Gianluigi Buffon is the man. His status as a legend on the pitch can never be in question, at the age of 39 he picked up the award for Best Goalkeeper at FIFA’s The Best awards gala, as voted for by his peers. The Superman of football finally calls it a career after 22 years of service.

“ I love it when they celebrate your funeral and then you show them that you’re still alive”, says the 39 years old goalkeeper after having climbed the mountains all around the world. He starred for Italian clubs Parma F.C and Juventus F.C before leading Italy to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Championship. In his long 22 years career, he has 22 club trophies, 1 World Cup, 1 UEFA Europa cup and also rewarded as the Best Goalkeeper in the world.

Early Life

Gianluigi Buffon was born on January 28, 1978, in Carrara, Italy. His father was a weightlifter and his mother was a discus thrower- Buffon displayed his superior athletic genes in soccer games. Originally a midfielder, he switched to goalkeeper at the age of 11 and joined the youth system of Parma F.C at 13.

Buffon (rear) during his debut in Serie B against Rimini

Juventus and World recognition


Buffon made his senior debut for Parma in November 1995 and was part of the junior team that won the UEFA U-21 Championship the following spring. He established himself as his club’s regular starter in 1997, with his superb work guarding the net helping Parma claim the UEFA Cup, Italian Cup and Italian Supercup in 1999. 
He made a strong impression in his debut for the senior national team during a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in October 1997. He seized the starting job for Italy before the 2000 European Championship but suffered a broken hand and missed the tournament. 

Juventus and World recognition

Buffon transferred to Juventus F.C in the summer of 2001 for approximately $45 million, a record fee for a goalkeeper. He proved worth the hefty sum by leading Juventus to four consecutive league titles and a pair of Italian Supercups, earning UEFA  Club Footballer of the Year honours in 2003. He also broke through on the international level with his strong play at 2002 FIFA World Cup.
In May 2006, Buffon was among several players charged with betting on matches in the infamous Calciopoli scandal. He was cleared of wrongdoing and elected to stay with the club even after Juventus was stripped of its two most recent leagues titles and relegated to the second division as punishment. Despite the negativity surrounding Italian soccer, Buffon led an inspired squad to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Championship, conceding just two goals to earn the Yashin Award as the tournament’s top goalkeeper. At the end of the year, he finished the second in the Ballon d’Or Award voting.
Buffon missed nearly all of the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a back injury, but he was selected to the Team of the Tournament at both the 2008 and 2012 European Championships. Meanwhile, Juventus returned to the top of the pack of the Italian first division with back to back titles in 2012 and 2013.
Buffon showed he was impenetrable as ever with no goals allowed in the 2013 Italian Supercup final victory. In October 2016, Buffon became the first goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Foot Award.

Retirement

On 12 June 2017, Buffon announced that 2017-2018 would likely to be his last with the club. On 13 November 2017, Buffon finally confirmed that he was going to end his International Career. He played his 175th and final game for Italy as they were beaten 1-0 by Sweden failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Championship. A teary-eyed Superman shows his dedication to his country as he says,” I am not sorry for myself but all of Italian Football”.