Gianluigi “Gigi” Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He captains both Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team. Buffon is one of only eighteen players to have made at least 1,000 professional career appearances; with 168 international caps, Buffon is also the most capped player in the history of the Italian national team, the joint fifth-most capped male international footballer of all time, alongside Iván Hurtado, and the most capped European international player ever. He is widely regarded 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 Italy national team; he also holds the record for the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history: over 12 league matches, he went unbeaten for 974 consecutive minutes during the 2015–16 season, as well as having achieved the most consecutive clean sheets (10) in Serie A in that same season. At club level, Buffon’s professional career began with Parma in 1995, where he made his Serie A debut, and was soon promoted to the role of starting goalkeeper, earning a reputation as one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Italy; during his time with the club, he won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup and the Supercoppa Italiana, all in 1999. After joining Juventus in 2001, Buffon immediately won Serie A titles in both of his first two seasons at the club, and established himself as one of the best players in the world in his position. After winning two more consecutive league titles in 2005 and 2006, the club were later stripped of these titles and relegated due to their involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal. Despite rumours of his departure, Buffon remained with Juventus, contributing to the club’s Serie B title and promotion back to Serie A in 2007. Following several trophyless seasons, Buffon later played a key role in Juventus’ resurgence, which saw the club win an Italian record of six consecutive league titles between 2011 and 2017; he also inherited the captain’s armband following the departure of Alessandro Del Piero in 2012. In total, he has won eight Serie A titles, three Coppa Italia titles, and five Supercoppa Italiana titles with Juventus. With the Italy national team, Buffon has been called up for an international record of five FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) since making his debut in 1997, featuring in four of them as Italy’s starting goalkeeper (he was an unused substitute in 1998). He was the starting goalkeeper of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which saw him keep a record five clean sheets, and concede only two goals, neither of which were in open play. He has also represented Italy at four European Championships, at the 1996 Olympics, and at two FIFA Confederations Cups, winning a bronze medal in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Buffon has also won numerous, prestigious individual and team awards. He was named by Pelé 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 eleven 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, 2006 and 2016. 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. He 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. In 2016, he became the first goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Foot Award, which pertains to both personality and playing ability.
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Despite offers from Bologna and Milan, Buffon began his career with the Parma youth system in 1991, at the age of 13. During his time in the youth academy, he initially played in several out-field positions, in particular as a midfielder, before switching to his current position of goalkeeper. His idol Thomas N’Kono inspired this change of position due to his notable goalkeeping performances for Cameroon at the 1990 World Cup in Italy; as a result, when both of the Parma youth team’s keepers suddenly suffered injuries, Buffon was called upon due to his interest, height and physical attributes. He quickly adapted to this role, and within two weeks he had been promoted to first keeper of the Parma youth team. Ermes Fulgoni, the academy’s goalkeeping coach, would soon become a mentor to the young goalkeeper.
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In the 1996–97 Serie A season, his second full season with the club, Buffon was named as the starting goalkeeper ahead of Luca Bucci, and Alessandro Nista. Buffon conceded 17 goals in 27 appearances, and his consistent performances began to gain attention in Italy. Buffon also made his European debut in a 2–0 defeat to Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães on 24 September 1996.Buffon acquired his nickname “Superman” during the course of the season, when he stopped a penalty by Inter striker and Ballon d’Or holder Ronaldo. Buffon celebrated the save by showing the Parma fans a Superman T-shirt, which he was wearing underneath his jersey; the nickname was also a reference to Buffon’s athleticism, agility and aerial ability
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In the 1997–98 season, Parma finished in fifth place in Serie A and reached the Coppa Italia semi-finals, whilst they were knocked out in the group stage of the Champions League, finishing second in their group to defending champions Borussia Dortmund.
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Buffon has represented Italy at all youth levels, from the under-15 side to the under-23 side, as well as the Olympic side in 1996. With the Italy under-16 side, he reached the final of the 1993 UEFA European Under-16 Championship, saving three penalties in the semifinal shootout. With the Italy U-17 side he took part at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Japan. In 1995, he reached the final of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with the Italian U-19 side. He was most notably a member of Italy’s 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship-winning squad. Buffon was a member of the Italy squad that won the gold medal for football at the 1997 Mediterranean Games in Bari, on home soil. Buffon currently holds the record for the most clean sheets with the Italian national side.
“I’ve never seen a debut like his for the personality and quality he showed” Dino Zoff
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Buffon was awarded his first cap for Italy’s senior team under Cesare Maldini on 29 October 1997, at the age of 19 years and 9 months, as an injury replacement for Gianluca Pagliuca during the first leg of the 1998 World Cup qualification play-off against Russia, in Moscow; with this cap, Buffon became the youngest goalkeeper to feature for Italy post-World War II. This record was beaten by Gianluigi Donnarumma on 1 September 2016. Buffon made notable saves under snowy conditions in a 1–1 away draw, only being beaten by a Fabio Cannavaro own goal. The result helped Italy to qualify for the upcoming World Cup. He was a member of the squad for the 1998 World Cup finals, initially as the third choice goalkeeper. After Angelo Peruzzi’s injury, he was promoted to second-choice goalkeeper behind Pagliuca, with Francesco Toldo being called up as third-choice, but Buffon did not play a single game in the tournament. Italy were eliminated in the quarter-finals on penalties to hosts and eventual 1998 World Cup champions France.
