Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon is an Italian professional goalkeeper who plays for and captains both Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. Buffon is the most capped player in the history of the Italian national team with 157 caps. He is widely considered by players, pundits and managers to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and, by some, to be the greatest ever. Buffon is known for his "outstanding shot-stopping" and for being "a vocal organizer of the defence and a key dressing room personality." He is currently the most expensive goalkeeper in history, following his €53 million transfer from Parma to Juventus in 2001. Buffon holds the record for the most clean sheets in Serie A, and with the Italian national team; he also holds the record for the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history: over twelve league matches, he went unbeaten for 974 consecutive minutes during the 2015–16 season, as well as having achieved the most consecutive clean sheets (ten) in Serie A in that same season.<\/P>
Buffon has won numerous, prestigious individual and team awards. He was named by Pele in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. He has been named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record ten times. Buffon was the winner of the 2006 Yashin Award following Italy's World Cup victory, in which he was also elected to be part of the Team of the Tournament; an honour which he also received after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2008 European Championships, and the final of the 2012 European Championships. Buffon is the only goalkeeper to have won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year Award, which he won in 2003 after reaching the Champions League final; he also won the award for best Goalkeeper that year, and was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2006. In 2006, Buffon was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or and was elected to be part of the FIFPro World XI, an honour which he also achieved in 2007. After reaching the 2015 Champions League final, he was named to the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season, and placed fourth in the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.<\/P>
Buffon has been named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper four times (second only to Iker Casillas, with five awards) and was also named the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, of the past 25 years, and of the decade, by the same organisation. With the Italian national side, Buffon has been called up for an international record of five World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014), featuring in four of them as Italy's starting goalkeeper (he was an unused substitute in 1998). He has also represented Italy at three European Championships, at the 1996 Olympics, and at two FIFA Confederations Cups, winning a bronze medal in the 2013 edition of the tournament. At club level, Buffon's professional career began with Parma in 1995, where he was soon promoted to the role of starting goalkeeper; during his time with the club, he won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup and the Supercoppa Italiana. Since joining Juventus, Buffon has also won seven Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles, and five Supercoppa Italiana titles.<\/P>
Buffon is renowned for his consistent performances throughout his career, and has received praise from managers, players and present and former goalkeeping colleagues, for his concentration and longevity. He is often considered to be the archetype of the modern goalkeeper. He has been described as "an agile, strong, and commanding shot-stopper, who is hugely experienced at the highest level" and "an accomplished and well respected keeper" with "an excellent positional sense, courage, charisma, power, and class." Buffon has been praised for his athleticism, his "outstanding shot-stopping", his acrobatic dives, and his quick reflexes, despite being such a large, imposing keeper; he is also an effective penalty-stopper.<\/P>
In his prime, Buffon was recognised for being quick to rush off his line and at getting to ground, and for his handling, aerial ability, and command of the area, as well as his reliable distribution, footwork, and ball skills, which occasionally led him to take on defenders in his youth. Despite the loss of some of his power, explosiveness, speed and mobility in recent years, he has continued to excel at the highest level due to the consistency of his performances, as well as his positioning, decision-making, and his ability to read the game and organise his defence. In addition to his goalkeeping abilities, Buffon has been singled-out for his leadership, and has been described as "a key dressing room personality."<\/P>
