Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon spent close to three decades in goal, from a Serie A debut for Parma at 17 in 1995 to his retirement at 45 in 2023. He finished with more Serie A appearances than anyone and 176 caps for Italy, more than any goalkeeper in history. He started out as a youth-team midfielder at Parma and, inspired by Cameroon's Thomas N'Kono, went in goal when both academy keepers were injured at once. The young Buffon was all explosion. He earned the nickname Superman after stopping a penalty from Inter's Ronaldo and revealing a Superman shirt under his jersey, a nod to his agility and spring in the air. Big and imposing, he still threw himself into acrobatic dives, rushed off his line to smother chances and got down quickly to gather or parry the ball, sometimes even challenging for it with his feet. In the 2003 Champions League final he made a reaction save from a close-range Filippo Inzaghi header that he later called the hardest save of his career. At the 2006 World Cup he was in outstanding form. Italy conceded only an own goal and a Zinedine Zidane penalty in seven matches, so nobody beat him in open play. In extra time of the final he saved a Zidane header, which he later called the most important save of his career, and Italy won the shootout. He finished second in that year's Ballon d'Or, and that summer, with Juventus sent down to Serie B after Calciopoli, he chose to stay. He was widely admired for his handling and command of high balls, but pundits occasionally said he was too cautious with crosses, staying home rather than coming to claim them, and that he punched balls he could have held. He was less comfortable on the ball than the keepers who followed, though his distribution was reliable. Late on there were bad nights too, like the Marcus Rashford shot he spilled for PSG in 2019, gifting a goal. A run of injuries between 2008 and 2010 and the pull of age forced a change of style. He rethought his diet and training and became a calmer, less spectacular keeper who relied on positioning, reading the game and organising the defenders in front of him. In one-on-ones he now stayed deeper, giving himself an extra moment to read the attacker and parry. It worked: in 2015–16 he went 974 minutes without conceding in Serie A, a league record. He was a vocal presence in goal and a big personality in the dressing room, and he wore the Italy armband more often than anyone. In 2015–16 he was praised for rallying Juventus from twelfth to the title. He was sent off for dissent against Real Madrid in 2018. He always played in short sleeves, even in winter, saying he could feel the ball better on his forearms.