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Buffon became the first choice goalkeeper during the Euro 2000 qualifying campaign and was due to start in goal during the finals under manager and former Italy goalkeeping legend Dino Zoff, but he broke his hand in a warm up match against Norway just a few days before Italy’s opening match against Turkey. His starting place was taken by backup goalkeeper Francesco Toldo, and Christian Abbiati was called up as a replacement third keeper, with Francesco Antonioli being promoted to second goalkeeper. Italy reached the final of the tournament, losing once again to France.
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In the season 1998-1999 Buffon’s performances earned him his first Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award, as well as the Bravo Award, the trophy given to the best player under 23 years of age in Europe. He also placed fifth in the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper rankings, and received his first ever Ballon d’Or nomination. In the following 1999-2000 season, he won his first Supercoppa Italiana title against Serie A champions Milan, and Parma finished fourth in Serie A once again, tied with Inter for the final remaining Champions League spot. Parma, however, lost 3–1 to Inter in the European playoff match. The club was knocked out in the round of 16 of both the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia.
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Buffon regained the goalkeeping spot for the fourth match of the qualification series, away to Romania, and was the starting goalkeeper for the remaining four matches under Giovanni Trapattoni as Italy qualified with an unbeaten record.
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2001-2002 was the Buffon first season with Juventus F.C. Buffon was acquired by Parma for a world-record goalkeeper’s transfer fee of 100 billion lire (€53 million). Buffon transferred from Parma to Juventus along with former Parma teammate Lilian Thuram, and was handed the number 1 shirt as the starting goalkeeper, replacing Edwin van der Sar, who was sold to Fulham. Buffon later said that there had been an initial possibility for him to join Roma, and although negotiations were ongoing with Barcelona, he chose Juventus because his father convinced him he would be likely to achieve his ambition of winning the Scudetto. This transfer fee made Buffon Juventus’s most expensive purchase ever.
“There have been some very good goalkeepers in my era, but Buffon is there for consistency. Most of the goalkeepers have had times when their form has not been so good, but Buffon has been at such a high level for so long” Ronaldinho
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Buffon played every minute of Italy’s 2002 World Cup campaign, keeping a clean sheet in the opening match against Ecuador, and saving a controversial penalty against co-hosts South Korea in the round of 16, which was not enough to stop the under-performing side from being eliminated by a golden goal in extra time.
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At the beginning of the 2002–03 season, Juventus won the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana against Parma.[64] Buffon had a dominant year, totalling 47 appearances in all competitions, of which 32 were in Serie A. He helped Juventus to the UEFA Champions League Final, only for his team to lose in a penalty shoot-out to Milan after a 0–0 draw. Buffon managed to save two penalties, but Milan won the shootout 3–2. Buffon drew praise, however, for making a reaction save on a close-range header by Filippo Inzaghi in the final during regulation time. Buffon saved a Luís Figo penalty in the second leg of the semi-finals, against defending champions Real Madrid, in Turin. Juventus progressed to the final, winning 4–3 on aggregate. Juventus managed to celebrate their second consecutive Serie A title that season, finishing the season with the best defence yet again, as Buffon conceded only 23 goals in 32 appearances. In 2003, Buffon received the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the fourth time. He also became the only goalkeeper ever to win the now defunct UEFA Most Valuable Player or UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award. He also won the UEFA Best Goalkeeper award, and was elected to the UEFA Team of the Year for the first time. He was also named the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper for the first time in his career. Buffon was also nominated for the 2003 Ballon d’Or that season, finishing in ninth place.
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Although when he started his career it was more common for goalkeepers to wear long-sleeved jerseys, Buffon has always been known for wearing short-sleeves throughout his entire career, even during the winter months; when asked in an interview with FourFourTwo why he preferred to wear short sleeves, he commented: “I really don’t know why. It’s just something that I’ve always done, right from the time I first started playing in goal. It always felt good. And now look: lots of goalkeepers do it. I’ve started a fashion.”
