1949–1959 Milan 1948–1949 Portogruaro Height 1.81 m | Years Team Role Football player Playing position Name Lorenzo Buffon Children Patricia Buffon | |
 | ||
Date of birth (1929-12-19) 19 December 1929 (age 85) Similar People | ||
Lorenzo Buffon ([loˈrɛntso bufˈfɔn]; born 19 December 1929) is an Italian former football goalkeeper. Throughout his career, he played 277 times for Italian club A.C. Milan, and also later played for their city rivals Internazionale, as well as other Italian clubs, winning five Serie A titles. At international he was capped for the Italian international side on 15 occasions, representing his country at the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Buffon is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and as one of Italy's greatest ever goalkeepers. Alongside the legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin, he was notably chosen to represent the FIFA All-Star squad during the 1960s.
Club career
Born in Majano, in the province of Udine, overall, Buffon played 15 seasons (365 games) in the Serie A for A.C. Milan (1949–59), Genoa C.F.C. (1959–60), F.C. Internazionale Milano (1960–63), and ACF Fiorentina (1963–64). He began his career with Portogruaro in 1948 before moving to Milan the following season. With Milan, he made his Serie A debut on 15 January 1950, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 home win over Sampdoria; he played 277 games for the club, and gained international prominence, achieving great success, as he won four Serie A titles, and two Latin Cups, despite competition for a place in the starting line-up with fellow keeper Narciso Soldan. With Milan, Buffon also notably reached the final of the 1957–58 European Cup, and the semi-finals of the 1955–56 European Cup, where the Italian club was defeated by eventual champions Real Madrid on both occasions. He is one of four goalkeepers to make 300 total appearances for Milan, behind Christian Abbiati, Sebastiano Rossi, and Dida.
In his later career, Buffon first joined Genoa for a season in 1959, and subsequently moved to Milan's cross-city rivals Inter in 1960, on both occasions as a replacement for his career rival, Giorgio Ghezzi, who had instead joined Buffon's former club Milan in 1959. With Inter, Buffon won another Serie A title during the 1962–63 season under legendary manager Helenio Herrera, who would famously coach Inter to greater domestic and European successes in later years. During his three seasons with Inter, he also reached the semi-finals of the 1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, although his best placement in the Coppa Italia was a quarter-final finish. In total, Buffon won five Serie A titles throughout his career. After spending a season with Fiorentina, making only a single appearance in the league, he retired after a season with Ivrea in 1965.
International career
Buffon was also capped 15 times for the Italian national team between 1958 and 1962; he made his international debut in a 2–2 friendly home draw against France, on 9 September 1958, and later represented his country as their captain and starting goalkeeper in the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile. He made 2 appearances throughout the tournament, keeping two clean sheets in a 0–0 draw against West Germany, and in a 3–0 win over Switzerland on 7 June, his final international appearance, while he was replaced in goal by Carlo Mattrel for Italy's second group match against hosts Chile, which ended in a 2–0 defeat. Italy were controversially eliminated in the first round of the tournament.
Style of play
An athletic yet efficient and reliable goalkeeper, Buffon was known in particular for his positional sense, handling, acrobatic saves, and spectacular shot-stopping abilities, which earnt him the nickname Lorenzo il Magnifico; he was less effective at coming off his line to collect crosses, and performed better between the posts. Despite his reputation as a world-class keeper, he was also occasionally criticised throughout his career for being inconsistent, and for letting his mentality affect his performances.
After retirement
Following his retirement from professional football, Buffon worked as a youth talent scout for Milan.
Personal life
Lorenzo Buffon is related to Gianluigi Buffon, the current successful captain and notable goalkeeper of Juventus and the Italian national team; Lorenzo is a cousin of Gianluigi's grandfather. Lorenzo Buffon is also remembered for his marriage to the late Italian actress and television personality Edy Campagnoli, who had previously been in a relationship with his career rival, Ghezzi.