A household name in the Juventus backline was Gianluigi Buffon. The Bianconeri made him the most expensive goalkeeper to be bought on this day in 2001, and the legendary shot-stopper has gone on to become one of the most consistent goalkeepers, even at the age of 40.
Buffon began his career at Parma before moving to the Italian giants in the summer of 2001 for a then-record fee of €51 million. After 17 years, he moved to Paris St. Germain, only to return to his beloved club a season later, providing competition to Wojciech Szczesny. On the anniversary of the addition of the Italian legend to Marcello Lippi’s Juventus, let’s have a look at a few of his top performances at the club:
2003 Champions League Final vs AC Milan
Gigi Buffon became a household name in his first season itself, while only conceding 22 goals in 34 Serie A matches, as Juventus went on to win the Scudetto. However, the only trophy yet to be won by Buffon is the Continental Champions League. One of the times they came close was in 2003, when they took on arch-rivals AC Milan in the final.
Gianluigi was at his best against their Italian rivals, including a point-blank save against Filippo Inzaghi in the early stages of the game. However, while the legendary custodian could not prevent a loss for his side in the penalty shootouts, he managed to keep the game tight by saving Clarence Seedorf and Kakha Kaladze’s penalties.
2011-12 Serie A – Juventus go the season unbeaten
Between the first season of Buffon at the Old Lady and his tenth, a lot happened at the club and with Buffon. He was part of the Juventus side that were relegated to Serie B after the Calciopoli scandal but refused to leave the club. He led Italy at the 2006 World Cup trophy and then helped Juventus get back into the Serie A the very next season.
The club from Turin could not match the same might they possessed before their relegation but all that changed after the appointment of Antonio Conte, who led them on an unbeaten run through the whole 2011-12 campaign while ensuring the club returned to the Serie A after two seasons away. He set a league record of 21 clean sheets in Serie A, while also conceding just 16 goals throughout the season.
2015-16 Serie A – Buffon breaks the record for most minutes without conceding
When Juventus took on Torino on March 20, 2016, he broke the Serie A record for the most minutes without conceding a goal on the way to their second Scudetto under Massimiliano Allegri. The earlier record stood at 929 minutes by Sebastiano Rossi, who achieved the feat for AC Milan during the 1993-94 season.
However, he could not keep upping the ante for too long and went on to concede a penalty in the second half, which was converted by Andrea Belotti. Buffon’s run went on for 974 minutes while keeping a record 10 consecutive clean sheets for the Bianconeri. He ended the season with 21 clean sheets, helping Juventus win a fifth straight Scudetto for the first time in over eight decades. The legendary keeper also joined an exclusive club of players to win seven top-flight titles.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paolo Cocco