On 17 March 2018, despite Buffon's initial decision to retire, he was called up for Italy's March 2018 friendlies against Argentina and England by caretaker manager Luigi Di Biagio. When asked why he had accepted a call-up after initially communicating his international retirement, he responded: "I'm a consistent person, who feels a great sense of responsibility, that alone is enough to explain my presence. In addition, I've always been an unifying element in the national set-up, and I'd like my presence to be seen in this way. The young lads will grow, some already have, and from tomorrow they'll get their chance. Astori? Davide [a former international teammate of Buffon's who had recently died from a heart attack] is another reason why I'm here and why I wanted to attend and respond to this call." On 23 March, Buffon started in goal for Italy for the 176th time, in the friendly against Argentina, and also surpassed Cannavaro to become the record appearance holder as Italy captain, with 80; Italy were defeated by Argentina 2–0. On 17 May 2018, Buffon announced in a press conference with Juventus that he would not return to the national team for its May and June friendlies.<\/P>","F849A024F3C8AF1B2C4A709B4C92BB0F":"2021-7-1","56D1193A280251FE":"Gianluigi Buffon","80071F80C4550E7F":"192cm","AA81248D0821D00F0BA9BCB533E2881F":"Juventus","1CD1A53514962B6A":"1","CDD05FD46E6F78B9FEABD05EFFA7F762":"
CLUB
<\/U><\/STRONG>
Parma<\/STRONG>
UEFA Cup: 1998–99
Coppa Italia: 1998–99; Runner-up: 2000–01
Supercoppa Italiana: 1999
Juventus
<\/STRONG>Serie A: 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016-17, 2017-18
Serie B: 2006–07
Coppa Italia: 2014–15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18
Supercoppa Italiana: 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2015
UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2002–03, 2014–15
Paris Saint-Germain<\/STRONG>
Trophee des Champions: 2018
INTERNATIONAL
<\/U>
Italy<\/STRONG>
FIFA World Cup: 2006
UEFA European Football Championship Runner-up: 2012
FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze: 2013
UEFA Under-21 European Championship: 1996
Mediterranean Games: 1997
INDIVIDUAL<\/U><\/STRONG>
Bravo Award:
<\/STRONG>1999
Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award:<\/STRONG>
1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2002–03, 2016–1
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2002–03
UEFA Team of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2003, 2004, 2006, 2016, 2017
ESM Team of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2002–03, 2016–17
Best European Goalkeeper:<\/STRONG>
2003, 2016, 2017
IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper:
<\/STRONG>2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2017
FIFA 100
FIFA World Cup Yashin Award:<\/STRONG>
2006
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team:
<\/STRONG>2006
Ballon d'Or:<\/STRONG>
2003 (9th place), 2006 (2nd place), 2016 (9th place), 2017 (4th place)
FIFA World Player of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2006 (8th place), 2007 (10th place)
Serie A "Fan" Award:<\/STRONG>
2006, 2007
FIFA FIFPro World XI:<\/STRONG>
2006, 2007, 2017
FIFA FIFPro World XI 2nd team:
<\/STRONG>2016
FIFA FIFPro World XI 3rd team:<\/STRONG>
2013, 2015
FIFA FIFPro World XI 4th team:
<\/STRONG>2014
UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament:<\/STRONG>
2008, 2012
Sports Illustrated Team of the Decade:<\/STRONG>
2009
ESPN World Team of the Decade:
<\/STRONG>2009
IFFHS Best Goalkeeper of the Decade:<\/STRONG>
2000–2010
IFFHS Best goalkeeper of the past 25 years:
<\/STRONG>1987–2012
IFFHS Best goalkeeper of the 21st Century
Serie A Team of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Pallone Azzurro:<\/STRONG>
2013, 2016
UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2013–14
Premio Nereo Rocco:<\/STRONG>
2014
UEFA Champions League Team of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2014–15, 2016–17
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award:<\/STRONG>
2015 (4th place), 2016 (6th place), 2017 (3rd place)
UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year substitute (published 2015)
France Football World XI:<\/STRONG>
2015
Gianni Brera Award for Sportsman of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2015
Juventus MVP of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2015–16
UEFA Euro All-time XI (published 2016)
<\/STRONG>
Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea":<\/STRONG>
2016
Golden Foot:<\/STRONG>
2016
Serie A Footballer of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2016–17
The Best FIFA Goalkeeper:<\/STRONG>
2017
The Best FIFA Men's Player:<\/STRONG>
2017 (4th place)
IFFHS Men's World Team:<\/STRONG>
2017
Gazzetta Sports Awards Man of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2017
Juventus Greatest XI of All Time:
<\/STRONG>2017<\/P>","F14A25307A7B90F34DF7D46459F247E0":"1978-1-28","519F480A5D95AABEE231AFCBBAB20A94":"","A3B3C821F4815DD2":"840","37FE64B882E92ECB":"Gianluigi Buffon","584B722087373EED7A432DDE0763CE35":"3","43E2EE6075CF14CE3F1421B506383C07":"Italy","05B90AE4F21571952008D48326AE77E3":"1","229187823D238BA5":"192","165A9E64AAEECF036C1B6B6A72794204F7BF560594F29F16":"1","165A9E64AAEECF0376C325C4F36A5C95":"0","D91FA56861637784":"Parma Calcio 1913","9B962DAE9CDB1287":"92kg","D91AFD3F8E13D94664CE2C04A1143112":"Juventus,Paris Saint-Germain,Parma Calcio 1913,Parma U19","e_index":3};