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Since his emergence as a precocious talent in his youth, Buffon has been renowned for his consistent performances throughout his career, and has received praise from managers, players, as well as both present and former goalkeeping colleagues, for his concentration and calm composure under pressure, as well as his work-rate, and longevity. Regarded as one of the best players ever in his position, 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, power and class.”Buffon has been praised for his athleticism, his “outstanding shot-stopping”, his acrobatic dives, and his quick reflexes, as well as his ability to produce decisive saves, despite being a tall, large and physically imposing goalkeeper. Although he has at times been criticized for not being particularly adept at stopping penalties, he has also proven to be effective in this area, as demonstrated by his penalty-saving record.n his prime, Buffon was a talented, complete, aggressive, and often instinctive goalkeeper, who was recognized for his speed, prowess, and anticipation when coming off his line in one on one situations, as well as his confidence, goalkeeping technique, reactions, and ability to get to ground quickly to collect, parry, or even challenge for the ball with his feet; when playing in teams that relied upon high defensive lines, he often functioned as a sweeper-keeper, frequently rushing out of his area to clear the ball or face opponents who had beaten the offside trap. He was also highly regarded for his handling, aerial ability, and command of the area; however, throughout his career, Buffon has occasionally been accused by pundits of being overly cautious and not always coming out to collect crosses, and for preferring to punch the ball out to his team-mates at times rather than holding on to it. Although not as adept with the ball at his feet as the newer generation of goalkeepers that emerged in his later career, Buffon also possesses good footwork, and reliable distribution and ball skills, which allow him to play the ball out from the back, and which occasionally led him to take on opponents in his youth, when put under pressure by on-running strikers. In recent years, Buffon effectively adapted his style of goalkeeping to the physical effects of aging, while also modifying his diet and training regime, and has developed into a less spectacular, but more efficient goalkeeper; despite the loss of some of his physical strength, explosiveness, speed and mobility, he has continued to excel at the highest level due to the consistency of his performances, as well as his positioning between the posts, tactical intelligence, decision-making, and his ability to read the game and organize his defence. In addition to his goalkeeping abilities, Buffon has been singled out for his charisma, strong mentality, discipline in training, vocal presence in goal, and leadership, and has been described as “a key dressing room personality.”
“The best goalkeeper I have ever faced was Buffon. When I was at Juventus, it was already difficult to get past Cannavaro and Thuram in defence during training sessions. If I managed to get past them, then I would find Buffon, and it was almost impossible to beat him!” Zlatan Ibrahimovic
“Watching him close-up in training and during games is really quite impressive. Weaknesses? He has none” Andrea Pirlo
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This is not a regular goalkeeper’s shirt. This is the second away regular player’s shirt but it was turned in to a goalkeeper’s shirt under request of Gianluigi Buffon who wanted to play with this shirt’s style.
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Buffon began the 2003–04 season with Juventus by defeating Milan on penalties in the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana, with Buffon saving a penalty in the shootout, after a 1–1 draw. Juventus were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League that season by Deportivo de La Coruña and finished the Serie A season in a disappointing third place, although they managed to reach the Coppa Italia Final. Buffon made his 100th appearance for Juventus that season on 30 September 2003 in a 2–1 away win over Olympiacos in the group stage of the Champions League. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004, but missed out on the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award, which went to Milan’s league-winning goalkeeper Dida. He was once again elected as the Goalkeeper for the UEFA Team of the Year and as the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper. Buffon also received his first ever FIFA World Player of the Year nomination in 2004, finishing in 21st place alongside countryman Paolo Maldini.
“He is a benchmark for me, and for every keeper of my generation. When I started playing, I had a dream – I dreamed of becoming like him, and every time I play against him it’s a real pleasure” Iker Casillas
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This shirt is a very special shirt. This is the first time ever that a Juventus’s goalkeeper wore the actual regular home black and white player’s shirt. This is not a goalkeeper’s shirt. But it’s the regular player’s shirt and it was turned in to a goalkeeper’s shirt under the request of Gianluigi Buffon who wanted to play with this shirt’s style.
Match Worn Gloves
Euro 2004
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Gianluigi Buffon wears Puma gloves with his name on. But beside of his name there is “C.U.I.T.” printed as well. C.U.I.T. means “Commando Ultrà Indian Trips” that are the Carrarese’s Ultras. Buffon is a big Carrarese’s supporter since his childhood (Carrarese is the Buffon home town Carrara’s team) and he kept his origins on his gloves. Buffon owned also the team for a while.
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While at Parma, Buffon’s decision to wear the number 88 shirt, rather than his previous number 1 shirt, for the 2000–01 season caused controversy in Italy. Buffon, however, claimed to be unaware of the number’s neo-Nazi connotations, stating that 88 represented “four balls”, which are symbols of the character and attributes of a person. He stated that they were meant to signify his need for these attributes after his injury prior to Euro 2000, and that they also represented his “rebirth”. He subsequently offered to change numbers, choosing the squad number 77. In September 1999, Buffon faced heavy criticism and severe disciplinary sanctions for bearing the fascist slogan “Boia chi molla” (“who gives up is a scoundrel”) handwritten on a T-shirt under his goalkeeping jersey, which he proceeded to wear and show during media interviews after a match. Buffon publicly apologized, stating that it was a stupid and naïve gesture, because he was completely ignorant of the slogan’s neo-fascist connotations, stating that he had first encountered the slogan written on a boarding school desk, and was unaware of its far right-wing association and, in particular, its use with the neo-fascists in Reggio Calabria during the Reggio revolt in the early 1970s. He declared that he merely intended to use the slogan to spur on his teammates and the fans, as Parma had previously encountered some disappointing results.
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In the summer of 2004, Marcello Lippi left Juventus to take charge of the Italy national team and was replaced by Fabio Capello. In his fourth season with the club, Buffon made 38 appearances in Serie A and 48 in all competitions that season as he won his third Serie A title in four years with Juventus, winning once again the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award for the fifth time in his career. Juventus were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, against eventual winners Liverpool, and in 2005, Buffon was nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.
