Gianluigi Buffon: Legendary Italian goalkeeper retires
August 2, 2023
Italian star goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon announced his retirement on Wednesday after 28 years on the field.
The 45-year-old raked up numerous career highlights including helping Italy win the 2006 FIFA World Cup, 10 Serie A titles with Juventus and a Ligue 1 title with Paris St. Germain. He's also the only goalkeeper ever to have won UEFA's award for the best individual footballer in Europe in a given season, picking it up in 2003.
"That's all folks! You gave me everything. I gave you everything. We did it together," Buffon posted on social media.
'A legend hangs up his gloves today'
Buffon, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, started his career at Parma, in the Italian second tier.
He went on to join Juventus in 2001 and spent most of his career at the club.
"A legend hangs up his gloves today," Juventus tweeted. "Your saves, your smiles, and your character will be forever remembered. Thank you, and congrats on an incredible career."
Buffon also played on the Italian national team from 1997 until 2018, the year Italy failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. He became the most capped player in Italy's history with 176 appearances for the Azzurri.
Buffon's larger-than-life persona and his spirit of fair play also became renonwned during his long career. One of many such examples came during an international friendly match against France in 2016, when Italian fans started booing the French anthem as it began to play before the game. Buffon heard the reaction, started energetically clapping and encouraging his teammates to join in, and soon the fans in the stands followed suit, drowning out the boos.
In 2021, Buffon made a sentimental return to Parma, where his career started. His contract with the club was supposed to last until 2024.
"I experienced Buffon for 25 years, first with Juve and then on the national team — his greatness as a player and as a man," former coach Marcello Lippi said.
He said he thinks Buffon should take a job with the national team, a possibility also mentioned in media reports about the goalkeeper's future.
zc/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)