{"id":57950,"title":"Buffon - Numero Uno","description":"In modern football there are very few players who can genuinely claim to be the \u2018best ever\u2019 in their chosen position. Italian goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon is one such player.","content":"

AUGUST 31, 2018 \u2022 LOVE THE GAME<\/span><\/p>

In modern football there are very few players who can genuinely claim to be the \u2018best ever\u2019 in their chosen position. Italian goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon is one such player.<\/strong><\/p>

A career spanning over twenty years, more than a century of caps and a trophy cabinet containing the World Cup certainly strengthens the argument that the Italian is the best goalkeeper of all-time.<\/p>

\"hxwzzzmlpvhbnwsisbbyrnoht8uxdv3nn64u8bf4hdcgzuix.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"Buffon began his playing career at Parma, making his debut in 1995 as a seventeen-year-old. A product of the club\u2019s youth system, Gianluigi would go on to win the UEFA Cup and a Coppa Italia during his six years in the \u2018Gialloblu\u2019 first-team.<\/p>

It was whilst he was with Parma that Gigi would win the first of his 176 international caps. Italy were in a play-off against Russia to qualify for the 1998 World Cup Finals in France when the Parma \u2018keeper debuted as a substitute. The Azzurri qualified for the summer tournament and although not established yet as first-choice, Buffon made the squad and travelled to the first of his five World Cup tournaments.\"20pccjlggizc4cnxni7ealym4bc6f3ulpvnwatw82rrn8zu6.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"The Parma goalkeeper quickly established himself as one of the best stoppers in Serie A, as well as earning himself the nickname \u2018Superman\u2019. After six-years with Parma, \u2019Superman\u2019 became the world\u2019s most expensive goalkeeper when Juventus paid \u00a333 million to take him to Turin in 2001.<\/p>

Turin became home for Italy\u2019s number one for the next 17-years. Despite carrying the weight of a world record transfer fee, Juventus\u2019 new goalkeeper retained his place in the side throughout an era of unprecedented success.<\/p>

Buffon collected nine Serie A titles in his time in Turin, lifting six of those as club captain. In addition to those championship wins Gianluigi added 4 Coppa Italia winners medals as well as five Italian Supercoppa titles.\"peqi2vrhigxixngek2nuxbleqjxwcjehiojxlx3wtfnyvmj2.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"Even in the dark times for Juve, Gigi stayed loyal to the Turin side. The \u2018calciopoli\u2019 scandal saw Juventus relegated to Serie B and despite rumours surrounding his departure, Buffon stayed on to help Juve to promotion and back to their rightful place in Serie A.<\/p>

<\/p>

Success wasn\u2019t confined to club football either for the Italian Superman. Italy won their fourth World Cup at the 2006 edition of the competition. The Juventus keeper was immense as he produced five clean-sheets on the way to lifting the famous trophy. If it wasn\u2019t already, Buffon\u2019s place in the history of Italian football was well and truly cemented with the World Cup victory.\"ayzroo203fla1jzgasnbsujx1dnbdg9ilfo96floow820fvf.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"Gianluigi Buffon is more than a goalkeeper, he is a modern-day footballing icon. The abilities he has on the field have led him to considered one of, if not the, best goalkeeper of all-time. His personality and passion on the pitch is evident in every game he plays and draws in fellow players a fan\u2019s alike.<\/p>

<\/p>

As he entered his 40th<\/sup> year there was an expectation that Gigi would hang up his gloves at the end of the 2017-18 season. After lifting yet another Serie A title \u2018Superman\u2019 announced that he was leaving Juventus, but his career was not about to end yet.\"sveqxlbx2zsxq0ipzbxcslxax9viozilwqikm2axui9mafxh.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"For the first time, Buffon would play club football outside of his native Italy. French Ligue 1 Champions Paris St Germain lured the goalkeeper to the French capital in the summer of 2018. The move not only promised to prolong the Tuscan\u2019s career, it would also provide further opportunities to win the Champions League, a tournament which has so far eluded the great man.<\/p>

<\/p>

In one of Buffon\u2019s first matches for the Paris side, the longevity of his career was brought into sharp contrast. As PSG faced off against Guingamp in Ligue 1, Buffon lined up against Guingamp number 11 Marcus Thuram. Marcus is the son of French World Cup winner and former team-mate of Buffon, Lillian Thuram. The elder Thuram was in the Parma line-up over twenty-years earlier when Buffon made his Serie A debut and now his son Marcus was taking to the same field as his father\u2019s former team-mate. \"qvzvx80dwzjmaxqcqjdhljezubhzrjaisanfjjlr4nksiivd.png.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"As if to make Buffon feel even older, one of his new colleagues in Paris is Timothy Weah, son of former Milan striker George. In yet another link to Buffon\u2019s Serie A debut, he played against George Weah on his debut as Parma took on Milan back in 1995.<\/p>

<\/p>

From the seventeen-year-old debutant to the forty-year-old still playing at the top level of European football, Buffon is a legend of the modern game. The ability, passion and professionalism that has taken from Parma<\/strong> to Turin<\/strong> and then Paris<\/strong> remains at the highest level. If that isn\u2019t enough, Gianluigi Buffon has had a trophy-laden career at both club and international level that can act as evidence that he may well be the \u2018the greatest keeper of all-time\u2019.<\/p>","urlTitle":"buffon-numero-uno","url":"\/blog\/buffon-numero-uno\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/buffon-numero-uno\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/lovethegame.co\/blog\/buffon-numero-uno\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1787643988,"updatedAt":1787646427,"publishedAt":1787646427,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":444185,"name":"Love The Game Co"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zgle4n4hh122cn1exvitcekaqfzfd15lrn7s4trfavdvajy1.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zgle4n4hh122cn1exvitcekaqfzfd15lrn7s4trfavdvajy1.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zgle4n4hh122cn1exvitcekaqfzfd15lrn7s4trfavdvajy1.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":57952,"title":"10 Facts You Didn\u2019t Know About Liverpool Football Club","url":"\/blog\/10-facts-you-didnt-know-about-liverpool-football-club\/","urlTitle":"10-facts-you-didnt-know-about-liverpool-football-club","division":444185,"description":"Liverpool FC was founded in 1892 and has played every home game since at their legendary ground Anfield. But how much do you really know about Liverpool Football Club?","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/sqxaob8wsogrbm4gwe4qfrdrptr24ejnbqaouuyzd0nztbjm.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/sqxaob8wsogrbm4gwe4qfrdrptr24ejnbqaouuyzd0nztbjm.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":57954,"title":"5 Facts You Didn\u2019t Know About Stamford Bridge","url":"\/blog\/5-facts-you-didnt-know-about-stamford-bridge\/","urlTitle":"5-facts-you-didnt-know-about-stamford-bridge","division":444185,"description":"Stamford Bridge has been the iconic home of Chelsea FC since 1905.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/dwdvmwgabkxxsd2vakvlnxjzs14lp2ywlbrlmbqoyf6m24wy.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/dwdvmwgabkxxsd2vakvlnxjzs14lp2ywlbrlmbqoyf6m24wy.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":57951,"title":"Bobby Moore OBE; 27 years gone, forever a legend","url":"\/blog\/bobby-moore-obe-27-years-gone-forever-a-legend\/","urlTitle":"bobby-moore-obe-27-years-gone-forever-a-legend","division":444185,"description":"Bobby Moore OBE; 27 years gone, forever a legend","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/v3tn8wne8b8z5m5macsb4nrj2q9eemgdve8cuvo1nwiab5fp.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/v3tn8wne8b8z5m5macsb4nrj2q9eemgdve8cuvo1nwiab5fp.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}