The Milestone Man: Buffon's 1,000 games in numbers

Italy's World Cup qualifier against Albania marks a special occasion for the shot-stopper, who plays his 1,000th career match. Gianluigi Buffon celebrates a remarkable milestone on Friday as the legendary goalkeeper makes his 1,000th appearance for club and country. The Juventus and Italy keeper reaches the landmark as the Azzurri face Albania in a World Cup qualifier in Palermo. Having made his senior club debut for Parma in 1995, Buffon is still performing at the highest level 22 years later, at the age of 39. His storied career has seen him win seven Serie A titles with Juve, as well as one UEFA Cup triumph with Parma and, the biggest prize of them all, the World Cup with his country in Germany in 2006. Promising AC Milan youngster Gianluigi Donnarumma is being widely tipped to take over from Buffon when the veteran eventually packs away his gloves for good, but there seems no imminent sign of the iconic number one calling it a day while he is still producing outstanding displays for Juve and Italy. Using Opta data, we take a look at some of the numbers behind Buffon's glittering career. 168 - Buffon's appearance against Albania is his 168th for Italy, more than any other player. 614 - The goalkeeper is third on the list of all-time Serie A appearance makers. He is just one behind Inter legend Javier Zanetti, while AC Milan hero Paolo Maldini leads the way with 647. 3 - Along with Maldini and Andrea Pirlo, Buffon is one of three Italian players with more than 100 Champions League appearances (103). 7 - His seven Serie A titles are the most by any player in his position. 17 - Buffon's 17 appearances at European Championship finals are the most of any goalkeeper. 973 - Between January and March last year, Buffon went 973 minutes without conceding a goal in Serie A - the longest such streak in the Italian top flight. 23 - Buffon has saved 23 penalties in his career (excluding shootouts), including two in one match against Borussia Dortmund for Parma in the Champions League in November 1997. 425 - His 999 prior matches have produced 425 clean sheets. 828 - Buffon has conceded 828 goals in his career, at a rate of 0.83 per game.

Gianluigi Buffon was born on January 28, 1978, in Carrara, Italy. The son two athletes—his father was a weightlifter and his mother was a discus thrower—Buffon displayed his superior athletic genes in soccer games. Originally a midfielder, he switched to goalkeeper at age 11, and joined the youth system of Parma F.C. at 13. Buffon made his senior debut for Parma in November 1995 and was part of the junior team that won the UEFA U-21 Championship the following spring. He established himself as his club's regular starter in 1997, with his superb work guarding the net helping Parma claim the UEFA Cup, Italian Cup and Italian Supercup in 1999. The 6'4" goalkeeper made a strong impression in his debut for the senior national team during a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in October 1997, but didn't play in the following year's Cup. He seized the starting job for Italy before the 2000 European Championship, but suffered a broken hand and missed that tournament as well. Buffon transferred to Juventus F.C. in the summer of 2001 for approximately $45 million, a record fee for a goalkeeper. He proved worth the hefty sum by leading Juventus to four consecutive league titles and a pair of Italian Supercups, earning UEFA Club Footballer of the Year honors in 2003. He also broke through on the international level with his strong play at 2002 FIFA World Cup. Buffon blocks a penalty kick by South Korea's Seol Ki-hyeon during their second round World Cup Finals match in Taejon, June 18, 2002 In May 2006, Buffon was among several players charged with betting on matches in the infamous Calciopoli scandal. He was cleared of wrongdoing, and elected to stay with the club even after Juventus was stripped of its two most recent league titles and relegated to the second division as punishment. Despite the negativity surrounding Italian soccer, Buffon led an inspired squad to the 2006 FIFA World Cup championship, conceding just two goals to earn the Yashin Award as the tournament's top goalkeeper. At the end of the year, he finished second in the Ballon d'Or Award voting. Buffon missed nearly all of the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a back injury, but he was selected to the Team of the Tournament at both the 2008 and 2012 European Championships. Meanwhile, Juventus returned to dominate the Italian first division with five consecutive titles in 2012 and 2016.