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In August 2005, Buffon collided with Milan midfielder Kaká during the annual preseason Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi match, suffering a dislocated shoulder that required surgery. Milan loaned backup goalkeeper Christian Abbiati to Juventus as compensation while Buffon recovered. Buffon returned to the Juventus starting lineup in November, but injury again sidelined him until January. He recovered in time to help Juventus win their second consecutive Scudetto and his fourth overall, returning to the starting line-up in January 2006, in an Italy Cup match against Fiorentina. Juventus were, however, once again knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by runners-up Arsenal and Buffon regularly played the last two Champions League legs of the season against Werder Bremen and Arsenal.Buffon was named IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper for the third time in his career and Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the sixth time. Buffon made his 200th appearance for Juventus that season in a 2–0 away defeat at the hands of Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Match Worn Boots
Fifa World Cup “GERMANY 2006”
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Gigi Buffon finished second to compatriot Fabio Cannavaro in the 2006 Ballon d’Or and eighth in the FIFA World Player of the Year for his performances that season, and was named in the 2006 FIFPro World XI and the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year.
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Buffon was once again the first choice goalkeeper under his former Juventus coach and Trapattoni’s replacement Marcello Lippi, as Italy finished first in their 2006 World Cup qualifying group.[265] Although his place in Italy’s 2006 World Cup was initially in doubt, as he was being investigated for possible involvement in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, he was later named by Lippi as Italy’s starting goalkeeper for the tournament. During the 2006 World Cup finals, Buffon was in excellent form, setting a World Cup record by conceding just two goals in seven matches, and keeping five clean sheets. In addition, he posted a 453-minute scoreless streak, only 64 minutes short of compatriot Walter Zenga’s all-time unbeaten record from the 1990 World Cup. The only goals he conceded were not in open play; an own goal by teammate Cristian Zaccardo after a free-kick against the United States in Italy’s second match of the group stage, and a Zinedine Zidane penalty in the final against France. In the final, Buffon later made an important save in extra time on a header from eventual Golden Ball winner Zidane. The match ended 1–1 after extra-time and was followed by a penalty shootout in which neither Buffon nor Fabien Barthez saved a spot kick. The lone miss was David Trezeguet’s effort which hit the bottom of the crossbar and failed to cross the line, enabling Italy’s Fabio Grosso to seal the victory for Italy. Buffon was named Man of the Match in Italy’s 1–0 victory over Australia in the round of 16, and later also received the Yashin Award as the best goalkeeper of the tournament, producing 40 saves, and was elected to the Team of the Tournament. Buffon also finished second to compatriot Fabio Cannavaro in the 2006 Ballon d’Or and eighth in the FIFA World Player of the Year for his performances that season, and was named in the 2006 FIFPro World XI and the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year.
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The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 9 July 2006 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany, to determine the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Italy beat France on penalties after the match finished 1–1 after extra time. France’s Zinedine Zidane was sent off in his last-ever match, for headbutting Italy’s Marco Materazzi’s chest in retaliation to Materazzi’s verbal provocation.The final started with each side scoring within the first 20 minutes. Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring by converting a controversial seventh-minute penalty kick, conceded by Marco Materazzi, which glanced off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal. Materazzi then levelled the scores in the 19th minute, a header from six yards following an Andrea Pirlo corner from the right. Both teams had chances to score the winning goal in normal time: Luca Toni hit the crossbar in the 35th minute for Italy, later having a header disallowed for offside, while France were not granted a possible second penalty in the 53rd minute when Florent Malouda went down in the box after a cover tackle from Gianluca Zambrotta. France appeared to be the side with better chances to win because of the higher number of shots on goal. They were unable to capitalise, however, and the score remained at one goal each.At the end of the regulation 90 minutes, the score was still level at 1–1, and the match was forced into extra time. Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon made a potentially game-saving save in extra time when he tipped a Zidane header over the crossbar. As Zidane and Materazzi were jogging up the pitch close to each other, they briefly exchanged words after Materazzi was seen tugging at Zidane’s jersey before Zidane began to walk away from him. Moments later, Zidane suddenly stopped, turned around and head-butted Materazzi’s chest, knocking him to the ground. Although play was halted, referee Horacio Elizondo did not appear to have seen the confrontation. According to match officials’ reports, fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo informed Elizondo of the incident through his headset. After consulting his assistants, Elizondo issued Zidane a red card in the 110th minute. It marked the 14th overall expulsion of Zidane’s career, and joined him with Cameroon’s Rigobert Song as the only players ever to be sent off during two separate World Cup tournaments. He also became the fourth player red-carded in a World Cup final, in addition to being the first sent off in extra time. Extra time produced no further goals and a penalty shoot-out followed, which Italy won 5–3. France’s David Trezeguet, the man who scored the golden goal against Italy in the Euro 2000 final, was the only player not to score his penalty; his spot kick hit the crossbar, leaving Fabio Grosso – who scored Italy’s first goal in the semi-final against Germany – to score the winning penalty.
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This shirt was issued for Gianluigi Buffon for the Fifa World Cup “GERMANY 2006” but never worn. The player always used the golden and the red versions above and never this blue version, that perhaps was prepared as third goalkeeper’s shirt. While he never worn it, his former wife at that time Alena Seredova used it to cheer his husband during World Cup games.
