LifeBogger presents the Full Story of a Football Stopper best known by the Nicknames; “Gigi, Superman”.
Our version of Gianluigi Buffon’s Biography Facts, including his Childhood Story, brings you a full account of notable events of his boyhood days.
We then proceed to tell you how the Legendary Goalkeeper became famous in the sport.
The analysis of Buffon’s History involves his life story before fame, family life and many OFF and ON-Pitch little-known facts about him.
Yes, everyone knows about his abilities, but only a few consider our version of Gianluigi Buffon’s Biography, which is quite interesting. Now, without further ado, let’s Begin.
Gianluigi Buffon Childhood Story – Early Life and Family Background:
For Biography starters, Gianluigi “Gigi” Buffon was born on the 28th day of January 1978, in Carrara, Italy, to Maria Stella Buffon (mother) and Adriano Buffon (father).
The Italian legendary stopper was born into a rich family of Italian athletes. His mother, Maria Stella, was a discus thrower and his father, Adriano, a renowned Italian weightlifter.
As the baby of the house, Gigi enjoyed a wonderful relationship with his parents, especially his mum, who naturally had a soft spot for her last child.
Below is a photo of a childhood Buffon being pampered by his mum on his birthday.
Buffon displayed his superior athletic genes as a child, all thanks to his athletic parents.
Despite early confusion on sports focus, his heart went with soccer.
At just six years old, Buffon’s parents enrolled him in the Canaletto di La Spezia football school where he had a smooth start to his career as a midfielder.
Gianluigi Buffon Biography Facts – Career Summary:
Truth be told. Gigi started out as a midfielder and never as a goalkeeper. This is the same for David De Gea. Below is a photo of young Buffon when he was a midfielder.
He played his first match at the San Siro at ten years old in a tournament for the best youth players from Veneto.
Two years later, Buffon discovered his idol, Cameroon keeper Thomas N’Kono, who played in the 1990 World Cup. Meet the person young Gianluigi Buffon looked up to while he was a kid.
Thomas was responsible for Buffon’s change position from a midfielder to a goalkeeper. The whole of Italy owes still owes him to date.
Buffon made his goal-keeping debut after both first-team goalkeepers picked up injuries.
After just two weeks of impressing fans, he became a permanent starter and displaced not just one, but two senior goalkeepers in his team. He was age 16 at this time.
The young Italian keeper’s greatest success at Parma came in his fourth season at the club, when he helped win the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup.
This season came at a time when Parma’s squad boasted the likes of Juan Sebastian Veron, Hernan Crespo, Lilian Thuram, and Fabio Cannavaro.
After two more impressive seasons at the yellow and blue’s, Buffon was transferred to Juventus for an astonishing 50 million euros (a record for a keeper at the time). The rest, as they say, is now history.
Gianluigi Buffon Family Life:
Italian Athletes have been well paid over the years. Having a mum and dad who are celebrated athletes literally means coming from a rich family background. This is the case with Gianluigi Buffon. Here, we give you an insight into Gigi’s parents.
Gianluigi Buffon Father:
Buffon’s father, Adriano Buffon, was a weightlifter. He was born on 15th Sep 1945 in Latisana, Italy by Masocco Giorgio (father) and Paolini Teresa (mother). Below is a photo of young Adriano.
Following his athletic retirement, Adriano worked as a P.E. school teacher.
Gianluigi Buffon Mother:
Gigi’s mother, Maria Stella Buffon, was a discus thrower who also represented Italy at the national level. She joined her husband to work as a PE school teacher after her retirement.
Below is a recent photo of Gigi’s athletic parents, Mr and Mrs Adriano Buffon. Both his mum and dad are ageing gracefully.
Gianluigi Buffon Sister:
Gigi is the only son of his family. Guendalina Buffon is the eldest sister to Gigi. She was born in 1973. Below is a photo of her and her kid brother and Italian national hero ‘Gigi’.
Below is a photo of Buffon Sister, Veronica Buffon. She was born in 1975. Veronica Buffon played volleyball for the Italian national volleyball team.
Gianluigi Buffon Uncle:
Gigi Buffon has an uncle called Dante Masocco. He was a basketball player in Serie A1, who also represented the Italian national team.
Gianluigi Buffon Cousin:
Former Inter Milan and Italy goalkeeping legend Lorenzo Buffon is a cousin of Gianluigi Buffon’s grandfather.
Gianluigi Buffon Love Story with Alena Seredova:
To start with, Gigi is rich and very handsome. This, by implication, means there is bound to be relationship complications throughout his life. We present to you details of his relationship life.
Gigi Buffon’s love story dates back to 2005, when he met and fell in love with Alena Seredova. Alena was the first runner-up of the Miss Czech Republic in 1998 and her country’s representative at Miss World 1998.
Gigi got married to Alena Seredova on June 16, 2011, in Prague. They have two children, Louis Thomas (born 2007) and David Lee (born 2009).
His first child ‘Thomas’ was named after Gigi Buffon’s idol, Thomas N’Kono. He makes out time to play with both sons. This majorly happens while he is on break.
