Happy Birthday “ SuperGigi”
It is still hard to believe he is only 34! He is regarded as not only one of the best keepers in the world, but also a veteran of the game. Gianluigi Buffon started his playing career at 17 with Serie A side Parma, at the tender age of 17 and being thrust into one of the most competitive league In Europe, a normal player might have buckled under the pressure, but not Gigi, he announced himself by becoming a regular starter and then got the attention of Juventus where he has been playing since his record breaking move in 2001.
He has amassed a huge amount of success at The Old Lady but it has not been sunshine and flowers all the way, the Infamous Calciopoli scandal in 2006 which meant that he played in a lower division, yet even this major setback Buffon found a way to see the positive side and saw it as an opportunity to win something new. And lo and behold they found their way back to the top a year later. Juventus and Gigi spent a couple of years at the top but then through management changes and questionable transfer decisions saw Juve drop out of the top 4.
In the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons saw Juve drop to seventh in the league for two consecutive years, and what makes this even worse is the fact that this season has meant no European football of any kind. However this season has been one of their bests in a while, they currently hold top spot, albeit by just one point but they have also remained unbeaten in 19 games!
This is largely due to the heroics and consistently great performance by Buffon, some feared that we may never see the real Buffon after his back injury, but that injury has done nothing to dampen his abilities as he has shown on numerous occasions. One would think this would inflate his head, but Buffon has managed to keep his feet securely on the ground maintaining that hard work and training with the Goalkeeper coach is the key to his success, that and a little bit of luck!
He still continues to collect accolades, the latest being voted as best keeper of the past 25 years by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics( IFFHS). He amassed 226 points and came ahead of Iker Casillas and Edwin Van Der Sar.
During their meeting with Roma in week 5, Buffon performed a vital save that helped secure a point, which in turn helped the remain title contenders. During the match against the side from Rome, Buffon managed to keep his cool and stop Francesco Totti’s penalty to keep things level.
Gigi is not only loved by the fans but he is also respected and held in high regard by his own teammates, as Claudio Marchisio underlined when he was quoted to saying “ that he is a great champion” A champion like Buffon deserves to be in Europe and he has stated that this is one of his goals. We can all say with certainty, that if anyone can help Juve to get back into Europe, it’s Buffon.
Having made over 300 appearances for The Old Lady, I’m looking forward to him making 300 more!
Boun Compleanno “SUPER GIGI”
It is still hard to believe he is only 34! He is regarded as not only one of the best keepers in the world, but also a veteran of the game. Gianluigi Buffon started his playing career at 17 with Serie A side Parma, at the tender age of 17 and being thrust into one of the most competitive league In Europe, a normal player might have buckled under the pressure, but not Gigi, he announced himself by becoming a regular starter and then got the attention of Juventus where he has been playing since his record breaking move in 2001.
He has amassed a huge amount of success at The Old Lady but it has not been sunshine and flowers all the way, the Infamous Calciopoli scandal in 2006 which meant that he played in a lower division, yet even this major setback Buffon found a way to see the positive side and saw it as an opportunity to win something new. And lo and behold they found their way back to the top a year later. Juventus and Gigi spent a couple of years at the top but then through management changes and questionable transfer decisions saw Juve drop out of the top 4.
In the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons saw Juve drop to seventh in the league for two consecutive years, and what makes this even worse is the fact that this season has meant no European football of any kind. However this season has been one of their bests in a while, they currently hold top spot, albeit by just one point but they have also remained unbeaten in 19 games!
This is largely due to the heroics and consistently great performance by Buffon, some feared that we may never see the real Buffon after his back injury, but that injury has done nothing to dampen his abilities as he has shown on numerous occasions. One would think this would inflate his head, but Buffon has managed to keep his feet securely on the ground maintaining that hard work and training with the Goalkeeper coach is the key to his success, that and a little bit of luck!
He still continues to collect accolades, the latest being voted as best keeper of the past 25 years by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics( IFFHS). He amassed 226 points and came ahead of Iker Casillas and Edwin Van Der Sar.
During their meeting with Roma in week 5, Buffon performed a vital save that helped secure a point, which in turn helped the remain title contenders. During the match against the side from Rome, Buffon managed to keep his cool and stop Francesco Totti’s penalty to keep things level.
Gigi is not only loved by the fans but he is also respected and held in high regard by his own teammates, as Claudio Marchisio underlined when he was quoted to saying “ that he is a great champion” A champion like Buffon deserves to be in Europe and he has stated that this is one of his goals. We can all say with certainty, that if anyone can help Juve to get back into Europe, it’s Buffon.
Having made over 300 appearances for The Old Lady, I’m looking forward to him making 300 more!
Boun Compleanno “SUPER GIGI”
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