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Juve's Euro Shambles Heightens Fears For Azzurri

International Herald Tribune - Found Mar. 19, 2010
The problem is not viewed as being limited to Cannavaro's Juve team mates Mauro Camoranesi, Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Grosso and Vincenzo Iaquinta...
Juve's Euro Shambles Heightens Fears For Azzurri - New York Times
Juve's Euro shambles heightens fears for Azzurri - STV.tv
Juve's Euro shambles heightens fears for Azzurri - Bdnews24.com
Juve's Euro shambles heightens fears for Azzurri - Reuters Africa
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Posted on March 19, 2010, 5:05 am

Hodgson wants Fulham to give Juve fight to the finish

AFP via Yahoo! - Found Mar. 18, 2010
Injuries to first choice goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and his deputy Alex Manninger will once again force Juve to start with 39-year-old third...
Hodgson wants Fulham to give Juve fight to the finish - Yahoo! Asia
Hodgson wants Fulham to give Juve fight to the finish (AFP) - Yahoo! News
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Posted on March 18, 2010, 10:23 am

Juve missing defensive pieces for Fulham

FOXSports.com - Found Mar. 10, 2010
... is starting to run into form under new coach Alberto Zaccheroni but will be without goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and central defender Giorgio...

Posted on March 10, 2010, 8:45 am

Gianluigi Buffon snubs Manchester City as he bids to drag Juventus ...

Football.co.uk - Found Mar. 9, 2010
Gianluigi Buffon has told Manchester City not to bother making a move for him this summer.

Posted on March 9, 2010, 8:02 am

Pellegrini on course to emulate Di Stfano

Times Online - Found Mar. 8, 2010
Pay a visit to the newspaper editor and treat him to a knuckle sandwich? None of the above if youre Gianluigi Buffon, the Juventus goalkeeper.

Posted on March 8, 2010, 12:54 pm

Even the hand of Thierry Henry is aloft over help for officials

Times Online - Found Mar. 7, 2010
He knows that when Italy won the 2006 World Cup they had a goalkeeper of the highest class in Gianluigi Buffon, just as in 1982 they had Dino...

Posted on March 7, 2010, 4:41 am

Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon ruled out for a month because of ...

Hamilton Spectator - Found Feb. 25, 2010
TURIN, Italy - Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has been ruled out for a month because of a thigh injury.

Posted on February 25, 2010, 6:29 am

Gianluigi Buffon: We still have hope

ESPN Star - Found Jan. 12, 2010
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is still confident his team are still in the title race.

Posted on January 12, 2010, 3:27 am

Arsenal and Man United chase Gianluigi Buffon

First Post - Found Jan. 26, 2010
Transfer Talk: Italian keeper could quit Juventus as the club offers Benitez a way out of Liverpool Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is reported

Posted on January 26, 2010, 10:19 am

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon ready to play again following ...

Metronews - Found Jan. 14, 2010
TURIN, Italy - Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is ready to play for Juventus again following knee surgery. Buffon underwent an arthroscopic...

Posted on January 14, 2010, 9:45 am

Gianluigi Buffon Biography

Gianluigi Buffon
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi-Buffon.jpg
Personal information
Full name Gianluigi Buffon
Date of birth 28 January 1978 (1978-01-28) (age 32)
Place of birth Carrara, Italy
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Juventus
Number 1
Youth career
1991–1995 Parma
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2001 Parma 168 (0)
2001– Juventus 268 (0)
National team
1995–1997 Italy U-21 12 (0)
1997– Italy 100 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 February 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 November 2009

Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon (born 28 January 1978 in Carrara), is an Italian FIFA World Cup and UEFA Cup-winning goalkeeper who plays for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He is considered by some fans and experts to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.12. He was named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record eight times.

He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 greatest living footballers in the world.

Contents

Club career

Early career

At the young age of just 17, Buffon made his Serie A debut for Parma in a 0-0 home draw against Milan on 19 November 1995. In his fourth season with the club, he won the UEFA Cup. He transferred from Parma to Juventus in 2001, for a world-record goalkeeper's fee of €51.5 million. Buffon nearly signed with Roma in 2001 following his departure from Parma, but team president Franco Sensi instead opted for Atalanta keeper Ivan Pelizzoli, who averaged less than 15 appearances in five seasons with Roma. Buffon also claimed that he wouldn't have signed with Roma had he left Juventus in 2006. "That was never a possibility really... I don’t think that Roma had the finances to make an investment of such a nature."3

Juventus

In 2003, he received the UEFA Most Valuable Player and Best Goalkeeper awards, and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. During the annual Luigi Berlusconi Trophy match against Milan in August 2005, Buffon collided with Milan midfielder Kaká while chasing a loose ball, and suffered a dislocated shoulder that required surgery. His operation was successful and he returned to the pitch in November, but played only once as another injury returned him to the sidelines until January. He recovered in time to help lead Juventus to their second consecutive Scudetto and his fourth overall with the club.