In May 2014, Buffon announced to get a divorce from his Spouse. They separated after three years of marriage.
He was soon romantically linked to Italian sports pundit, journalist and television host Ilaria D’Amico.
According to a magazine in Italy, Buffon and D’Amico are “like rabbits” and neighbours have started to complain about the noise of their love-making.
In 2015, Buffon announced that the couple were expecting a child together. On 6 January 2016, the couple announced the birth of their son Leopoldo Mattia on Twitter earlier that evening.
In the summer of 2017, the pair became engaged. Prior to his relationship and marriage to Šeredová, Buffon had also previously been engaged to a sprinter from the Italy national athletics team, Vincenza Calì.
Gianluigi Buffon Biography Facts – 2003/2004 Season:
In 2013, Buffon revealed he had suffered from bouts of depression during the 2003–04 season, following Juventus’ penalty shoot-out defeat in the 2003 Champions League final, and due to Juventus’s negative performance that season.
Buffon regularly visited a psychologist but refused to take medication, and overcame his depression prior to Euro 2004
Gianluigi Buffon Wine Business:
Just like Andrea Pirlo and Andres Iniesta, Buffon also savours a glass of his own wine as seen in the picture below.
From Gigi Buffon to Wesley Sneijder, to Ivan Zamorano: more and more champions of football today have seen their names crested in wine bottle as labels.
Recently, In 2017, Buffon launched his own brand of wine under the name “Buffon #1”.
Gianluigi Buffon Religion:
Buffon is Catholic by faith. He is a good friend of Pope Francis. Both pairs met in 2013 under the umbrella of football and religion.
Gianluigi Buffon Biography – Style of Play and Reception:
Since his emergence as a precocious talent in his youth, Buffon has been renowned for his consistent performances throughout his career.
The legend has received praise from managers, players, as well as both present and former goalkeeping colleagues.
This is for his concentration and calm composure under pressure, as well as his work-rate, and longevity.
He is often considered to be the archetype of the modern goalkeeper and has been cited by many other subsequent goalkeepers as a major influence and role model.
Gianluigi Buffon Biography Facts – Shirt Number Issue:
While at Parma, Buffon’s decision to wear the number 88 shirt, rather than his previous number 1 shirt, for the 2000–01 season caused controversy in Italy.
Buffon, however, claimed to be unaware of the number’s neo-Nazi connotations, stating that 88 represented “four balls”, which are symbols of the character and attributes of a person.
He stated that they were meant to signify his need for these attributes after his injury prior to Euro 2000 and that they also represented his “rebirth”.
He subsequently offered to change numbers, choosing squad number 77.
Risking Prison Sentence:
In 2000, Buffon risked a four-year prison sentence for falsifying a high school accounting diploma in order to enrol for a law degree at the University of Parma.
He paid a 3,500 euro fine in 2001. He later described the incident as his biggest regret.
Illegal Betting:
On 12 May 2006, during the height of the Calciopoli scandal, Buffon was accused of illegally betting on Serie A matches, which initially put his place in Italy’s 2006 World Cup squad at risk.
Buffon was formally interrogated and admitted placing bets on sporting matches. It was because of him that football players were forbidden from betting since October 2005. Buffon was cleared of all charges in December 2006.
Gianluigi Buffon Bio – Football Politics:
On 7 May 2012, Buffon was elected vice president of the Italian Footballers’ Association (AIC). This was the first time an active footballer had held this position.
That same year, Buffon joined the “Respect Diversity” Programme, through UEFA, which aimed to fight against racism, discrimination and intolerance in football.
Gianluigi Buffon Donnarumma Facts:
Gianluigi Buffon has predicted a bright future ahead for compatriot Gianluigi Donnarumma who bears a similar name to and have no family connections between them.
‘AC Milan goalkeeper Donnarumma could be my son’ – says Gianluigi Buffon when asked if he was related to the goalkeeper.
It has become a popular internet search as to whether the AC Milan goalkeeper is related to Buffon.
According to the AC Milan goalkeeper… “I have a great rapport with Gigi. He always gives me advice and treats me like his brother even though we share the same name and are not related.
I have tried to watch every move he makes in training and I thank him for being a hero to me. Everyone says I’m Gigi’s heir, his son or brother.
Right now I am focused only on Milan and doing well there, as it’s the team I have supported since I was a child. I am already at a top club.”
Fact Check
Thank you for taking the time to read LifeBogger’s version of Gianluigi Buffon’s Biography. He, just like Guillermo Ochoa, are among the greatest Goakeeping Legends worshipped in their countries.
We strive for accuracy and fairness while delivering the Biography of Italian Footballers. Kindly stay tuned for more Stories of Goalkeepers. The Life History of Edward Mendy and Dominik Livakovic will excite you.
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Hale Hendrix
Hi there! I am Hale Hendrix, a passionate football enthusiast and writer dedicated to uncovering the untold stories of footballers' childhood and biography. With a deep love for the beautiful game, I have spent countless hours researching and interviewing players to bring to light the lesser-known details of their lives.
