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PLAYER FILE

BUFFON

Gianluigi Buffon
ITALY · ITA · GOALKEEPER · #1
28 JAN 1978 · Parma, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain
★ 1 WORLD CUPS
GigiSuperman
ITALY · #1

🌎 WORLD CUP RECORD

1
TITLES
14
MATCHES
0
GOALS
YEARHOSTAPPSGOALSRESULT
2002South Korea / Japan40 ROUND OF 16
2006Germany70 ★ WINNER
2010South Africa10 GROUP STAGE
2014Brazil20 GROUP STAGE
█ ATTRIBUTES
PACE 82
SHOOTING 35
PASSING 76
DRIBBLING 72
DEFENDING 97
PHYSICAL 90

⚡ DEFINING MOMENTS

▲ 2006 · Five hundred and seven minutes unbeaten
On the way to the title in Germany he conceded just twice in seven matches — an own goal against the United States and Zidane's panenka in the final — and at one stretch went over five hundred minutes without picking the ball out of his own net. The Golden Glove and the Yashin Award followed, and the cleanest sheets of any keeper at the tournament.
▲ 2006 · The save that kept the trophy in reach
Deep into extra time of the final, level with France, he arched backwards to claw a Zidane header off the line and over the bar — the one moment of brilliance that stood between Italy and defeat before the shoot-out. Some keepers win World Cups with a single save; this was his.
▲ 2017 · The night the play-off slipped away
A goalless draw with Sweden in Milan ended Italy's hopes of reaching a sixth World Cup, and at thirty-nine his international story closed in tears rather than a sixth tournament. The most-capped goalkeeper football has known would never play another.

📜 CAREER TIMELINE

1995
Breaks through at Parma as a teenager, keeping a clean sheet against Milan on his Serie A debut.
1997
Wins his first cap for Italy in a World Cup play-off in Russia, aged nineteen; he goes to the 1998 finals but stays on the bench throughout.
2001
Joins Juventus for a world-record fee for a goalkeeper, beginning a near two-decade association with the club.
2006
Starts all seven matches as Italy win the World Cup in Germany, conceding twice and taking the Golden Glove.
2014
Captains Italy at his fifth and final World Cup in Brazil; the side go out in the group stage.
2018
Plays his 176th and last match for Italy, the most-capped goalkeeper in the game's history.
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█ THE ALMANAC SPEAKS
PROF. INKSWORTH:

The ledger is short and tells you almost nothing: across five squads the almanac records fourteen finals appearances and not a single goal conceded that he could be blamed for in a winning cause. The numbers that matter are 2006 — seven matches, two goals against, one trophy, and a Golden Glove — when he was simply the best goalkeeper on earth. Called to a record five tournaments and unused as a teenager in 1998, he bowed out as the most-capped goalkeeper football has known, undone at the last by a play-off rather than by any forward.

  • Called up to five World Cups — a record for any outfield player or keeper — yet sat out all of 1998 as an unused substitute.
  • Conceded only twice in the entire 2006 campaign, and one of those was an own goal; he took the Golden Glove for it.
  • Retired as Italy's most-capped player and the most-capped goalkeeper in the history of the game, on 176 caps.
Ready.
Zone: Historical