• Soccer: Brazil scrape past brave Howard

  New Zealand Herald - Found Jun. 29, 2009 ... are world-class.' Still, Howard beat the likes of Julio Cesar, Spain's Iker Casillas and Italy's Gianluigi Buffon for the tournament's best... U.S. goalie brilliant, but in end overwhelmed - Philadelphia Inquirer Brazil erases early U.S. lead to win final - Detroit News Brazil scrape past brave Howard - New Zealand Herald Brazil rallies to beat US in Confederations Cup final, 3-2 - Seattle Times Explore All

  Star-Telegram

• Italy crash out after heavy defeat to...

  CNN - Found Jun. 21, 2009 ... made the breakthrough in the 37th minute as latched on to a shot driven into the Italy penalty area and beat Gianluigi Buffon with ease. U.S. Advances in Confederations Cup - New York Times Italy out of Confed Cup after 3-0 loss to Brazil - USA Today Unlikely U.S. Advances in Confederations Cup - New York Times US Advances to Confederations Cup Semis - ABC News Explore All

  Telegraph and Argus

• Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon admits frustration at Juventus - Europe

  ESPNsoccernet - Found May. 2, 2009 Goalkeeper Buffon admits frustration at Juventus Juventus star Gianluigi Buffon admits he has become frustrated at the club this season.

• No shining light in a star-filled tourney

  Business Day - Found Jun. 29, 2009 Players like Kaka, Fernando Torres, David Villa and Gianluigi Buffon showed glimpses of what makes them special, but in most cases they were...

• Story: U.S. goalie Howard shines, even in 3-2 defeat Story: Luis ...

  Ledger-Enquirer - Found Jun. 29, 2009 ... class.? Still, Howard beat out the likes of Julio Cesar, Spain?s Iker Casillas and Italy?s Gianluigi Buffon for the tournament?s best...

• Assessing Ronaldo's Ransom

  Forbes.com - Found Jun. 29, 2009 ... notable caveats: Our list excludes the one goalkeeper whose transfer fee put him in contention--Gianluigi Buffon, whose transfer to Juventus...

• No shining stars in Confed Cup

  SuperSport - Found Jun. 29, 2009 Players like Kaka, Fernando Torres, David Villa and Gianluigi Buffon showed glimpses of what makes them special, but in most cases they were... No shining light in a tournament filled with stars - Earthtimes.org Explore All

  Earthtimes.org

• We will learn from Confed mistakes - Buffon

  SuperSport - Found Jun. 29, 2009 Gianluigi Buffon � Backpagepix Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said his team won't repeat its mistakes from the Confederations Cup if the ...

• Spain not counting their chickens yet

  Business Day - Found Jun. 23, 2009 ... half-time deficit since they trailed Yugoslavia by the same margin in 1957. Azzurri goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said Italy needed new players... Americans daring to dream of doing 'impossible' - Canada.com Spain favourites to enter final - Asian Age Spain looks to extend record - Shanghai Daily Explore All

  Shanghai Daily

• Brazil trounces U.S. at Confederations Cup

  South Florida Sun-Sentinel - Found Jun. 24, 2009 Homos outjumped Daniele De Rossi to meet a cross from Mohamed Abo Terika and headed the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Gianluigi Buffon

Personal information
Date of birth	January 28, 1978 (1978-01-28) (age 31)
Place of birth	Carrara, Italy
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Juventus
Number	1
Youth career
1995–2001	Parma
Senior career1
Years	Club	Apps (Gls)2
1995–2001	Parma	168 0(0)
2001–	Juventus	241 0(0)
National team3
1997–	Italy	095 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 May 2009. 2 Appearances (Goals) 3 National team caps and goals correct as of 21 June 2009.

Gianluigi Buffon, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI¹² (born 28 January 1978 in Carrara), is an Italian FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper who plays for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team.

Early life and family

Gianluigi Buffon was born into a sporting family. His mother, Maria Stella, was a discus thrower, his father, Adriano, a weightlifter, his two sisters Veronica and Guendalina played volleyball and his uncle, Angelo Masocco, played basketball. He is also a nephew of goalkeeping legend Lorenzo Buffon (a cousin of Gianluigi's grandfather). Buffon lives with a Czech model Alena Šeredová, who gave birth to son Louis Thomas on December 28, 2007 and they are currently expecting their second child. Buffon and Šeredová are not married yet, but according to the Italian and Czech press, the couple stated that they will get married after the birth of their second child.

