That is the beauty of judging goalkeepers. There is little statistical intrusion. They are not judged by the number of clean-sheets, or the number of saves they had effected. But rather by moments—it is at times a curse too, when goalkeepers are forever condemned for a sole howler, a human error or a penalty shootout tragedy. Rather, the finest of them, like Buffon’s own predecessor Dino Zoff, or his contemporary Iker Casillas, or the high priest of them all, Lev Yashin, are remembered for the force of their personalities.
Even when you watch the compilation of Buffon’s grandest, greatest and most difficult saves, it’s not just his twinkling reflexes or the surreal calmness that strike you, but the person he is, the drama and the passion, the rage and energy. The wide eyes dilating like a full moon, every facial muscle convulsing, every vein on his neck throbbing, he intimidated the best of strikers as much he anguished them.
The most enduring image of him won’t feature any one of his save—not the Zinedine Zidane fist-punch in the 2006 World Cup final, not the finger-tipper to deny Andrea Pirlo in 1996, or the Mario Goetze one in Euro, or any of ten thousand ones he had saved in his lifetime—but one of him growling at the erring defender, his gloved index finger pointing eye-wards, or of him belting out the national anthem. Forget all the medals, titles and praise, no one ever has sung the national anthem as passionately as he had, stirring passion like a volcanic fury. The sight alone intimidated his opponents.
Most of these emotions came naturally, though there were times when he did things differently just to do things differently. Like cutting off the sleeves of his jersey, which would later become a trend. “I wanted to be different from the others. I wanted my own particular outfit: my gloves, my cap, and a role with a lot of responsibility,” he once told Sky Sports.
Gianluigi Buffon waves Juventus’ supporters at the end of a Champions League semifinal match. (AP Photo)
He would also wear away kit for home games and home kits of away. “Goalkeepers should be eccentric,” he would often say. It was an eccentric goalkeeper of Cameroon, Thomas N’Kono, in the 1990 Italia that fired up his imagination. Until then, he wanted to be a striker or midfielder.
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He eloquently explained this moment in a column in Player’s Tribute. “You don’t know where Cameroon is. You didn’t even know such a place existed before this moment. Of course, you know Argentina and Maradona, but there is something magical about the players from Cameroon. It’s so hot under the summer sun, but their keeper is still wearing a full suit. Long black pants. Long green shirt with the pink collar. The way he moves, the way he stands tall, the fantastic moustache. He captivates your heart in a way that is unexplainable.”
From that moment he wanted to be a goalkeeper. “You do not want to be simply a goalkeeper. You want to be this kind of goalkeeper. You want to be wild, courageous, free,” he would say. Later, he would name his first child Louis Thomas after the Cameroonian custodian.
An uncle of his, Lorenzo, the former AC Milan goalkeeper, too noticed traits of his nephew that were being under-utilized in the midfield. Those were his strong, supple arm, an inheritance from his parents. Mother Maria was a national record-holding discus thrower, his father Adriano represented Italy in shot put. His older sisters Guendalina and Veronica played volleyball for the country.
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So Lorenzo took him under his wings, and five years later, at 17, he made his senior debut for Parma against AC Milan. and kept a clean sheet against the forward duo of George Weah and Roberto Baggio. The legend of Biffon had just begun to spin, and 28 years later, here he is—World Cup winner, the most capped Italian player, his 657 games for Parma and Juventus a record. Juventus was the love of his life, best captured by his decision to stay at the club even when it was relegated to the second division due to the Calciopoli scandal when he was at his peak and when he had suitors from all over the continent. “You only find true love once,” he would say. For a decade, Juventus defined him and he defined Juventus, though he left without achieving his greatest dream, which was to win the Champions League. Three finals, three heartbreaks.
Fighting depression
But that un-roundedness of his career infuses more romance into his narrative. And beyond his machismo and fearlessness—he often used to say that a goalkeeper has to be a masochist and egocentric—was often a depressed soul. There were times when the superhero goalkeeper who wore the superman t-shirt under his jersey would slump into chasms of despair. In 2003, he fought and conquered a gruelling battle with depression, that “someone else was living in his mind” without resorting to tablets. But he did not let the demons in his mind affect his game.
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, sharing a laugh with Iker Casillas. (Source: AP)
He would later dwell on it: “If you live your life in a nihilistic way, thinking only about football, your soul will start to wither. Eventually, you will become so depressed that you won’t even want to leave your bed.” His therapy sometimes involved visiting a different restaurant, or a museum, or talking to random people.
Though the most idolised Italian footballer of his generation, one that stretches from peak Baggio-era to the years of decadence through the golden period of Maldini and Pirlo, Totti and Cannavaro, his career has not been entirely free of scandals. There were passing accusations of illegal gambling and controversial political beliefs. His decision to wear 88 at Parma caused consternation among Italy’s Jewish community, which pointed out that the figure is a neo-Nazi symbol. “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet, so 88 equates to HH, or Heil Hitler. Buffon has worn a shirt bearing the slogan “Boia chi molla” – “Death to cowards” – which was used by fascists in Benito Mussolini’s day. He though would refute both charges.
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With his departure, the last link to Serie A’s golden age too ends, a time when it was the most robust league in the world, a time when the best players in the world played in the Italian league, an era when at least three Italian clubs were powerhouses in Europe. But Buffon, though, would remain ageless and timeless, his very name transporting Italian football to its long lost era of glamour and glory.
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