#12 Gianluigi Buffon
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When discussing Azzurri legends, one cannot help but mention Gianluigi Buffon, arguably the greatest Italian shot-stopper of all time. Earlier this calendar year, Buffon managed to string together a Serie A record of 974 minutes in the league without conceding, surpassing the previous record by an entire half. It was just another remarkable achievement to add to the dossier of a man who has won the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Season award on ten occasions, finished runner-up in the Ballon D’Or in 2006 and who has won countless team trophies too.
In his glittering career so far, the 38-year-old has won Serie A seven times, the Coppa Italia twice and the FIFA World Cup with Italy just over a decade ago.
He leads from the back, often held responsible for all the successes and failures of the respective Italy and Juventus defences; that’s how strong an influence he has. Shot-stopping is part-and-parcel of a modern goalkeeper’s game but Buffon perfected it during a time when this was not the case and he combines an energetic and towering presence between the sticks with razor-sharp reflexes.
The record he set earlier this year against Torino reiterates that he has maintained his competency across a 21-year career and is as good as he has ever been and there’s only really one candidate who pips him to the post as the greatest goalkeeper in world football at present.