Club career

Early career

At the age of just 17, Buffon made his Serie A debut for Parma A.C. in a 0-0 home draw against A.C. Milan on 19 November 1995. In his fourth season with the club, he won the UEFA Cup. He transferred from Parma to Juventus in 2001, for a world-record goalkeeper's fee of €52 million. Buffon nearly signed with A.S. Roma in 2001 following his departure from Parma, but team president Franco Sensi instead opted for Atalanta B.C. keeper Ivan Pelizzoli, who averaged less than fifteen appearances in five seasons with Roma. Buffon also claimed that he wouldn't have signed with Roma had he left Juventus in 2006. "That was never a possibility really... I don’t think that Roma had the finances to make an investment of such a nature."³

Juventus

In 2003, he received the UEFA Most Valuable Player and Best Goalkeeper awards, and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. During the annual Luigi Berlusconi Trophy match against Milan in August 2005, Buffon collided with Milan midfielder Kaká while chasing a loose ball, and suffered a dislocated shoulder that required surgery. His operation was successful and he returned to the pitch in November, but played only once as another injury returned him to the sidelines until January. He recovered in time to help lead Juventus to their second consecutive Scudetto and his fourth overall with the club.

On 12 May 2006, Buffon, along with former Juventus goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti and many other players, were implicated as participants in illegal betting on Serie A matches while with Parma. The following day, he voluntarily allowed himself to be questioned by Turin magistrates in an attempt to clear his name. While admitting that he did bet on sports (until regulations went into effect in late 2005, banning players from doing so), he vehemently denied placing wagers on Italian football matches. Fears arose that he had jeopardized his chance of playing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but he was officially named Italy's starting goalkeeper on 15 May. The players were cleared of all charges by the FIGC on 27 June 2007. ⁴

Following Juventus' punishment in the Calciopoli scandal, rumors spread that Juventus were shopping Buffon on the transfer market as a cost-cutting measure, and many teams became interested in his services.⁵ However, no deals ever materialized as Buffon elected to remain with Juventus; his agent said, "Serie B is a division he has never won and he wants to try to do this." A.C. Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani stated in April 2007 that Buffon's decision to stay proved a catalyst in re-signing incumbent Dida,⁶ though Buffon later denied having ever been contacted by Milan.

After Juventus won the Cadetti and were promoted back into the top flight, Buffon signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2012.⁷

International career

Buffon celebrating after a win.

Buffon was awarded his first cap for Italy at the age of nineteen, as an injury replacement for Gianluca Pagliuca during a qualifer for 1998 FIFA World Cup play-off against Russia. He was called up for the 1998 World Cup finals, but did not play a single game as Pagliuca remained first choice. He was a member of the Italy squad at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He was also the first choice goalkeeper for Italy at the Euro 2000, but broke his hand in a friendly match against Norway just eight days before the tournament started, and had his starting place taken by Francesco Toldo.

He kept five clean sheets in addition to a 453-minute scoreless streak during the 2006 World Cup finals; the only goals conceded were an own goal from teammate Cristian Zaccardo against the United States, and a Zinedine Zidane penalty in the final against France, which ended 1-1 in extra time and led to a penalty shootout in which neither Buffon nor Fabien Barthez could make a save. The lone miss was David Trezeguet's effort that clanged off the bottom of the crossbar and failed to cross the line, which enabled Italy's Fabio Grosso to seal the victory for the Italians. Buffon received the Yashin Award for his accomplishments throughout the competition.

Buffon was named Italy captain for Euro 2008 after incumbent Fabio Cannavaro was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. In the second game of the group stage against Romania on June 13, he saved a penalty from Adrian Mutu in the 81st minute as the match ended 1-1. Italy were eliminated in the quarterfinals nine days later after a 0-0 penalty shootout loss to Spain in which Buffon made one save.

Career statistics

Honours

Parma

• UEFA Cup: 1999
• Coppa Italia 1999
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1999

Juventus

• Serie A: 2001-02, 2002-03
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2002, 2003
• Serie B: 2006-07

International

• UEFA Under-21 European Championship: 1996
• FIFA World Cup: 2006

Individual

• Bravo Award: 1999
• UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2003
• UEFA Club Football Awards Best Goalkeeper: 2003
• FIFA 100
• Yashin Award: 2006
• 2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
• European Footballer of the Year (Silver Ball): 2006
• Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008
• Onze d'Or (Best Goalkeeper): 2003, 2006
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2006
• FIFPro World XI: 2006, 2007
• IFFHS Best Goalkeeper: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
• UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Gianluigi Buffon

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gianluigi Buffon

• Gianluigi Buffon FIFA competition record
• Official website
• An interview with Buffon
• FootballDatabase profile and career stats

