Claim: Gianluigi Buffon was an athlete.

Gianluigi `` Gigi '' Buffon -LRB- -LSB- ˈdʒiːdʒi bufˈfɔn -RSB- , Ufficiale OMRI ; born 28 January 1978 -RRB- is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper . He captains both Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team . He is widely regarded by players , pundits and managers to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time , and , by some , to be the greatest ever . Buffon is one of only eighteen players to have made at least 1,000 professional career appearances ; with 168 international caps , Buffon is also the most capped player in the history of the Italian national team , the joint fifth-most capped male international footballer of all time , alongside Iván Hurtado , and the most capped European international player ever . Buffon is known for his `` outstanding shot-stopping '' and for being `` a vocal organizer of the defence and a key dressing room personality '' . He is currently the most expensive goalkeeper in history , following his $ 53 million transfer from Parma to Juventus in 2001 . Buffon holds the record for the most clean sheets in Serie A , and with the Italy national team ; he also holds the record for the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history : over 12 league matches , he went unbeaten for 974 consecutive minutes during the 2015 -- 16 season , as well as having achieved the most consecutive clean sheets -LRB- 10 -RRB- in Serie A in that same season .   At club level , Buffon 's professional career began with Parma in 1995 , where he made his Serie A debut , and was soon promoted to the role of starting goalkeeper , earning a reputation as one of the most promising young goalkeepers in Italy ; during his time with the club , he won the Coppa Italia , the UEFA Cup and the Supercoppa Italiana , all in 1999 . After joining Juventus in 2001 , Buffon immediately won Serie A titles in both of his first two seasons at the club , and established himself as one of the best players in the world in his position . After winning two more consecutive league titles in 2005 and 2006 , the club were later stripped of these titles and relegated due to their involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal . Despite rumours of his departure , Buffon remained with Juventus , contributing to the club 's Serie B title and promotion back to Serie A in 2007 . Following several trophyless seasons , Buffon later played a key role in Juventus ' resurgence , which saw the club win an Italian record of six consecutive league titles between 2011 and 2017 ; he also inherited the captain 's armband following the departure of Alessandro Del Piero in 2012 . In total , he has won eight Serie A titles , three Coppa Italia titles , and five Supercoppa Italiana titles with Juventus .   With the Italy national team , Buffon has been called up for an international record of five FIFA World Cup tournaments -LRB- 1998 , 2002 , 2006 , 2010 , 2014 -RRB- since making his debut in 1997 , featuring in four of them as Italy 's starting goalkeeper -LRB- he was an unused substitute in 1998 -RRB- . He was the starting goalkeeper of the Italian team that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup , which saw him keep a record five clean sheets , and concede only two goals , neither of which were in open play . He has also represented Italy at four European Championships , at the 1996 Olympics , and at two FIFA Confederations Cups , winning a bronze medal in the 2013 edition of the tournament .   Buffon has also won numerous , prestigious individual and team awards . He was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world 's greatest living players in 2004 . He has been named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record eleven times . Buffon was the winner of the 2006 Yashin Award following Italy 's World Cup victory , in which he was also elected to be part of the Team of the Tournament ; an honour which he also received after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2008 European Championships , and the final of the 2012 European Championships . Buffon is the only goalkeeper to have won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year Award , which he won in 2003 after reaching the Champions League final ; he also won the award for best Goalkeeper that year , and was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year in 2003 , 2004 , 2006 and 2016 . In 2006 , Buffon was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or and was elected to be part of the FIFPro World XI , an honour which he also achieved in 2007 . After reaching the 2015 Champions League final , he was named to the 2014 -- 15 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season , and placed fourth in the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award . He has been named the IFFHS World 's Best Goalkeeper four times -LRB- second only to Iker Casillas , with five awards -RRB- and was also named the best goalkeeper of the 21st century , of the past 25 years , and of the decade , by the same organisation . In 2016 , he became the first goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Foot Award , which pertains to both personality and playing ability .