Name: Gianluigi Buffon 
Date of Birth: January, 28, 1978  
Place of Birth: Carrara, Italy 
Weight: 90kg 
Height: 1.88m 
Zodiac: Aquarius 
Position: Goalkeeper 
Juventus Squad Number: 1  
Italy Squad Number: 1  
Contract expiry: 2006 
Preferred foot: Right 
Juventus Debut: 26.8.2001 Juventus-Venezia (4-0) (Serie A) 
Serie A Debut: 19.11.1995 Parma - Milan (0-0) 
National Team Debut: 29.10.1997 Russia - Italia (1-1) 
Caps (Italy) :24 
Previous Clubs: Parma (1994-2001) 168 apps 
Nicknames: 'Gigi', 'SuperGigi' 
Hobbies: Football and Puzzles 
Idols: N'Kono (cameroon goalkeeper) and Luca Marchegiani (italian goalkeeper) 
Fans: Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas 
Martial Status: Single 
Houners:
1998/1999 Coppa Italia 
1999  Italian SuperCup 
1998/1999  UEFA cup 
1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship 
2001-2002 Serie A  
2000/2001 Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year 
  
  

Biography

"Gigi Buffon is in every way an original. His talent very quickly made him the number one of both Parma and Italy, whilst his personality, which is never banal, is characterised by great bravery both in his statements to the press and as he comes out to smother the ball at the feet of onrushing players." - Leo Turrini

Gianluigi Buffon was born in Carrara, Italy on 28/01/78 into a Sporting family: his mother, Maria Stella, was a disks thrower, his father, Adriano was a weight lifter, his two sisters, Veronica and Guendalina, play volleyball and his uncle, Angelo Masocco, played basketball. He is also a nephew of former Milan and Italy goalkeeper Lorenzo Buffon.

As a young boy growing up in Italy, Gigi played as a midfielder. However he decided to change his position to goalkeeper after he lost the will to run, this proved to be a great decision as Gigi is now one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world.

 Buffon was soon signed up by Parma, and not long after this he made his debut in Italy’s Serie A at the age of 17 against AC Milan. During his debut Gigi didn't participate in the official match photo, which is the tradition at the beginning of matches. He just left, running for the goal, because he was not accustomed to this.

After his fantastic form for Parma, Gigi was awarded his first Italy cap at the age of 19. He was very nervous in this game because he was called on to replace the injured Pagliuca and had seen him get injured. In this occasion, Gigi also wanted that the game to finish soon because, as the match was in Moscow, he was very cold and he was wearing his customary short-sleeved goalkeeper shirt.

Buffon feared to be considered guilty, if Italy did not qualify for the 1998 WorldCup. Italy did qualify for the competition and Gigi was chosen for the squad, but did not play any games during the tournament.

After helping Italy through a successful Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, Gigi missed out on the finals after breaking his hand in one of Italys final pre-tournament games.

Buffon has now signed for Juventus for a world record goalkeeper fee of £33 million. Buffon admits this is too much money for one player but says he does not feel under pressure because of it. Buffon has now joined a select group of great Italian 'keepers with the Bianconeri after Dino Zoff, Stefano Tacconi and Angelo Peruzzi.

Gigi always says and does what he thinks and he has in his home a notebook where he writes down his defeated and defended penalty kicks. He also keeps, until today, the red shirt number 12 of his Serie A debut and the gloves that he earned of Taffarel when he was young.

Buffon is not punctual. He is always the last one to arrive to the training. He also loses his patience with people who are deceptive of others. Buffon sometimes goes to discos after the games with his friends and teammates. He says that until he was 17 years old, he was a "Monster " and he was so ugly, that the girls ran away of him. Gigi says that he would love to stay together with someone special , but he prefers to live alone. He says that even when he gets married, he will live alone.

Gigi often spends time visiting and helping less fortunate people in Africa, he claims his money and status will never change him from the person he has always been.

Buffons idols are: N'Kono, cameroon goalkeeper and Luca Marchegiani, italian goalkeeper. His hobbies are watching/playing football and solving puzzles. He says his qualities are, that he is sincere and realistic, and he admits and takes responsibilities for his mistakes. He says his defect is that he is very impulsive and talks what he wants.

 Buffons ambitions now are: to win every major honour possible with Juventus, to finally play and establish himself at international level in a major tournament and to one day score a goal.

Buffon is blessed with an innate sense of position and feline agility which allows him to cover the goalmouth with ease. He was Parma's first-choice goalkeeper from the age of 18 and made his debut as a 17-year-old, ousting Luca Bucci, who was an Italy international at the time.

He is likely to be Italy's No 1 goalkeeper for years to come, continuing a great legacy which goes back to Dino Zoff. The fans' favourite, he is charming, funny and intelligent off the pitch as well. He already has a friendly rivalry with Fiorentina's goalkeeper Francesco Toldo, Italy's other outstanding young custodian.

