Gianluigi Buffon: Best Goal Keeper

Gianluigi Buffon Profile :
Full Name : Gianluigi Buffon
Date of Place : 28 January 1978
Place of Date : Carrara, Italy
Position : Goal Keeper
Career Club :
1995-2001 : Ac Parma, 160 games
2001-2009 : Juventus....

Buffon Save the Goal Picture

Boffon and Trophy Picture

Gianluigi Buffon Bography :
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born January 28, 1978) is an Italian FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper. He is currently the first choice goalkeeper for Juventus F.C. and the Italian national team. He was transferred to Juventus from childhood club Parma F.C. in 2001, for what was the largest transfer figure ever for a goalkeeper at £32 million.

Early life and family
Gianluigi Buffon was born in Carrara, into a sporting family: his mother Maria Stella was a discus thrower, his father Adriano a weightlifter, his two sisters Veronica and Guendalina volleyball players, and his uncle Angelo Masocco a basketball player. He is also related to former Inter Milan and Italy goalkeeper Lorenzo Buffon, who is the cousin of Gianluigi's grandfather. He is also in close relation to english born Italian Claudio Palmiero.

Career
In 1995, at the age of 17, Buffon was signed by Parma A.C. (now Parma F.C.) and he made his debut in the Italian Serie A championship against A.C. Milan. After his excellent form for Parma, Buffon was awarded his first cap for the Italian national team at age 19, being called on to replace the injured Gianluca Pagliuca during the 1998 FIFA World Cup play-off game against Russia in Moscow. Buffon was chosen for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad, but did not play a single game as Pagliuca remained first choice. After helping Italy through a successful Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, Buffon transferred from Parma to Juventus F.C. in 2001, for a world-record goalkeeper's fee of around £32 million. He has said this is too much money for one player, but that he does not feel under pressure because of it. Buffon started for Italy at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In 2003, he won the "Most Valuable Player" and "Best Goalkeeper" awards at the UEFA European Football Awards. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. In 2004-05, Buffon helped Juventus to their third Serie A title in four seasons. In the summer of 2005, during the annual match for the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy, Buffon needed surgery for a dislocated shoulder after colliding with Milan's Kaká. His operation was successful and he returned to the pitch in November, but played only once as injury again returned him to the sidelines until January.

On May 12, 2006, it was revealed, amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding Juventus and the Serie A match-fixing scandal, that Buffon, along with former Juventus goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti and several other players, participated in illegal betting on Serie A matches while with Parma. The following day, he voluntarily allowed himself to be questioned by Turin magistrates in an attempt to clear his name. While admitting that he did bet on sports (until regulations went into effect in late 2005, banning players from doing so), he vehemently denied placing wagers on Italian football matches. Fears arose that he had placed his 2006 FIFA World Cup squad spot in jeopardy, but he was officially named Italy's starting goalkeeper on May 15.

On July 14, Juventus was relegated to Serie B following the outcome of the Italian match-fixing scandal, while Lazio, Milan and Fiorentina were penalized in a point deduction. Juventus was also deducted 30 points for the next season's campaign (later reduced to 17 and then to 9 under appeal). Because of this, rumours about a transfer for Buffon spread, as teams such as Arsenal F.C., Milan, Barcelona and A.S. Roma were interested in him. It was also rumoured Buffon would go to Chelsea in January with the absence of Cech with a long injury. However, Buffon preferred to stay in Torino. At first Milan offered to exchange Christian Abbiati for Buffon, but opted to loan Abbiati to Torino Calcio. On July 19th, Buffon's agent announced he would stay at Juventus even in Serie B, saying "it is a division he has never won and he wants to try to do this."

After winning the Serie B with Juve and helping in their promotion, Buffon confirmed that he would most probably remain a Juventus player next season. Buffon later signed a contract extension with Juventus, extending his stay at the club until 2012.


International career
Buffon was a member of the Italian Olympic Team at the 1996 Olympic Games, and played for Italy in the Euro 2004 tournament.

In an outstanding performance at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Buffon let in no goals other than an own goal from teammate Cristian Zaccardo in the game against the USA, and a Zinedine Zidane penalty in the final. He kept a 453-minute scoreless streak at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, putting him fifth in the all-time ranking for unbeaten goalkeepers. He recorded a total of seven shutouts. FIFA declared Buffon FIFA best goalkeeper of the 2006 World Cup. In the final against France, Buffon made several crucial saves, including Zidane's powerful header in extra time. The match led to a penalty shoot out in which neither Buffon or Fabien Barthez could make a save. Italy ended up winning because of David Trezeguet's effort clanging off the bottom of the crossbar and bouncing right in front of the line.


Trivia
Buffon shares his exact birthdate with Liverpool footballer Jamie Carragher. They met in the quarter-finals of the 2005 UEFA Champions League when Juventus faced Liverpool.
He is the owner of two Labradors, Ugo and Leto.
His favourite designer is Giorgio Armani.
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)

Honours
Italian Cup: 1999
Italian Super Cup: 1999, 2002, and 2003
Italian Serie A: 2002, 2003 , 2005 and 2006 (last 2 revoked)
Italian Serie B: Champions 2007
UEFA Cup: 1999
the Mediterranean: 1997
European Under-21 Football Championship: 1996
UEFA Champions League runners up: 2003
FIFA World Cup: 2006 (winner)
Yashin Award: 2006
World Cup All-Star Team: 2006
European Footballer of the Year - Silver Ball: 2006
UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2003
UEFA Club Football Awards - Best Goalkeeper: 2003
IFFHS World's best goalkeeper - Best Goalkeeper: 2003, 2004, 2006
Oscar calcio - Best Goalkeeper: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
Onze d'Or - Best Goalkeeper: 2003, 2006
Bravo Award - Best young football (soccer) player in Europe: 1999
FIFA 100 - 125 greatest living players, as selected by Pelé: 2004

Source : Wikipedia