Gianluigi Buffon Masocco, better known as Buffon, was born on January 28, 1978 in the city of Carrara, located in central Italy.
Buffon's family was very connected to the sport, with his mother, Maria Stella Masocco, being a three-time national discus champion, his uncle, Dante Masocco, was a bastekball player in Serie A1, his father, Adirano, was shot put athlete and his sisters, Guendalina and Veronica, were professional volleyball players.
From an early age, Buffon realized that his sport would be football.
During his childhood and with the support of his parents he was enrolled in soccer schools. At this point he was playing at midfield.
It was only at the age of 12 that Buffon discovered his vocation and talent in goal and then began playing as a goalkeeper.
In 1991, Buffon joined the Parma youth team after having refused the invitation of AC Milam and Bologna. This choice for Parma was due to the fact that the club is closer to his home.
Buffon established himself as the main goalkeeper of the different levels of Parma and this led to his being called to train with the provincial team in the summer of 1994.
In the 1995/96 season, Buffon signed a professional contract with Parma's main team. However, he will be an alternate.
His debut was in a game against AC Milan.
In the 1996/97 season, Buffon became the main goalkeeper, as the Parma team realized that even though he was young, he was a great talent.
This season Parma was runner-up in the Italian Super Cup and in the championship finished in 6th place.
Due to the great performances at Parma, Buffon was called up to the Italy national team in a qualifying match for the 1998 World Cup.
Buffon participated in this game after the first-choice goalkeeper was injured.
In the 1997/98 season, Parma managed to reach the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and finished in 6th place in the championship.
They also participated in the Champions League but did not make it past the group stage.
Buffon was an absolute starter participating in 26 games.
He was called up to go to the 1998 World Cup but didn't play a single minute.
In the 1998/99 season, Buffon won his first titles.
He won the Coppa Italia against Fiorentina and won the UEFA Cup against Marseille.
In the championship Parma finished in 4th place.
Buffon won the individual award for the best young player in Europe.
This season Buffon played 51 games.
In the 1999/2000 season, at the age of 22, Buffon won the Italian Super Cup.
Due to the rise of Buffon, several clubs with more financial conditions began to appear willing to sign him.
Buffon had been called up to be the Italy national team's first-choice goalkeeper at Euro 2000 but due to a broken hand he was removed from the squad.
In the 2000/2001 season, Buffon failed to win any titles.
In the 2001/2002 season, Buffon was signed by Juventus for 55 million euros (a stratospheric value for the season and for a goalkeeper). Barcelona and Roma also tried to sign him.
In his debut season with Juventus, Buffon had a good season helping Juventus to the SerieA title. This was the first championship won by Buffon (at age 24).
He played 45 games this season.
After missing Euro 2000, Buffon finally became the first-choice goalkeeper at the 2002 World Cup. However, Italy would be eliminated in the round of 16 by South Korea on the golden goal.
In the 2002/2003 season, with 25 years, Buffon won two titles: the Serie A championship (2nd in a row) and the Coppa Italia.
Juventus reached the Champions League final but ended up losing to AC Milan on penalties.
In the 2003/2004 season he was very discreet in terms of achievements, as he won the Italian Super Cup against AC Milan.
This season Buffon played 39 games.
At Euro 2004, Italy was considered one of the favorites to win the title, but they disappointed everyone when they were eliminated in the group stage.
In the 2004/2005 season, Buffon won the Serie A championship.
In the 2005/2006 season, Buffon won the Seria A championship again.
However, both titles from these two seasons would end up being withdrawn due to the Calciopoli case.
Buffon was called up again for the World Cup but this time he would end up winning the title of World Champion after beating France on penalties.
During the World Cup Buffon only conceded 2 goals in 7 games and ended up being elected the best goalkeeper in the World and the best goalkeeper in the World Cup.
In the 2006/2007 season, Juventus were relegated to Serie B due to the Calciopoli affair, which made many players decide to leave the club.
Buffon, despite having many proposals from other clubs, chose to stay at Juventus.
Juventus were champions of Serie B and even playing in Serie B Buffon was once again elected the best goalkeeper in the world.
In the 2007/2008 season, Juventus won the Coppa Italia and finished in 3rd place in the championship, which guaranteed their return to the Champions League the following season.
Buffon played 35 games.
In Euro 2008, Italy, which was the current champion of the World, was favorite to win the title but would end up being eliminated by Spain in the quarter finals.
In the 2008/2009 season, Buffon missed several games due to an injured muscle.
Juventus would not win any titles this season.
The 2009/2010 season was another season without titles,
Juventus were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League and ended up playing in the Europa League but it was no use.
In the championship he finished in 7th place.
Buffon was at the 2010 World Cup but would eventually be substituted in the first game of the World Cup due to a back injury.
In the 2010/2011 season, due to the injury identified in the Mundial, Buffon was left out for several games, ending up not even playing 20 games in the season.
In the 2011/2012 season, Buffon won the Serie A title again and was named the team's best player.
He played 35 games.
Buffon participated in Euro 2012 but would end up losing in the final against Spain.
Buffon entered the selection of the best 11 of the Euro.
In the 2012/2013 season, Buffon won his 4th official Serie A title and won the Italian Super Cup.
Buffon won the Confederations Cup where he won 3rd place after beating Uruguay on penalties.
In the 2013/2014 season, Buffon won another Serie A championship and Juventus only suffered 2 defeats in the championship.
He also won the Italian Super Cup.
At the age of 26, Buffon participated in the 2014 World Cup but Italy no longer had great power and would end up being eliminated in the group stage.
In the 2014/2015 season, Buffon continued to be a regular at Juventus and again won the Serie A championship and the Coppa Italia.
In the Champions League they reached the final but lost against Barcelona.
In the 2015/2016 season, Buffon won the Italian tri by winning the Serie A, the Italian Super Cup and the Iália Cup.
At Euro 2016 Italy was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Germany 6-5 on penalties.
In the 2016/2017 season, at the age of 39, he won the championship again and even won the Coppa Italia.
Juventus returned to the Champions League final but lost 4-1 against Real Madrid.
Buffon was elected for the 12th time as the best goalkeeper in the Italian championship and was once again named the best goalkeeper in the world.
In 2017, Buffon made his last official game for the Italian national team in a qualifying match for the 2018 World Cup, but italy did not manage to qualify, losing in the play-off with Sweden.
Buffon sad and emotional for not being able to qualify said:
In the 2017/2018 season, Buffon again won the Serie A championship and the Coppa Italia.
At the end of the season he left Juventus after 17 years to join PSG.
In the 2018/2019 season, Buffon had a great desire to win the Champions League that he had never achieved. However, this wish did not materialize.
Buffon won the French Super Cup and the title of champion of the French championship.
In the 2019/2020 season, Buffon decides to return to Juventus.
When he came back, the vlube offered him the number 1 jersey, the title and the captain's armband but he didn't accept it saying:
"I want to thank Szczesny and Chiellinini, who offered me the number 1 jersey and the armband, but I didn't come back to take something from my teammates. I just want to contribute to the team. I'm ready for when the opportunity comes to help the team ."
This season ended up winning the Serie A championship.
In the 2020/2021 season, he won the Italian Super Cup and the Italian Cup.
In the championship they finished in 4th place.
In the 2021/2022 season, at the age of 44, he decided to return to Parma.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1405462723975131138
- i
Many supporters were not satisfied and even protested because for them Buffon was a mercenary who left the club for money.
Buffon's idea is to try to help Parma return to Serie A.
So far, Buffon has played 1127 games and won 27 titles.
Definitely one of the greatest goalkeepers in football history.