Career

Anyone who watched Gianluigi Buffon make his Serie A debut back in November 1995 would have sensed they were witnessing something special. Then only 17, Buffon was asked to face a formidable Milan side in the Stadio Tardini. Many feared the worst for the teenager from Carrara but he played out of his skin, making several stunning saves to hold the Rossoneri to a 0-0 draw. As a debut, it was as good as they come. Gigi has never looked back since that sunny autumn afternoon. He soon ousted Luca Bucci as Parma's Number one and matured into one of the best keepers very quickly.

 Buffon was soon called up to the Azzurrini and was part of the Italy team that won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 1996. Then Gigi's international career with the Azzurri began. On 29/10/97 during Italy's friendly match against Russia, Gianluca Pagliuca picked up an injury and Buffon was called on to replace him, making his national team debut at the age of 20. Gigi began to establish his name at international level and was picked for the full squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, but did not play.

Buffon then helped to maintain Parma's position as one of Serie A's leading sides and was an integral part of their 1998/99 UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia success.

From this point on Gigi's status as an Italian international went from strength to strength. With the EURO 2000™ qualification coming closer and closer, Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Toldo became Italys first choice goalkeepers. Gigi's exceptional league form with Parma made him the automatic first choice, he started seven of Italy's EURO 2000™ qualifying matches, keeping four clean sheets. Gigi was Italy number one and looking forward to the finals, and then disaster struck, Buffon broke his thumb in one of Italy's last games ahead of EURO 2000™ and was ruled out of the competition, his absence allowed Toldo to grab the No 1 shirt.

After missing out on EURO 2000™, and after Toldo's heroics in Italy's campaign, many people thought that Francesco Toldo would remain Italy number one even after Buffon regained full fitness. But they were wrong. Gigi soon regained fitness and won back his rightful place as Italy number one. Buffon is now expected to remain as Italy number one for years to come.

In the summer of 2000 Gigi rejected various offers from clubs including Manchecter United and decided to spend another season with his beloved club. After Parma's dissapointing start to the season Gigi helped his club gain Champions League qualification and give the fans something to celebrate after a frustrating season. Buffon had become a fans favourite and an idol at the Tardini club. But after the 2000/2001 season, after playing 168 games for his club, Buffon decided he would have to leave Parma to fullfill his dreams and win Europes biggest prizes.

 Parma AC’s asking price of £32m – easily a world record for a goalkeeper – scared off FC Barcelona but not Juventus, who knew they had found the ideal replacement for Edwin van der Sar and signed him in July 2001.

Gigi started of a his first season with Juventus on average form, he made some bad errors which resulted in Juve conceading some very easy goals. Gigi soon put these early mistakes behind him and his form got better by the game. After early elimination from the Champions League and the press writing off Juves chances of winning the Italian league, it was beginning to look like Buffon would finish his first season with Juventus without any major honours.

This is when Gigi reached his top form, one brilliant performance after another put Juve right back into the race for Lo Scudetto. On the final day of the season Inter were beaten by Lazio, so Juve's win over Udinese meant that Lo Scudetto was once again going back to Turin. Juve where champions of Italy, and Gigi had won his first ever Scudetto. "We have won thanks to Buffon, Juve won a lot of games with his wonderful performances". - Honorary president of Juventus Gianni Agnelli.

The Carrara-born star is in the finest tradition of Italian goalkeepers and a worthy heir to the likes of Dino Zoff, who also wore the number one jersey for Juventus FC and Italy. Buffon has now joined a select group of great Italian 'keepers with the Bianconeri after Dino Zoff, Stefano Tacconi and Angelo Peruzzi. Buffon is well aware of the standing of his predecessors, describing the challenge of living up to them as “stimulating”.
Agile, with a great sense of anticipation, the young keeper looks set to make the position his own for both club and country for the foreseeable future.

Gigi Rated 

Positioning [8 out of 10] 
He has the natural talent of a keeper whom guards the whole goal with an always-perfect position. 
His physic and long arms give him a very big radius of action. His tactical intelligence gives him the 
opportunity to anticipate the direction of the shoot, which results in the ball always seem to come 
where he stands. 

Blocking the ball [8 out of 10] 
No weak points here, he’s a natural born keeper and with his Nazionale experiences demanding him
to grow up fast he has become a very reliable shot-stopper who rarely makes mistakes. 

Working in the penalty area [9 out of 10] 
He has courage and precision when forced to leave his goal and face the opponent on one-on-ones.
Great at low exits and exceptional at high blocks, his strength lies in his physic and agility. 

Reflexes [9.5 out of 10] 
He manages shots from a few meters with the agility of a cat. The space between the eye’s recording
and the physical reaction is non-existent. In the low flight his size is not a handicap thanks to his long
reach. Superb at getting back on his feet in no time. 

Footwork [8 out of 10] 
He’s as comfortable with the ball at his feet as any of his teammates, here is where we can see his 
midfield past the most. Never misses a clearing and sometimes even try a dribble. 

Penalties [9.5 out of 10] 
He has had more than one miracle in his career like the 2 penalty-kick stops to Ronaldo and the one
against Borussia’s Chapuisat. He prefers to wait to see the intention of the shooter, his great 
reactions do the rest.