Biography
Gianluigi Buffon
Inside This Article:
Who is Gianluigi Buffon?
Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian former professional football player who used to play for Juventus FC and also served as captain for the team. He represents Italy as his national team, where he was again captain till his retirement. Buffon is also known as one of the best goalkeepers of the 21st century. He started his football journey from 1995 to the Parma football club, where he served the club for six years till 2001. Buffon then played for Juventus till 2018, which was the most essential part of his career. He then made contact with French FC named Paris Saint-Germain for one year. Later, Buffon returned back to his old club Juventus and made a contract for one year. In May 2018, he announced his retirement from the international, national club.
Quick Info | |
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Full Name | Gianluigi Gigi Buffon |
Birth Date | January 28, 1978 |
Birth Place | Carrara, Italy |
Father | Adriano Buffon |
Mother | Maria Stella Buffon |
Siblings | Guendalina Buffon Veronica Buffon |
Age | 42 years old |
Horoscope | Aquarius |
Religion | Catholicism |
Height | 6 feet and 4 inches (192cm/1.92m) |
Weight | 92 kg (202lbs) |
Eyes | Black |
Hair | Black |
Net Worth | $20 million |
Bio
Gianluigi Gigi Buffon was born on January 28, 1978, in Carrara, Italy. He was taken to father Adriano Buffon and to mother, Maria Stella Buffon. His parents were national-level athletes where his father was a weightlifter, and his mother was a discus thrower. He has two sisters Guendalina Buffon and Veronica Buffon, who are volleyball players for their national team. Buffon is currently 42 years old with an Aquarius zodiac sign.
Nationality and Physical Stats
Gianluigi Buffon holds an Italian nationality, and as per his religion, he follows Catholicism. He is of White ethnicity. Buffon has an athletic body type. Besides this, he stands 6 feet and 4 inches (192cm/1.92m) tall and weighs around 92 kg (202lbs). He has a pair of black coloured eyes with black hair colour.
Early Life
Gianluigi Buffon was always inspired by his parents, and his father used to train him, which led him to participate when he was just five years old in different sports games. Initially, he was admitted to a football training school where he played as a midfielder, but in his teenage days, he went to do play as a striker. Eventually, he came back to football and served as a goalkeeper.
Personal Life
Gianluigi Buffon married his long-time girlfriend, Alena Seredova, a model, in June 2011. This couple is blessed with two children named Louis Thomas, born in 2001, and David Lee, born in 2009. Sadly, he and his wife divorced in 2014.
Social
Gianluigi Buffon is active in his social media accounts. His Facebook page has 7.2 million followers and more than 5 million likes. Likewise, his Twitter account and Instagram account (@gianluigibuffon) have 3.4 million and 9.5 million followers.
Career
1992-2005
Gianluigi Buffon joined the Parma FC youth club in 1992 and amazed everyone from his talent as a goalkeeper. After three years, in 1995, he was finally selected in the senior club and made his actual appearance in the ‘UEFA U-21 Championship’ the same year. In the third season for this club, he mesmerized everyone by his perfect goalkeeping, which also led him to earn a name as Superman. The next season, he led his team to win the ‘UEFA Cup,’ and he received the goalkeeper of the Year Award. Moreover, his team also won many other titles likes ‘Italian Cup,’ ‘Italian Supercup,’ and ‘UEFA Cup.’
For his national team, he played the 1997 qualifier match for World Cup, but due to his injuries, he couldn’t continue further. Likewise, for the European Championship in 2000, he could not play the tournament because of his broken hand. In 2001, he was then signed to Juventus and was given the number 1 jersey. His no 1 jersey hence proved him as he led his club to win four league titles consecutively, which were UEFA Club Footballer of the Year, UEFA Best Goalkeeper award, and IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper twice. He also gained wild popularity when he performed as a goalkeeper in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Likewise, in the 2002-2003 season, their team played against Parma for the title Supercoppa Italiana which they got it after defeating over Parma. Overall, he played 32 and 37 matches in the seasons 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, respectively.
2006-2016
During 2006, Gianluigi faced the Calciopoli Scandal, which made a massive controversy that could affect his career. But he performed for his club though they lost two league titles. Taking about the national team in FIFA World Cup in 2006, he only gave 2 goals by stopping several other plans, which eventually made him honoured with IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper and Yashin Award. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he could not represent his country due to his back pain but performed very well in European Championships in 2008 and 2012. Over the upcoming years in the 2012-2013 season, his performance made everyone from his team win back to back first division titles.
Moreover, in 2013 he did not let anyone score a goal in ‘Italian Supercup’, made a new record and regarded as the best goalkeeper of that era. He also served in captaincy in the 2014 World Cup though the team played very poorly. In the next World Cup again in 2016, he became disappointed with his team’s performance and took retirement as an international player.
2016-Present
Though Gianluigi took retirement from the international level, he kept playing for his club Juventus where he performed brilliantly. He also won Golden Foot Award, the first award won by a goalkeeper. He also became one of the oldest players to be named as the UEFA Team of the year in 2016. Gianluigi then made his last appearance for Juventus in the 2017-2018 season in 21 matches. His debut match for PSG was against Monaco, where they won the game with 4-0. After playing for 17 games, he again returned to Juventus for the 2019-2020 season. By his fantastic talent, his contract extended up to July 2021 by Juventus. To date, he has made 9 appearance matches.
Achievements
Gianluigi Buffon has received many prestigious titles, honours, and awards for his outstanding performances. He received Bravo Award in 1999, UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for the season 2002-2003, and Best European Goalkeeper Award in 2003, 2016, and 2017. Moreover, he had also won The Best FIFA Goalkeeper in 2017.
Net Worth
Gianluigi Buffon earns from his professional football career and is currently worth $20 million.