Gianluigi Buffon was an Italian soccer player.
Gianluigi Buffon . Buffon is one of only eighteen players to have made at least 1,000 professional career appearances ; with 168 international caps , Buffon is also the most capped player in the history of the Italian national team , the joint fifth-most capped male international footballer of all time , alongside Iván Hurtado , and the most capped European international player ever . He has also represented Italy at four European Championships , at the 1996 Olympics , and at two FIFA Confederations Cups , winning a bronze medal in the 2013 edition of the tournament . The Italian national football team ( Nazionale di calcio italiana ) represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation ( FIGC ) , the governing body for football in Italy .