Gianluigi Buffon - Navigation boxes and awards v • d • e Italy squad – 1996 Summer Olympics 1 Pagliuca • 2 Panucci • 3 Nesta • 4 Cannavaro • 5 Galante • 6 Fresi • 7 Ametrano • 8 Crippa • 9 Branca • 10 Brambilla • 11 Delvecchio • 12 Buffon • 13 Pistone • 14 Tommasi • 15 Pecchia • 16 Morfeo • 17 Lucarelli • 18 Bernardini • 19 Sartor • Coach: Maldini v • d • e Italy squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Toldo • 2 Bergomi • 3 P. Maldini • 4 Cannavaro • 5 Costacurta • 6 Nesta • 7 Pessotto • 8 Torricelli • 9 Albertini • 10 Del Piero • 11 D. Baggio • 12 Pagliuca • 13 Cois • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Di Livio • 16 Di Matteo • 17 Moriero • 18 R. Baggio • 19 Inzaghi • 20 Chiesa • 21 Vieri • 22 Buffon • Coach: C. Maldini v • d • e Italy squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Maldini • 4 Coco • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Zanetti • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Inzaghi • 10 Totti • 11 Doni • 12 Abbiati • 13 Nesta • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Iuliano • 16 Di Livio • 17 Tommasi • 18 Delvecchio • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Montella • 21 Vieri • 22 Toldo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Trapattoni v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Oddo • 4 Zanetti • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Ferrari • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Vieri • 10 Totti • 11 Corradi • 12 Toldo • 13 Nesta • 14 Fiore • 15 Favalli • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Di Vaio • 18 Cassano • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Peruzzi • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Trapattoni v • d • e Italy squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Winners (4th title) 1 Buffon • 2 Zaccardo • 3 Grosso • 4 De Rossi • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 Totti • 11 Gilardino • 12 Peruzzi • 13 Nesta • 14 Amelia • 15 Iaquinta • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Barone • 18 Inzaghi • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Oddo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Lippi v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Grosso • 4 Chiellini • 5 Gamberini • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 De Rossi • 11 Di Natale • 12 Borriello • 13 Ambrosini • 14 Amelia • 15 Quagliarella • 16 Camoranesi • 17 De Sanctis • 18 Cassano • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Aquilani • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Donadoni v • d • e Italy squad – 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Santon • 3 Grosso • 4 Chiellini • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Legrottaglie • 7 Pepe • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 De Rossi • 11 Gilardino • 12 De Sanctis • 13 Gamberini • 14 Amelia • 15 Iaquinta • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Rossi • 18 Palombo • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Montolivo • 21 Pirlo • 22 Dossena • 23 Quagliarella • Coach: Lippi v • d • e FIFA 100 UEFA Baggio · Ballack · Banks · Baresi · Beckenbauer · Beckham · Bergkamp · Bergomi · Best · Boniek · Boniperti · Breitner · Buffon · Butragueño · Cantona · Ceulemans · Charlton · Cruijff · Dalglish · Dasayev · Davids · Del Piero · Desailly · Deschamps · Emre · Eusébio · Facchetti · Figo · Fontaine · Gullit · Hagi · Henry · Kahn · Keane · Keegan · Klinsmann · Kluivert · Kopa · B. Laudrup · M. Laudrup · Lineker · Luis Enrique · Maier · Maldini · Masopust · Matthäus · Müller · Nedvěd · Neeskens · Nesta · Owen · Papin · Pfaff · Pirès · Platini · Puskás · Raúl · Rensenbrink · Rijkaard · Rivera · Rossi · Rui Costa · Rummenigge · Rüştü · Schmeichel · Seedorf · Seeler · Shearer · Shevchenko · Stoichkov · Šuker · Thuram · Totti · Trésor · Trezeguet · van Basten · R. van de Kerkhof  · W. van de Kerkhof · Van der Elst · van Nistelrooy · Vieira · Vieri · Zidane · Zoff CONMEBOL Carlos Alberto · Batistuta · Cafu · Crespo · Cubillas · di Stéfano · Falcão · Figueroa · Francescoli · Júnior · Kempes · Maradona · Passarella · Pelé · Rivaldo · Rivelino · Roberto Carlos · Romário · Romerito · Ronaldinho · Ronaldo · Djalma Santos · Nílton Santos · Saviola · Sívori · Sócrates · Valderrama · Verón · Zamorano · Zanetti · Zico CAF Diouf · Milla · Okocha · Abédi Pelé · Weah CONCACAF Akers · Hamm · Sánchez AFC Hong · Nakata v • d • e IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper 1987: Pfaff | 1988: Dasaev | 1989: Zenga | 1990: Zenga | 1991: Zenga | 1992: Schmeichel | 1993: Schmeichel | 1994: Preud'homme | 1995: Chilavert | 1996: Köpke | 1997: Chilavert | 1998: Chilavert | 1999: Kahn | 2000: Barthez | 2001: Kahn | 2002: Kahn | 2003: Buffon | 2004: Buffon | 2005: Čech | 2006: Buffon | 2007: Buffon | 2008: Casillas v • d • e Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year 1997: Peruzzi | 1998: Peruzzi | 1999: Buffon | 2000: Toldo | 2001: Buffon | 2002: Buffon | 2003: Buffon | 2004: Dida | 2005: Buffon | 2006: Buffon | 2007: Peruzzi | 2008: Buffon Awards and achievements Preceded by Oliver Kahn UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year 2003 Succeeded by Vitor Baia Preceded by Zinedine Zidane UEFA Footballer of the Year 2003 Succeeded by Deco Preceded by Oliver Kahn Yashin Award 2006 Succeeded by Incumbent