Full Name :Gianluigi Buffon Date Of Birth:January 28, 1978 (age 32) Place of Birth:Carrara, Italy Height:1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Position:Goalkeeper Current Club:Juventus National Debut:1997 Caps:100 (0) www.gianluigibuffon.it

Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, (born January 28, 1978 in Carrara) is an Italian FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper who currently plays for Italian Serie A club Juventus F.C. and the Italian national team.

Early life and family
Gianluigi Buffon was born into a sporting family. His mother, Maria Stella, was a discus thrower, his father, Adriano, a weightlifter, his two sisters Veronica and Guendalina played volleyball and his uncle, Angelo Masocco, played basketball. He is also a nephew of goalkeeping legend Lorenzo Buffon (a cousin of Gianluigi's grandfather). Buffon is engaged to Czech model Alena Šeredova; Šeredova gave birth to son Louis Thomas on December 28, 2007.

Club career
At the age of just 17, Buffon made his Serie A debut for Parma A.C. in a 0-0 home draw against A.C. Milan on November 19, 1995. In his fourth season with the club, he won the UEFA Cup. He transferred from Parma to Juventus in 2001, for a world-record goalkeeper's fee of €52 million. Buffon nearly signed with A.S. Roma in 2001 following his departure from Parma, but team president Franco Sensi instead opted for Atalanta B.C. keeper Ivan Pelizzoli, who averaged less than fifteen appearances in five seasons with Roma. Buffon also claimed that he wouldn't have signed with Roma had he left Juventus in 2006. “That was never a possibility really...I don’t think that Roma had the finances to make an investment of such a nature.

Juventus
In 2003, he received the UEFA Most Valuable Player and Best Goalkeeper awards, and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. During the annual Luigi Berlusconi Trophy match against Milan in August 2005, Buffon collided with Milan midfielder Kaká while chasing a loose ball, and suffered a dislocated shoulder that required surgery. His operation was successful and he returned to the pitch in November, but played only once as another injury returned him to the sidelines until January. He recovered in time to help lead Juventus to their second consecutive Scudetto and his fourth overall with the club. On May 12, 2006, Buffon, along with former Juventus goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti and many other players, were implicated as participants in illegal betting on Serie A matches while with Parma. The following day, he voluntarily allowed himself to be questioned by Turin magistrates in an attempt to clear his name. While admitting that he did bet on sports (until regulations went into effect in late 2005, banning players from doing so), he vehemently denied placing wagers on Italian football matches. Fears arose that he had jeopardized his chance of playing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but he was officially named Italy's starting goalkeeper on May 15. The players were cleared of all charges by the FIGC on June 27, 2007.
Following Juventus' punishment in the Calciopoli scandal, rumors spread that Juventus were shopping Buffon on the transfer market as a cost-cutting measure, and many teams became interested in his services. However, no deals ever materialized as Buffon elected to remain with Juventus; his agent said, "Serie B is a division he has never won and he wants to try to do this." A.C. Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani stated in April 2007 that Buffon's decision to stay proved a catalyst in re-signing incumbent Dida, though Buffon later denied having ever been contacted by Milan.
Widely regarded as one of the worlds greatest goalkeepers, Buffon has kept clean sheets against many top strikers.
After Juventus won the Cadetti and were promoted back into the top flight, Buffon signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2012.

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