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This shirt was worn by Gianluigi Buffon during Treviso vs Juventus which took place in Treviso on October 16th 2006. The shirt was swapped after the game by Gianluigi Buffon with the Treviso team’s striker Dino Fava Passaro which we get it from. See below Dino Fava holding the shirt before he gave it to us.
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Buffon, against expectations elected to remain with Juventus, despite the team’s relegation, a decision which made him extremely popular with the Juventus fans. During the 2006–07 Serie B season, Buffon made his debut in the Italian second division in a 1–1 away draw against Rimini on 9 September 2006; later that year, he also received the first red card of his career in a 1–1 away draw against AlbinoLeffe on 18 November. In total he made 37 league appearances throughout the season. After Juventus won the Serie B title, earning promotion to Serie A for the 2007–08 season, Buffon signed a contract extension with Juventus until 2012. In 2007, Buffon was also elected as the goalkeeper for the 2007 FIFPro XI for the second consecutive year, and the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper for a record-breaking fourth time.
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As we said before the team played all pre season’s games with total white Limited Edition shirts with a special embroidery on sleeve. Also goalkeeper’s jerseys had the same embroidery on sleeve but the very weird thing about the goalkeeper’s ones worn in the pre season’s games was that replic’s shirts from the previous 2006/2007 season were used instead of the 2007/2008 regular style. So this shirt used by Gianluigi Buffon aginst Newcastle is a 2006/2007 replica’s shirt with a 2007/2008 sponsor printed on chest with a special embroidery on sleeve.
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In the 2008–09 season, Buffon was once again sidelined by several injuries. From September through January, reserve goalkeeper Alexander Manninger held his position between the sticks, gaining praise for his deputising. Due to recurring injuries, Manninger’s performances and Juventus’s poor form towards the end of the season (as Buffon was seen despondent whilst the team drew with both Lecce and Atalanta), there were further rumours that Buffon was displeased and wanted to part ways with the club. He admitted he was disappointed with the current results, but assured that he had no intention of leaving. After a discussion with management, he said he was reassured about the club’s future and signed a contract extension to 2013. Buffon and Juventus finished the season on a high note, with two victories, finishing in second place behind Internazionale. They were knocked out of the Coppa Italia semi-finals by eventual champions Lazio and of the Champions League in the round of 16 by Chelsea. Buffon was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009 for the sixth consecutive season since first being nominated in 2004. Buffon made his 300th appearance for Juventus in a 3–3 home draw against Chievo in 2009.
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This shirt was worn by Gianluigi Buffon during the Fifa World Cup “South Africa 2010” Qualifiers between Montenegro and Italy which took place in Podgorica, “Pod Goricom” Stadium, on March 28th 2009. Italy defeated Montenegro 2-0 and at the end of the game Buffon swapped his shirt with the Montenegro’s goalkeeper whom we got it from. Upon Marcello Lippi’s return, Buffon was confirmed as the starting goalkeeper. He played all three group matches during Italy’s disappointing 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup campaign in South Africa, in which they finished third in their group in three-way three-point tie. He earned his 100th cap on 14 November 2009 in a friendly match against the Netherlands. He was a key player in Italy’s World Cup qualifying campaign as they finished top of their group, undefeated.
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Buffon was included in the Italian squad for the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil and played in every match of the tournament as captain. On 16 June 2013, he featured in Italy’s opening 2–1 win against Mexico, where he was beaten only by a Javier Hernández penalty. In the next game, on 19 June 2013 against Japan, the referee awarded Japan a penalty in the 20th minute of the first half when he declared that Shinji Okazaki had been brought down by Buffon after a misplaced back pass by Mattia De Sciglio; Buffon received a yellow card. The squad’s eventual 4–3 win allowed Italy to progress to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time, where they were to face Spain in a rematch of the Euro 2012 final. After a 0–0 draw, they lost 7–6 in the resulting penalty shootout. Although both Buffon and Spanish counterpart Iker Casillas had managed to keep a clean sheet throughout the match, neither goalkeeper was able to stop a penalty in the shootout; the lone miss, by Leonardo Bonucci, was hit over bar. In the third-place match, Italy defeated Uruguay 3–2 in the penalty shootout after a 2–2 deadlock following extra time. Buffon saved three penalties; those taken by Diego Forlán, Juventus teammate Martín Cáceres and Walter Gargano.
August 24th 2013
Sampdoria vs Juventus
Match Worn Gloves
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These gloves were worn by Gianluigi Buffon during the Serie A game between Sampdoria and Juventus which took place in Genova, “Luigi Ferraris” Stadium, on August 24th 2013. Juventus defeated Sampdoria 1-0 and at the end of the game Buffon gave his gloves to the U.C.Sampdoria goalkeeper’s coach whom we got it from.
