The annual UEFA President’s Award goes to Italy this year: goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon is honored for his lifetime achievement in professional soccer.
Every year since 1998, UEFA has honored a soccer personality with the UEFA President’s Award, which is intended to recognize “outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities” of professionals. Past recipients of the award include Franz Beckenbauer (2012), Miroslav Klose (2023), Johan Cruyff (2013) and David Beckham (2018) – now it is Gianluigi Buffon’s turn.
UEFA announced on Monday that this year’s President’s Award will go to the 46-year-old goalkeeping legend. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin paid tribute to the former Italy international keeper for “his enormous skill, his long and enduring career and his determination”, with which he has inspired soccer fans worldwide, according to a press release.
Buffon’s professional career lasted 28 years and began in the 1995/96 season at AC Parma. He later won the Italian championship ten times with Juventus Turin and the French championship once with Paris St. Germain. In total, he scored 657 times in Serie A and 124 times in the Champions League, and kept 175 goals for the Italian national team – with winning the 2006 World Cup as the highlight. He finally ended his active career in the summer of 2023, having spent his last professional years back at Parma in Serie B.
Admiration for Ceferin – even beyond the sporting side
“Gianluigi Buffon is a player I have admired since he excelled as a young, charismatic goalkeeper for Parma in the 1990s,” said Ceferin, explaining his decision to honor the record-breaking Italian international and current head of the national team delegation. “His remarkable consistency over three decades could lead many to believe that it is easy to stay at the top.”
However, it is not just the sporting aspects that would play a role in the award. “Buffon was one of the first athletes to speak openly about mental health and depression, helping to raise awareness of the issue at professional level,” continued Ceferin.
