Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian goalkeeper who currently represents Juventus in Serie A. He is generally regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of all time, and some also consider him to be the best. He is one of only a few players who has appeared in over 1,000 games in his professional career. Buffon's pro career started in 1995 with Parma, when he made his Serie A debut. He quickly rose through the ranks to become one of Italy's most talented young goalkeepers, helping Parma win the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the Supercoppa Italiana in 1999.
Buffon joined Juventus in 2001 in the then-record fee of €52 million for even a goalkeeper, and captured Serie A titles in each of his first two seasons there, establishing himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He won a record of nine Serie A trophies, four Coppa Italia, and five Supercoppa Italiana during his first tenure at Juventus. Buffon had represented Italy throughout all levels of youth football, from under-16 to under-23, and also at the 1996 Olympic Games. He got to the final of its 1993 UEFA European Under-16 Championship with the Italy under-16 team, saving two penalties and converting one himself in a quarter-final knockout victory over Spain, and then saving three penalties in a semi-final shootout victory over Czechoslovakia, but missing one himself. Buffon is by far the most capped player in the history of the Italy national squad, the seventh most capped player of all time (jointly with Hossam Hassan), as well as the second-most capped European international player ever, with 176 appearances. Buffon also holds the record with most appearances as captain for Italy since inheriting the armband in 2010.
Here we take a look at some of his unknown facts:
1) Buffon holds the record for the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history, achieved over twelve league matches
2) Buffon also holds the record for most clean sheets and most appearances in both Serie A and with the Italian national team.
3) 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.
4) He was named by Pele in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004
5) Buffon maintained a clean sheet for 453 minutes in the 2006 FIFA World Cup
6) Buffon began his football career as a midfielder rather than a goalkeeper. Later, he tried the spot in front of the post because he was exhausted from running around with the ball.
7) Buffon has openly said to win the UEFA Champions League is one of his biggest dreams and it is yet to come true.
