There are few figures in football more legendary than Gianluigi Buffon.
A World Cup winner and ten-time Serie A champion, Buffon also won Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record 12 times – as well as receiving the World Cup Golden Glove in 2006.
Indeed, Buffon began his career as an outfield player, playing as a midfielder before being inspired at age 12 to switch to goalkeeping by Cameroon legend Thomas N'Kono's performance in the World Cup. He would go on to record over 1,150 professional goalkeeping appearances for Parma, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and the Italian national team, retiring at age 45.
Having officially partnered with N1 Partners for SiGMA Rome 2026, Buffon spoke exclusively with us on some key highlights of his career, and hot takes on the current stars of the world's greatest game.
After Lev Yashin, you are the closest a goalkeeper has come to winning the Ballon d'Or. Who, in your opinion, is the best current goalkeeper in the world?
At the moment, I believe there are three main contenders: Thibaut Courtois, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Mike Maignan, as well as Alisson Becker and Argentina's Emiliano Martínez.
In my opinion, these are the goalkeepers who are currently in the best form and have been performing at the highest level.
Which teammate or manager would you name as particularly crucial to your shared success over the years? Club or country.
I think it would be wrong to single out just one person.
As for managers, I have to say that every one of them left something valuable with me. From Marcello Lippi to Nevio Scala, Antonio Conte, Massimiliano Allegri and Thomas Tuchel. I've had many different experiences, and each of them taught me something. They were all extremely knowledgeable and well-prepared.
As for teammates, I've had the privilege of playing alongside some of the best players in the world, so it wouldn't be fair to single anyone out.
Which individual performance in a game are you most proud of?
There have been many moments in my career that I can be proud of. However, perhaps the most important one was my debut.
I was only 17 years old, and it was a very important and high-pressure match against AC Milan — Parma vs. Milan. Both teams were at the top of the league table at the time.
For a 17-year-old, dealing with that kind of pressure and such an important occasion was certainly not easy.
How would you rate winning the UEFA Cup with your boyhood club, Parma, against captaining Juventus to Serie A victory in 2012 after relegation?
They were two wonderful moments in my career.
With Parma, we won the UEFA Cup, which was a tremendous achievement.
Winning the Serie A title in 2012 filled me with enormous pride, because it brought a long journey full circle after many years of hardship. My decision to stay with Juventus even when the club was playing in Serie B gave me a great sense of satisfaction.
As part of his press appearance at SiGMA, Buffon stated he is now focusing on improving his English. His son is now playing professionally as a winger for Pisa SC
