The stickers do not age, at most they wrinkle a little, and Gigi Buffon’s will forever be part of the history of the number ones, alongside Dino Zoff in the Juventus and Azzurri legend. He started in Serie A as a child, at 17, stopped with a white beard in B at 45 years and a few months, half a life on the pitch pushing himself beyond his own limits and expanding the times of an immense career. He closed at Parma, where it all started thanks to the intuition of Nevio Scala who made him debut in place of Luca Bucci in 1995, against an extraordinary Milan. Stopped thanks to equally extraordinary saves by a child prodigy, to the amazement of Weah, Baggio and Fabio Capello.
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Driven by an innate instinct and the strength of an effrontery daughter of rare physical and technical means, Gigi Buffon conquered Juve and the national team, winning everything with the exception of the Ballon d’Or and the Champions League, the first narrowly missed in 2006, the second recurring nightmare in black and white jersey.
The man with the most appearances (176) ever in the blue shirt, second only to Del Piero in Juventus statistics, from a slightly reckless boy all instinct and enthusiasm he became great, overcoming problems on the pitch (injuries) and off (depression ) to become that mature champion and role model that we know today. Always and only driven by hunger and motivations, the same ones that prompted him to hang up his boxing gloves without taking into consideration the latest temptation from Saudi Arabia. His off-field career will restart from the blue, as head of Roberto Mancini’s Italy delegation, inheriting the role of the late Gianluca Vialli.
He said goodbye to Juventus twice, returning from PSG and accepting the role of second behind Szczesny. And he responded on the field to those who had given him up – at least at a very high level – after the delicate surgery in 2010 to remove a herniated disc. He has taken criticism and revenge, with that lightness that has helped him to bear even the most unpleasant defeats. Successes, joys and tears, for almost three decades, fighting between the posts and supporting Juve and the national team as only a captain could do. A predestined one who, however, was never satisfied with his innate qualities, and always put himself to the test with a sense of work and responsibility that allowed him to take the extra step. He found his balance after defeating depression at the age of 25, and now he will enjoy the family that until yesterday he always had to put in second place, after the ball.
1970-01-01 00:00:00
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