Gianluigi Buffon will make his 500th Juventus appearance when the Bianconeri meet Genoa tomorrow.
The Juve and Italy captain has been a fixture between the posts for the Old Lady since a €51m move from Parma in 2001, still the highest transfer fee ever paid for a goalkeeper.
Buffon made his debut during a 4-0 win over Venezia on August 26, 2001, two goals each for David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero ensuring the Carrara-native got his Juventus career off to a winning start.
Gianluigi Buffon will make his 500th Juventus appearance when the Bianconeri meet Genoa tomorrow.
The Juve and Italy captain has been a fixture between the posts for the Old Lady since a €51m move from Parma in 2001, still the highest transfer fee ever paid for a goalkeeper.
Buffon made his debut during a 4-0 win over Venezia on August 26, 2001, two goals each for David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero ensuring the Carrara-native got his Juventus career off to a winning start.
The big goalkeeper made his 100th appearance in a 2-1 win away to Olympiacos in 2003’s Champions League campaign, while his 200th game was a bittersweet occasion as the Old Lady went down 2-0 to Arsenal in a Champions League quarter-final.
After reaching 300 games against Chievo in 2009, Buffon made his 400th appearance against another English opponent, with the Bianconeri fighting back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on September 19, 2012.
Buffon is poised to renew his contract in Turin to June 2017, and has a few other records within his grasp. While it remains unlikely that the former Parma man will overtake Alessandro Del Piero’s 705 games in the famous black and white stripes, Gaetano Scirea’s 552 games and Giuseppe Furino’s 528 appear more reasonable targets.
If Juve beat Genoa tomorrow, it will represent a double celebration for Buffon – three points would signify the goalkeeper’s 300th win in Serie A.
The goalkeeper, who also holds the record for the most Italy caps, will be glad he isn’t facing Francesco Totti tomorrow – the Roma captain is the player who has scored past Buffon most often, beating him 11 times.