Gianluigi Buffon (born 28 January 1978), commonly shortened to Gigi Buffon, is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for French club Paris Saint-Germain. He is widely regarded by players, pundits and managers as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time and, by some, as the greatest ever. With 176 international caps, Buffon is the most capped player in the history of the Italy national team. Buffon was called up for a record of five FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) since making his debut in 1997. He was the starting goalkeeper of the squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Buffon was the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2006, and was elected to be part of the FIFPro World XI, an honour which he also achieved two more times. He is the first goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Foot Award, which pertains to both personality and playing ability. He was named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper a record five times, alongside Iker Casillas, and was also named the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, of the past 25 years, and of the decade, by the same organisation.
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