CHANGING FACES OF ITALY’S MIGHTY. . . BUFFON
GianluiGi Buffon has been the rock at the heart of italy defences for almost a quarter of a century. Even as a child, he looked a tough guy, destined for sporting stardom with a pedigree handed down by his athlete parents, weightlifter adriano and discus-thrower Maria.
He made his debut for Parma in 1995, by which time he had already earned age-group caps, winning the European u21 Championship in 1996 and making his senior italy debut a year later.
in 2001, Buffon became the world’s most expensive keeper at £32.2million with a move to Juventus, where he has won nine Serie a titles. in 2006 he was in the italy side that won the World Cup in Germany and he long ago eclipsed the legendary italy keeper Dino Zoff’s 112 caps. now, at 38, he is on course for an amazing 160 caps by the end of the Euro 2016 group stages.