At 45-years-old, Italy’s goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon has finally hung his gloves up after a hall of fame career for Parma, Juventus, PSG and the Italian national team.
Regarded as one of the greatest ‘keepers ever, Buffon made his debut aged just 17 for Parma before moving to Juventus, where he developed into one of the world’s best players and spent the majority of his career.
We’ve taken a look at the top five moments from Buffon’s 28 years of playing as a professional
UEFA Cup Win
The 1998-99 season saw Buffon’s first taste of silverware, as Parma won the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup. Buffon was part of a star-studded squad including Fabio Cannavarro, Lilian Thuram, Juan Sebastian Veron and Hernan Crespo that beat Marseille 3-0 in the UEFA Cup final, with Crespo scoring twice to secure the club’s second European trophy in four years.
Most Expensive Goalkeeper in the World
Buffon became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world in 2001 when he made the move from Parma to Juventus, as “The Old Lady” splashed out $52m for his services. Despite this transfer happening over 20 years ago, only Kepa Arrizabalaga, Alisson and Andre Onana have commanded bigger fees for ‘keepers in the sport’s history
Unbeaten Season
in 2011-12, Juventus won their first Serie A title since being relegated for match fixing in 2006, managing to go the entire season unbeaten and only losing once in all competitions. For Buffon, this was a real high point in his career as many of the old Juventus squad chose to leave the club after the club’s relegation six years previous. Buffon, Alessandro Del Piero and Giorgio Chiellini chose to stay and build the club back to its old glory and are now Juventus legends.
Final Coppa Italia match
In the 685th and final match of his Juventus career, Buffon lifted his sixth Coppa Italia trophy as they beat Atalanta 2-1 in 2021. This was a poetic end for Buffon’s incredible Juve career, as Italy’s domestic club competition was the first and last trophy of his playing career.
World Cup Win
The crowning moment of Buffon’s career was in 2006, as Italy, captained by Buffon’s old Parma teammates Cannavaro, won the FIFA World Cup after a penalty shootout victory over France in the final.
Buffon was faultless throughout the tournament and made a great save from Zinedine Zidane’s header in extra time of the final, and later on in the year Buffon took second place in the Ballon D’Or rankings.
