"It ends here. You have given me everything. I gave you my all. We won together".
With this brief post on Instagram in the first week of August, 45-year-old Gianluigi Buffon, a living legend of Italian football, finally announced the end of his playing career after almost 30 years. Writing in La Repubblica, veteran critic Maurizio Crosetti suggested that Buffon managed to avoid the only real "terror" of his football career. Namely, as the player himself put it: "That one day others would have to tell me to give up, rather [than making] this decision myself".
Appropriately enough, Buffon's stellar career ended where it had all begun, at Parma. It was back in November 1995 that the then-17-year-old reserve goalkeeper at the Stadio Ennio Tardini burst unexpectedly into the limelight, making his professional debut in a 0-0 home draw with the mighty Milan.
Coached by Fabio Capello and on the day starring players such as Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Roberto Baggio, George Weah and Zvonimir Boban, that Milan side was one of the strongest teams in world club football at the time, the team that had emphatically beaten Spanish giants Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final in Athens just 18 months earlier. To ask a 17-year-old to make his professional debut against such a team was a big ask.
Parma's first-choice keeper, Luca Bucci, was injured, while second choice, Alessandro Nista, had looked less than impressive in training. Having drafted Buffon into the first-team squad when Bucci got injured, Parma's canny coach Nevio Scala had been much impressed by him during a week of training with team-mates such as Fabio Cannavaro, Gianfranco Zola and Hristo Stoichkov.
On the Saturday before the game, Scala knocked at Buffon's door in the team hotel: "I am thinking of playing you tomorrow against Milan. Is that a problem?"
"No problem," came the immediate reply.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من World Soccer.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من World Soccer.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Going for Gold in Paris- There are plenty of candidates vying for the Olympic gold medal in the women's football tournament this summer
There are plenty of candidates vying for the Olympic gold medal in the women's football tournament this summer
Face to face - Tom Sainfiet- The final goal is to reach the World Cup and write history - The Belgian coach speaks to World Soccer
The well-travelled Belgian coach speaks to World Soccer after taking charge of the Philippines-his 11th international coaching role
Inter cruise to title number 20
Simone Inzaghi's Internazionale shrug off all challengers before sealing the Serie A title in style against their biggest rivals
HAT-TRICK HERO
Ademola Lookman wrote his name into European football's history books with a hat-trick in the Europa League final
GOING UP
The story of Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres' career has been one of upward trajectory - and there's plenty more to come from the Sporting superstar
Palau soldier on alone
The isolated Pacific nation faces a long and lonely battle to improve football on the island
Brazilian clubs eye Copa number six
As the Copa Libertadores group stage concludes, a sixth consecutive Brazilian winner is looking likely
AI Hilal sweep to another Saudi crown
The first edition of the Saudi Pro League's glamorous new era ends with a familiar title winner
Disasters brewing
There is still a long way to go in World Cup qualifying, but dysfunction reigns at Cameroon, Congo and Nigeria after four matchdays in the group stage
Second round of World Cup qualifying underway
Favourites perform largely as expected, yet Cayman Islands dominate the headlines