FIFA U-17 World Cup: 5 Ballon d'Or Finalists who started out at the U-17 stage

#2 Gianluigi Buffon

Buffon represented Italy for the U-17 World Cup in 1993

The towering Italian veteran who is Italy's most capped player and the most capped European international, featured in the 1993 edition of the format which took place in Japan. Unfortunately, Italy couldn't make it past the group stages and finished last in their respective group; however, Buffon managed to pull off a few great saves but had only one clean sheet in three matches.

13 years later Buffon had one of the best seasons any player can dream off by winning the Serie A with Juventus and winning the FIFA World Cup in which his saves were instrumental in the Azzurri's triumph.

The fact that he conceded only two goals throughout the entire tournament supported his nomination for the prestigious award. He went on to finish as the runners-up in the 2006 Balon d'Or behind Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro - a finalist nevertheless.