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On 12 May, Buffon was named in Italy’s 31-man preliminary World Cup squad by Cesare Prandelli, and on 31 May, he was named the starting goalkeeper and captain in the final squad. Italy were placed in Group D, in the so-called “group of death,” or “group of champions,” with Costa Rica, England and Uruguay. Buffon became the third player to be part of five World Cup squads, tying the records held by Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal and German footballer Lothar Matthäus. Due to an ankle injury suffered in training, Buffon was not selected to start in Italy’s first match of the World Cup against England on 14 June 2014; he was replaced by Salvatore Sirigu. Andrea Pirlo captained the team in his absence, as Italy won the match 2–1. In Italy’s next group match, which ended in a 1–0 loss to Costa Rica, he captained his national side for the first time at a World Cup, the fourth World Cup in which he appeared. In Italy’s final group game against Uruguay, Buffon saved shots from Luis Suárez and Nicolás Lodeiro, as Italy were reduced to ten men following Claudio Marchisio’s controversial red card. Buffon was eventually beaten in the 81st minute by a Diego Godín header, moments after Luis Suárez’s bite on Giorgio Chiellini.[391] Buffon was voted man of the match for his performance. Italy finished in third place in their group, and were eliminated in the group stage for a second consecutive World Cup.
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These shin pads were used by Gianluigi Buffon during the Fifa World Cup “BRASIL 2014”. Buffon mixed two different styles of shin pads. The first style is Buffon regular shin pad’s style with Carrarese team’s logo on and Carrara (his native town). The second one was especially made for the World Cup by the cartoonist Valerio Marini along with some other Italy Team’s players. Marini took the essential features of each player and released a special cartoon representing them. These shin pads represent Gianluigi Buffon with Superman’s outfit. Superman is Buffon favorite super hero since his childhood. Very few pairs were released and they were all auctioned after the World Cup for a good cause.
Did you Know?
Buffon made his first appearance for Italy under new manager Antonio Conte on 9 September 2014, captaining his team in their opening European Championship qualifying match against Norway in Oslo. He kept a clean sheet as Italy won the match 2–0. On 12 June 2015, Buffon became the first player to appear in 50 UEFA competitive international matches in Italy’s 1–1 away draw against Croatia in a European qualifying match. Buffon saved an early Mario Mandžukić penalty, but was taken off at half time and replaced by Salvatore Sirigu due to an injury. He made his 150th appearance for Italy on 6 September 2015, keeping a clean sheet in a home 1–0 win over Bulgaria, his 62nd clean sheet at the international level. Italy qualified for Euro 2016 on 10 October in a 3–1 win over Azerbaijan. After the Euro qualification, Buffon stated that Euro 2016 would be the final European Championship of his career, but expressed his intentions to retire only after the 2018 World Cup, which would see him play up to the age of 40. On 31 May 2016, Buffon was named the captain of Conte’s 23-man Italy squad for Euro 2016.
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On 21 October 2015, Buffon overtook Alessandro Del Piero’s record for most minutes played with Juventus in the 73rd minute of Juventus’s 0–0 home draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach, in the Champions League group stage.On 28 February 2016, Buffon kept his eighth consecutive clean sheet in Serie A in a 2–0 win over Inter. In the process, he set a new personal best in the top flight, and the outright sixth-best unbeaten streak in the history of the Italian league, after going 746 minutes without conceding a goal in Serie A, overtaking Morgan De Sanctis and Marchegiani. In the following league match against Atalanta on 6 March, he extended his unbeaten record by keeping another clean sheet in a 2–0 away win, also equalling Dino Zoff’s and Sebastiano Rossi’s league record of nine consecutive clean sheets in Serie A. His unbeaten streak of 836 minutes without conceding a goal was the third best unbeaten streak in Serie A history, behind only Zoff and Rossi, and was also the longest period a goalkeeper has gone without conceding a goal since three points for a win were introduced in Serie A during the 1994–95 season. He overtook Zoff in a 1–0 home victory over Sassuolo on 11 March, achieving a league record 10 consecutive clean sheets, and extended his unbeaten streak to 926 minutes without conceding a goal, only three minutes behind the all-time record holder, Rossi; the last time he had conceded a goal was when he was beaten by Antonio Cassano, in the 64th minute of a 2–1 away win over Sampdoria, on 10 January 2016. Buffon surpassed Rossi’s record of 929 minutes by 45 minutes in a 4–1 away win over inter-city rivals Torino on 20 March, also surpassing Gianpiero Combi’s Italian league record unbeaten streak of 934 minutes in the process; he set the new all-time record at 974 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal. Andrea Belotti finally ended his goalless streak by beating him from the penalty spot in the 48th minute of the same match.
