Gianluigi Buffon once said of himself, ‘I like to think that I am a buffon, a clown, entrusted with the task of entertaining people’ and whilst his performances hardly approach comedy, they do tend to offer the grace of the trapeze artist and poise of the juggler. All would surely agree that Buffon is one of the top keepers in the world, yet surprisingly only a minority would say he is the best. I sometimes feel that Gigi is a victim of his many successes, ‘Buffon’ a name so synonymous with goalkeeping excellence that it precedes the player, people assuming he lives on past glories.
It can prove tempting to reduce player comparisons into footie-manager style face-offs; who’s got a higher rating for shot-stopping, who has a lower one for erraticism etc. But a keeper is more than his sum: a pacy forward who can finish – but is useless in all other ways – will probably still get the odd brace, yet a goalie requires everything and more. For me, a comparison between the best keepers should transcend debates as to who possesses better reflexes, communication or positioning, since the top few are all likely to excel in such regards. The margin is perhaps a more subtle one as we approach the summit of any position, yet of the greatest keepers currently playing, Gigi is probably the only one who could retire today and still be guaranteed legend-status in fifty or even a hundred years.
This Superman has been flying from post to post for so long that he can easily be taken for granted. Nor has he been helped by the state of Italian football; Juventus and Serie A have suffered over the last few years, existing beneath the shade of match-fixing scandals and hooliganism, all of which has left it easy to underestimate Buffon’s brilliance. Yet despite playing in a climate where the English and Spanish ‘products’ have been given prominence by Sky, Gigi continues to demand attention. The most imposing keeper in the world and a consistent (and loyal) presence for club and country, his success and experience is unparalleled. Despite the Bianconeri’s recent troubles, Buffon has still helped them to accumulate another four scudettos (I include the last despite supporting Inter), displaying an ability to breathe life into the often stale and ageing line-ups he has graced.
And Gigi’s international performances have followed a similar pattern. His pinnacle was of course found in Italy’s World Cup triumph three years ago, where he conceded nothing save an own goal and penalty kick on route to the Lev Yashin award for the tournament. Italy built their success defensively, arguably making Buffon a more important figure for the Azzurri than for instance (the also brilliant) Casillas is for Spain. Buffon even excelled at Euro 2008 despite having ten players in front of him who were collectively the closest thing Italy have offered to clowns. But with Abu Dhabi and their own Circus Mancximus calling, Buffon looks set to once more remain faithful to his old lady and continue in (slightly) underrated brilliance.