On 12 May 2006, Buffon, along with former Juventus goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti and many other players, were implicated as participants 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 jeopardized his chance of playing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but he was officially named Italy's starting goalkeeper on 15 May. The players were cleared of all charges by the FIGC on 27 June 2007.4

Following Juventus' punishment in the Calciopoli scandal, rumors spread that Juventus were shopping Buffon on the transfer market as a cost-cutting measure, and many teams became interested in his services.5 However, no deals ever materialized as Buffon elected to remain with Juventus; his agent said, "Serie B is a division he has never won and he wants to try to do this." AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani stated in April 2007 that Buffon's decision to stay proved a catalyst in re-signing incumbent Dida,6 though Buffon later denied having ever been contacted by Milan.

After Juventus won the Cadetti and were promoted back into the top flight, Buffon signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2012.7

In 2008–09, Buffon was again sidelined by several injuries, having problems with his back but principally a bad groin strain and a pulled muscle.8 From September-January, Alexander Manninger, Juventus' reserve goalie, held his position between the sticks, and gained a lot of praise for his deputizing.9 Because of this and Juve's poor form towards the end of the season, as Buffon was seen despondent as the team drew Lecce and Atalanta, there were further rumors that Buffon was upset and wanted to leave.10 He admitted he was upset but had no intentions to leave. After a discussion with management, he said he was reassured about the future of Juventus and signed a year extension to 2013.

Buffon started the 2009–10 season strongly, receiving praise for performances against sides such as Roma, Lazio, Livorno, Bulgaria, and Georgia. In the view of several commentators, his performances have cemented his reputation as one of the world's best players.1112

International career

Buffon was awarded his first cap for Italy at the age of nineteen, as an injury replacement for Gianluca Pagliuca during a qualifer for 1998 FIFA World Cup play-off against Russia. He was called up for the 1998 World Cup finals, but did not play a single game as Pagliuca remained first choice. He was a member of the Italy squad at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He was also the first choice goalkeeper for Italy at the Euro 2000, but broke his hand in a friendly match against Norway just eight days before the tournament started, and had his starting place taken by Francesco Toldo.

Buffon was in stunning form as he kept five clean sheets in addition to a 453-minute scoreless streak during the 2006 World Cup finals; the only goals conceded were an own goal from teammate Cristian Zaccardo against the United States, and a Zinedine Zidane penalty in the final against France, which ended 1-1 in extra time and led to a penalty shootout in which neither Buffon nor Fabien Barthez could save a penalty. The lone miss was David Trezeguet's effort that clanged off the bottom of the crossbar and failed to cross the line, which enabled Italy's Fabio Grosso to seal the victory for the Italians. Buffon received the Yashin Award for his accomplishments throughout the competition.

Buffon was named Italy captain for Euro 2008 after incumbent Fabio Cannavaro was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. In the second game of the group stage against Romania on June 13, he saved a penalty from Adrian Mutu in the 81st minute as the match ended 1-1 to keep Italy's hopes alive. Buffon kept a clean sheet against France in the final group game. Italy was eliminated in the quarterfinals nine days later after a 0-0 penalty shootout loss to Spain in which Buffon saved 1 penalty.

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1995–96 Parma Serie A 9 0 - - 9 0
1996–97 27 0 - 1 0 28 0
1997–98 32 0 6 0 8 0 46 0
1998–99 34 0 6 0 11 0 51 0
1999–00 32 0 0 0 9 0 41 0
2000–01 34 0 2 0 7 0 43 0
2001–02 Juventus Serie A 34 0 1 0 10 0 45 0
2002–03 32 0 0 0 15 0 47 0
2003–04 32 0 0 0 6 0 38 0
2004–05 37 0 0 0 11 0 48 0
2005–06 18 0 2 0 4 0 24 0
2006–07 Serie B 37 0 3 0 - 40 0
2007–08 Serie A 34 0 1 0 - 35 0
2008–09 23 0 2 0 5 0 30 0
2009–10 21 0 1 0 7 0 29 0
Total Juventus 268 0 10 0 58 0 337 0
Career Total 436 0 24 0 94 0 555 0

Honours

Parma

Juventus

International

Individual

References

External links