The sun has officially set on one of the greatest careers in football. Gianluigi Buffon has officially retired after a 28 year career.
Buffon was a Juventus and Italy legend. He began his career with Parma back in 1998. He spent three seasons with the club before eventually moving to Turin in 2001. Buffon spent the next 19 seasons out of 20 playing for the Bianconeri. During his time in Turin, he quickly became one of the best keepers in the game and was a key part of Juventus’ success over that period.
While at Juventus, he helped the club win 12 domestic trophies. This number includes the Serie B title won in 2006 after Juventus was relegated for attempting to bribe referees in what became known as the “Calciopoli.”
After Juve returned to the top flight, the Bianconeri eventually won 7 Scudetti in a row with Buffon in goal. He then left the club for a 1 year stop at PSG before returning for two more seasons in Turin. After his final contract played out, Buffon returned to his roots and played for Parma to round out his legendary career.
Buffon was also the first-team keeper for the Italian national team. He helped the team win the 2006 World Cup and made 176 appearances for the Azzuri.
When you think of Italian football over the last 20 years, Gigi Buffon is the first name that comes to mind. His contributions to club and country have made him one of the greatest keepers to ever play the game.
There is no denying that Buffon deserves a place amongst the greatest players to have ever played. His commitment to excellence and dominance on the pitch is unmatched by the vast majority of the players in the game today. His unwavering loyalty to his club is also something that we don’t see anymore as players are always moving to new teams. Buffon didn’t even let demotion to Serie B deter him from the love of his club.
Juventus and world football fans were blessed to have an opportunity to see Buffon play over the last two and a half decades. He will surely be missed out on the pitch but his contributions to club and country will never be forgotten.
Grazie, Gigi!