The England international made his bow in the same season as Buffon, playing 20 minutes for West Ham against Sheffield Wednesday in May 1996. However, we’ve gone with Ferdinand as he’s older than his compatriot and can still slot his entire career inside Buffon’s. We could just as easily have chosen John Terry for this centre-back spot.
NEYMAR GIGI BUFFON FULL
Puyol played his first professional minutes in October 1999, nearly four full years after Buffon. He retired in 2014, meaning he wasn’t still around for the 2015 Champions League final against Buffon’s Juve, but he did play against the Italian in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals as Spain secured a penalty shoot-out victory en route to winning the competition. CB – Carles PuyolĪnother one-club man, Puyol racked up just shy of 700 Barcelona games and another 100 for Spain, winning just about every trophy going in the process. Lahm’s debut, though? November 2002, when Buffon had already completed his €52million move to Juventus and played his first full season in Turin. His 2017 retirement already seems like it happened a while ago, while even more years have passed since he quit international football in 2014. UEFA Champions League November 21, 2015Ī World Cup-winning captain, Lahm had a full decade as a first-choice at Bayern Munich after working his way up through the club’s ranks. It’s not as if Cech had a short career, either – he passed 900 games for club and country last season, hanging up his gloves after playing for Arsenal in the Europa League final. Like Buffon, Cech was still a teenager when he made his professional debut, playing for Chmel Blsany in October 1999 at the age of just 17.īy that point, Buffon had already played more than 100 games for Parma, and the same month saw him make his 10th senior appearance for Italy.
This is why we decided to come up with an XI of great players who made their debut after Buffon’s 1995 bow and have already retired while Gigi continues to go strong. We know the Italy international has been around for ages, but it’s sometimes hard to put such a lengthy career into context. Some 25 years after his professional debut, Gigi Buffon is still playing, making his most recent Juventus appearance at the age of 42.
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