by Matt Leslie February 19, 2022 3 min read
We make no secret of how much we love goalkeeper shirts at FSC. From the elbow pads and daring designs of the 90s, to the fashion conscious kits seen today, they just hit different! And one man who has been on that journey is Gianluigi Buffon. From Parma to PSG, with a World Cup win for Italy in the middle, the Juve legend has sported some iconic looks in his time.
What is the best kit Gigi Buffon ever wore? 🧤 pic.twitter.com/peU1ggGnsE
— Football Shirt Collective (@thefootballsc) December 20, 2021
Here are some of our favourites from through the years!
Parma & Buffon are throwing it way, way 🔙
— Football Shirt Collective (@thefootballsc) November 10, 2021
To celebrate 21 years since Gianluigi Buffon’s debut for the club, they have released this throwback GK shirt with simile designs to the 95/96 season 😍
📸@1913parmacalcio pic.twitter.com/3Zng62uMk5
Let’s start at the beginning. Gigi made his debut for Parma in November 1995-96, and did so wearing a faded red and white jersey that was so good, Errea brought it back to mark 21 years since that debut. You can’t beat the original though!
Staying in Parma, by 1998-99 Buffon had firmly established himself as the no.1 at the Stadio Ennio Tardini. This meant we got plenty of sightings of him wearing their Lotto-made, red and blue GK kit, which was also brought back by Errea this season, to mark the return of their ‘Superman’.
— Retro Football Kits 🎄 (@retrokitsltd) December 20, 2021
To finish off our obsession with Buffon’s Parma beginnings, we have another shirt from the 1998-99 season, but unusually this was the club’s outfield home shirt. While Buffon was likely wearing it due to a kit clash, the shirt itself is one of the most iconic in Parma’s history, with those famous yellow and blue stripes having been promoted from away colours to home colours for a quite unexpected reason. Regardless, it still looked good on our Gigi!
Gianluigi Buffon shirts - 2005/06 🔝
— Juve1897 (@Juve1897no) November 23, 2018
(thread) pic.twitter.com/L9XFPolbRC
Despite a combined 19 years on Juventus’ books, Buffon was rarely given a goalkeeper’s shirt to write home about, often finding himself stuck in Nike’s templated kits. However, early on in his stay he did get to wear a couple of more experimental kits which made use of the Italian National Team colours.
Browse our collection of vintage Juventus shirts here.
Gianluigi Buffon turns 43 today.
— Hannah (@JuventinaHannah) January 28, 2021
Lets go back to the 2006 world cup where Buffon produced 35 saves and conceded only 2 goals, which was a Zaccardo own goal and Zidane penalty.
Without a doubt the best ever performance over a world cup by any goal keeper and arguably any player. pic.twitter.com/IzQG6vfjHK
Arguably the crowning moment of this legendary goalkeeper’s career, Buffon wore a golden Puma top on Italy’s run to the 2006 World Cup win. Designed by Rob Warner, the World Champion’s shirts have gained cult status with some, as the Azzurri kits showed no signs of the templates used for other teams at that tournament.
By now, Gigi had also established his trademark short-sleeves look!
Browse our collection of vintage Italy shirts here.
In one last-gasp attempt to win that elusive Champions League trophy, Buffon moved to Paris St. germain for the 2018-19 season. Playing primarily in the European games, Superman was paired with Jumpman, as Gigi wore the club’s Jordan designed Nike kits. The Champions League may have continued to elude, but he did gain some vital style points during that season in Paris.
Browse our collection of vintage PSG shirts here
Buffon acquired his nickname "Superman” during the season when he stopped a penalty by Inter striker and Ballon d'Or holder Ronaldo. Buffon celebrated the save by showing the Parma fans a Superman T-shirt, which he was wearing underneath his jersey. pic.twitter.com/aGJbgSvCix
— 🧃🌎🤍🖤 (@Juve_WRLD999) May 27, 2021
What was your favourite Buffon shirt? Let us know on our socials!
Browse our collection of vintage Parma football shirts here.
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