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On 11 October 2016, Buffon became the first goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Foot Award. Buffon had initially suffered criticism in the media at the beginning of the 2016–17 season over a high-profile error against Spain in a World Cup qualifier with Italy, followed by another mistake with Juventus against Udinese in Serie A; although certain analysts questioned his longevity, on 18 October, Buffon drew praise from pundits for his performance in his club’s third fixture of the 2016–17 Champions League group stage, as he helped a ten-man Juventus to a 1–0 away win over Lyon. During the match, he saved Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty in the 35th minute (his first penalty save in the Champions League since 2003), and later also made a decisive stop on Nabil Fekir’s deflected shot early into the second half, while he used his legs to deny Corentin Tolisso’s point-blank header in the 71st minute. The victory meant that Juventus had managed to earn their first ever away victory against a French side in the Champions League, while Buffon sealed his third consecutive clean sheet of the season in the competition, and the 42nd Champions League clean sheet of his career. Following the match, Buffon commented “I love it when they celebrate your funeral, and then you show them that you’re still alive.” Following his performances throughout the calendar year, Buffon was included in the 30-man shortlist for the 2016 Ballon d’Or; he placed ninth alongside Pepe in the final ranking. In Juventus’ fourth Champions League group match of the season on 2 November, a 1–1 home draw against Lyon, Buffon made his 100th Champions League appearance (excluding appearances in qualifying rounds), becoming the 29th player to reach this landmark. On 4 November, he was included in the 23-player shortlist for The 2016 Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. On 6 November, Buffon earned his 600th Serie A appearance in a 2–1 away win against Chievo, the fourth player to reach this milestone. On 1 December, Buffon was nominated for the 2016 FIFPro World XI, making him the only player, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, to have been included in the shortlist every year since its inception in 2005. On 23 December, Buffon made his 600th competitive appearance for Juventus in the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana. Buffon capped off the year by placing second in the 2016 IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper Award, finishing behind Neuer once again.On 5 January 2017, Buffon was named to the 2016 UEFA Team of the Year, becoming the oldest player ever to be named to the UEFA Team of the Year; this was also the fourth time he had been voted to the UEFA Team of the Year. On 9 January, it was announced Buffon had placed eighth in The 2016 Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. On 30 January, Buffon was voted Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the 11th time, and named to the 2016 Serie A Team of the Year.On 22 February, he made his 100th Champions League appearance for Juventus in the first leg of the club’s round of 16 tie against Porto, keeping a clean sheet in the 2–0 away win. On 5 March, Buffon drew level with Totti as the joint third-highest appearance holder in Serie A after making his 612th appearance in the competition in a 1–1 away draw against Udinese. On 19 March, Buffon surpassed Boniperti as the all-time minute holder for a Juventus player in Serie A in the 66th minute of a 1–0 away win over Sampdoria. On 2 April, he equalled Javier Zanetti as the joint-second highest appearance holder of all time in Serie A, with his 615th Serie A appearance in a 1–1 away draw against Napoli. On 3 May, Buffon made his 100th appearance for Juventus in the UEFA Champions League (excluding appearances in the qualifying rounds) in a 2–0 away win against Monaco, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the competition; Buffon became only the second Italian player after Paolo Maldini to make 100 Champions League appearances for a single club, and marked the occasion with a clean sheet, his 47th overall in the competition, making him the goalkeeper with the third-highest number of Champions League clean sheets, alongside Čech, and behind only Casillas (57) and van der Sar (50). This was the first time Juventus had managed to keep six consecutive clean sheets in a single edition of the tournament, the joint third-best number of consecutive clean sheets in a single Champions League season. On 9 May, Buffon made his 150th UEFA club appearance in a 2–1 home win over Monaco in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, making him the player with the ninth-most appearances in UEFA club matches, alongside Jamie Carragher.
Did you Know?
Buffon plays with a custom made captain armband with his own design and with match details on. He numbers his arm bands as he usually makes between two and five armbands to be used. He usually wears the number 1 and he makes available for charity auctions the rest of the armbands done. This armband used against Chievo was exclusively made in a total of one piece and it celebrates the 600th Buffon’s appearance in Serie A.
Things to Know:
On 11 October 2016, Buffon became the first goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Foot Award. Following his performances throughout the year, Buffon was included in the 30-man shortlist for the 2016 Ballon d’Or; he placed ninth alongside Pepe in the final ranking. In Juventus’ fourth Champions League group match of the season on 2 November, a 1–1 home draw against Lyon, Buffon made his 100th Champions League appearance (excluding appearances in qualifying rounds), becoming the 29th player to reach this landmark. On 4 November, he was included in the 23-player shortlist for The 2016 Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. On 6 November, Buffon earned his 600th Serie A appearance in a 2–1 away win against Chievo, the fourth player to reach this milestone. His performances saw him earn the Juventus Player of the Month Award for October 2016. On 21 November, Buffon was nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year for the ninth time his career, making him goalkeeper with the most nominations ever, alongside Iker Casillas. On 1 December, Buffon was nominated for the 2016 FIFPro World XI, making him the only player, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, to have been included in the shortlist every year since its inception in 2005. On 23 December, Buffon made his 600th competitive appearance for Juventus in the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana; following a 1–1 draw after extra time, Juventus lost 4–3 to Milan in a penalty shoot-out, although Buffon saved Gianluca Lapadula’s initial spot kick. Buffon capped off the year by placing