Profile of a legend: Gianluigi Buffon

Buffon planted the seeds of his success with Parma. But it was at Juventus where the plan really fell into place.

In 17 years with the Old Lady, the stopper has won 11 Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia trophies and has been named in the UEFA Team of the Year on no fewer than five occasions. Yet it’s not those trophy-laden years that personify Buffon’s relationship with Juve, but the 2006-2007 Serie B campaign.

Many top names departed from Stadio delle Alpi following Juventus’ demotion for their part in the Calciopoli scandal. But Buffon remained. He helped lead the club back to Serie A after a season, where they’ve dominated ever since. His commitment, passion and honour typify his character and his near two-decade long association with club.

Only success on the European stage has eluded the 40-year-old in his time with Juventus. They came close this season but were undone in the final moments by Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu.

No doubt that will always be a minor sore point for a great like Buffon. But for what he has achieved, and in the manner he has achieved it, he will forever go down as a legend of the club and football as a whole.

Italy

For a player who trades on honour and passion – alongside his unparalleled qualities as a goalkeeper – playing for Italy was always likely to be a defining period in Buffon’s career.

Since making his debut for the Azzurri in 1997, the stopper has recorded an incredible 176 international caps. He is Italy’s record appearance holder and has been a mainstay of the team for 20 years.

For all the incredible things he achieved at Juventus, arguably the pinnacle of his career came during the 2006 World Cup. The number one kept five clean sheets in six matches as Italy advanced through the Group Stages and Knockout Rounds en-route to a final meeting with France.

After it finished all-square in normal time, Buffon made an extraordinary save to tip Zinedine Zidane’s goalbound header over the bar to force a penalty shootout. The rest, as they say, is history. Italy won 5-3 on spot-kicks to seal their first World Cup triumph since 1982.

Buffon was later named as runner-up in the FIFA Ballon d’Or at the end of the year.

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