from the city of Latisana.

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 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, the most capped player in the history of the Italy national team, and the third-most capped European international player ever.