After almost 30 years, Gianluigi Buffon is hanging up his gloves and football boots. The Italian goalkeeping legend, however, leaves behind a massive monument. No wonder he is being sung praises of.
He became World Champion in 2006, he celebrated a cup including a UEFA Cup victory during his first stage (Parma), he crowned himself ten times in Serie A with the Scudetto, he remained loyal to Juventus even after the forced relegation – and that is only an excerpt. Gianluigi Buffon lined up triumphs after triumphs, parade after parade and big games after big games in his professional career, which stretched from 1995 to its current end in 2023 – all combined with his tireless ambition paired with his typical smile.
“Grande Gigi” himself kept it short with the announcement of his departure from the football stage as an active player. On Instagram, the Italian goalkeeping legend wrote only briefly and succinctly in the direction of his fans: “You have given me everything. I gave you everything. We won together.”
In the years to come, he will certainly have plenty to say about all that he has created and left behind on the pitch. After all, his World Cup victory in 2006, his ten Italian championships with Juventus (a record), his 657 Serie A games including more than 58,000 Serie A minutes played (each a record ahead of Milan icon Paolo Maldini), his stint at Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1 title in 2019), and his return to Parma two years ago have all added up to an almost endless number of stories. One book will hardly be enough for that, it would take a series of anthologies.
“Buffon is part of the history of this game “
Also, Buffon has made marks on a “smaller” scale: In the three-point era, the legendary keeper kept his box clean 285 times, once remaining ten Serie A games in a row (974 minutes) without conceding a goal.
At 43 years, three months and 14 days, he became the oldest player ever to have saved a penalty. Among the fans of the Turin Juventini, he will always have a place in their hearts even beyond his ten Scudetti or five cup victories – 489 Serie A games and 117 Champions League appearances with the Bianconeri have ensured that. In total, Buffon played over 61,000 minutes of football for Juve.
Born in Carrara, Tuscany, in 1978, the Italian has been named World Goalkeeper of the Year five times (2003, 2006, 2006, 2007 and 2017). Only two other great goalkeepers have achieved this feat – Iker Casillas and Manuel Neuer.
So two professionals who have themselves stressed on several occasions that they are great admirers of “Grande Gigi”. Casillas once said in a UEFA interview: “I’m lucky to be three years younger than Gigi. I was 14 when I started and he was 18. I saw his style and personality and learned to appreciate him. Growing up, I looked up to him, and as we developed together, we had similar careers. We both won a lot and played against each other a lot. I don’t think Italian football will ever have another goalkeeper like him. He is part of the history of this game. “
“The Superman of football “
No wonder the media, for instance, are also singing the goalkeeper’s praises on this Wednesday – the day Buffon’s career end was made official. “After 28 years of football history, Buffon closes the goal and becomes a legend. Gigi says basta,” wrote the “Gazzetta dello Sport” and added: “The 2006 World Cup winner from Berlin has become a collective myth. He was the greatest. “
The daily newspaper “Tuttosport” ran the headline: “Thank you Super-Gigi”. And his club of many years, Juventus, which he did not leave in 2006 despite being forced to leave because of referee manipulation and instead went to Serie B as reigning world champion, texted: “Today an era ends. “
“Buffon has succeeded in eclipsing the myth of Dino Zoff,” came a comment from “Corriere dello Sport”. Now he has a new life ahead of him. The path is considered to be mapped out. In future, he is to take on the role of head of delegation for the Italian national team – in other words, for the team for which Buffon stood between the posts 178 times and took part in five World Cups. Including the great success in Berlin in 2006.
Fittingly, companions of the World Cup triumph at the time have now also commented on the end of “Grande Gigi’s” career. “Without Buffon, I would never have become world champion,” said Marco Materazzi. Former Bayern striker Luca Toni called Buffon “the greatest in history”. And Andrea Pirlo, Buffon’s long-time teammate at Juventus and himself an icon of Italian football, praised “Grande Gigi” as the “Superman of world football. He is a hero of our times – forever.”
2014 World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger also paid tribute to Buffon after his retirement. “A true legend is leaving the football stage. You have influenced several generations over the years, you are one of the best who have ever stood between the posts. But first and foremost a true gentleman,” Schweinsteiger wrote on Twitter.