second in the 2016 IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper Award, finishing behind Neuer once again. On 5 January 2017, Buffon was named to the 2016 UEFA Team of the Year, becoming the oldest player ever to be named to the UEFA Team of the Year; this was also the fourth time he had been voted to the UEFA Team of the Year. On 9 January, it was announced Buffon had placed eighth in The 2016 Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. On 30 January, Buffon was voted Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the 11th time, and named to the 2016 Serie A Team of the Year. On 17 February, Buffon made his 443rd Serie A appearance for Juventus in a 4–1 home win over Palermo, equalling Giampiero Boniperti as the club’s all-time second highest appearance holder in the competition, behind only Del Piero. On 22 February, he made his 100th Champions League appearance for Juventus in the first leg of the club’s round of 16 tie against Porto, keeping a clean sheet in the 2–0 away win. On 5 March, Buffon drew level with Totti as the joint third-highest appearance holder in Serie A after making his 612th appearance in the competition in a 1–1 away draw against Udinese. On 2 April, he equalled Javier Zanetti as the joint-second highest appearance holder of all time in Serie A, with his 615th Serie A appearance in a 1–1 away draw against Napoli. On 3 May, Buffon made his 100th appearance for Juventus in the UEFA Champions League (excluding appearances in the qualifying rounds) in a 2–0 away win against Monaco, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the competition; Buffon became only the second Italian player after Paolo Maldini to make 100 Champions League appearances for a single club, and marked the occasion with a clean sheet, his 47th overall in the competition, making him the goalkeeper with the third-highest number of Champions League clean sheets, alongside Čech, and behind only Casillas (57) and Van der Sar (50). This was the first time Juventus had managed to keep six consecutive clean sheets in a single edition of the tournament, the joint third-best number of consecutive clean sheets in a single Champions League season. On 9 May, Buffon made his 150th UEFA club appearance in a 2–1 home win over Monaco in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, making him the player with the ninth-most appearances in UEFA club matches, alongside Jamie Carragher. Juventus’s 4–1 win on aggregate saw Buffon reach the third Champions League final of his career; Kylian Mbappé’s second-half goal ended Buffon’s goalless streak, which saw him set a new personal best of 600 minutes without conceding a goal in the Champions League, and put him fifth on the all-time table, while Juventus’s overall unbeaten run of 690 minutes was the second-longest in the history of the competition. On 17 May 2017, Juventus won their 12th Coppa Italia title in a 2–0 win over Lazio, becoming the first team to win three consecutive cups. Buffon did not feature, as his usual back-up Neto was the club’s starting goalkeeper in the competition. Four days later on 21 May, following a 3–0 win over Crotone, Juventus secured their sixth consecutive Serie A title, establishing an all-time record of successive triumphs in the competition; with his eighth Serie A title, Buffon equalled Virginio Rosetta, Giovanni Ferrari, and Giuseppe Furino as the player with the most Italian league title victories. On 3 June 2017, Juventus entered a second Champions League Final in three years, and the third final for Buffon, but were defeated 4–1 by defending champions Real Madrid. With his third Champions League final defeat, Buffon became the player with the most Champions League final appearances without a Champions League medal, alongside former Juventus teammates Paolo Montero and Alessio Tacchinardi. He was named in the UEFA Champions League squad of the season for the second time, and the tournament’s best goalkeeper.
Did you Know?
This shirt was worn by Gianluigi Buffon during the first half of the Serie A game between Sampdoria and Juventus which took place in Genova,”Luigi Ferraris” Stadium, on March 19th 2017. Juventus defeated Sampdoria 1-0. At the end of the first half Buffon swapped his shirt with the Sampdoria’s goalkeeper whom we got the unwashed shirt from. This is a record’s shirt because in this game Buffon surpassed Giampiero Boniperti as the all-time minute holder for a Juventus player in Serie A in the 66th minute.
“Watching him close-up in training and during games is really quite impressive. Weaknesses? He has none” [Andrea Pirlo]
Champions League Final “Cardiff 2017”
Juventus vs Real Madrid
June 3rd 2017
Match Worn Gloves
Juventus F.C.
Did you Know?
On 3 June 2017, Juventus entered a second Champions League Final in three years, and the third final for Buffon, but were defeated 4–1 by defending champions Real Madrid. With his third Champions League final defeat, Buffon became the player with the most Champions League final appearances without a Champions League medal, alongside former Juventus teammates Paolo Montero and Alessio Tacchinardi. He was named in the UEFA Champions League squad of the season for the second time, and the tournament’s best goalkeeper.
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A curious thing about these gloves is that Puma, to celebrate the Champions League Final “Cardiff 2017”, made a special limited edition of 50 pcs. of this model to sell worldwide. While Puma said the gloves were exactly the same of the ones used by Buffon there are instead some slight differences as it happens all the times with player’s items. But what makes this story amazing that on the gloves that Puma put on sale there was an incredible text mistake on the right glove. On Buffon gloves wrist straps there was “Per continuare a sognare” (To Keep Dreaming) printed on. On the gloves on sale the right wrist strap says “Per continuare a sogna” which is an incredible mistake. So we think that player’s gloves and shop’s gloves supposed to be the same but after Puma noticed the mistake sewn a new strap on Buffon’s gloves keeping the shop’s version as they were. That’s why as you can see from the pictures, Buffon used gloves with fabric sewn wrist straps while the shop’s gloves had a regular rubber strap.
ITALY NATIONAL TEAM
Fifa World Cup “RUSSIA 2018” Qualifying Game
Italy vs Macedonia
Match Worn Shirt
Did you Know?
This shirt worn by Buffon against Macedonia is an authentic piece of history. For the first time ever an Italy Team’s goalkeeper wore the usual home outfield shirt instead of the regular goalkeeper’s shirt. Italy faced Macedonia in the Fifa World Cup “RUSSIA 2018” qualifying game and in honour of Buffon, who has played for his country for 20 years and featured in five World Cups, the squad wore the away jersey so that the goalkeeper could don the famous blue jersey for the first time in his career.
