The European Championship is in full swing, and Italy have shown their champions, winning all three games in the group stage after beating Wales 1-0 and are unbeaten in 30 matches in all competitions.
This is the italian team's second appearance in the international competition after five years, the 2018 World Preliminary Round did not qualify for the World Cup in Russia, and Buffon was in tears in front of the camera, which broke the hearts of many fans. Today, the "Blue Army" has made a comeback and given the outside world a new look.
Buffon has become a symbol of Italian football.
This time out of the European Championship, the 43-year-old "young player" Buffon is no longer in the team. For the first time since the 2002 World Cup, Italy has played in an international competition (World Cup and European Cup) without Buffon. When the "youngster" eventually grows old, although Buffon has not retired (just announced to join his debut home team Parma), he will not return to the Italian team. The iconic figure of Italian football should be relieved to leave, and the junior Donnarumma has shown enough strength to be more reassuring than the goalkeepers who have been hailed as Buffon's successor in the past.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > Donnaruma, who has the same name as Buffon, is the best successor to the "youngster"</h1>
Buffon in 1997, his face full of green, but he is already a top goalkeeper.
On 29 October 1997, maldini the elder gave Buffon his first chance to play for the Italian national team, a substitution of last resort, with starting goalkeeper Pagliuca injured during the match. It was the first leg of the final play-off in the European zone of the 1998 World Cup preliminaries, and in the ice and snow of Moscow, Buffon, who had almost no warm-up time, was in danger, and he came out to block the Russian team's multiple shots, only to be defeated by Cannavaro's oolong ball. The final score was 1-1, against Italy and Buffon, which was a perfectly acceptable score.
At the age of 19 years and 9 months, Buffon became the youngest team in the Italian team after World War II. The record was not broken by Donnarumma until 1 September 2016, when the Milan goalkeeper made his debut for Italy at just 17 years and 6 months. Then Italian coach Ventura replaced Buffon with 1999-born Donnarumma during the half-time of a warm-up match against France, and the youngster broke the record of his predecessors with a salary pass. Coincidentally, Donalumma and Buffon are also named exactly the same, both called Gianluigi.
Working with Donnaruma colleagues for many years in the Italian team, Buffon played the role of a teacher.
Donnarumma was the current goalkeeper of Italy's European Championship, and in the group stage, Italy did not concede a single goal (Donnarumma was replaced by substitute goalkeeper Sirigu in the 89th minute of the third game), and the "Blues" record of clean sheets in all competitions has been expanded to 11 games. Donarumma proved with a near-perfect performance that after Buffon aged, the Italian team did not have to worry too much about its goalkeeper position.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="33" > Pagliuca, Peruzi, and Tordo, were once the three "mountains" in front of Buffon</h1>
Two weeks after a 1-1 draw away to Russia, Italy, who returned home, beat their opponents 1-0 and successfully entered the World Cup in France. Pagliuca still missed this crucial play-off, and it was not Buffon who guarded the door for Italy, but Angelo Peruzi.
Pagliuca (left) and Peruzi (center) were Buffon's seniors in the Italian team.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, Italy also had several high-level goalkeepers – Pagliuca, born in 1966, was in the "Blues" position at the 1994 World Cup, while Peruzzi, born in 1970, was the main goalkeeper of Juventus, and Pagliuca was a temporary bright spot.
Before the 1998 World Cup, maldini was originally planned to use Peruzi as the starting goalkeeper, but the Juve goalkeeper was injured before the match and missed the opportunity to play in the World Cup. Fiorentina goalkeeper Francesco Tordo, born in 1971, took the last train to France, and although he received the No. 1 shirt, he was the first substitute for the No. 12 Pagliuca, while the youngest Buffon was seen as a key development target, carrying the No. 22 shirt as the third goalkeeper.
Buffon missed Euro 2000 due to injury, thus making Tordo a god in the semi-final against the Netherlands.
Tordo's real fame in Italy was the 2000 European Championship, especially the semi-final match against the Netherlands, where he first saved one penalty in the regular season and then blocked two penalties in the penalty final, thus earning the name "San Tordo". However, this should have been Buffon's first major tournament as the main goalkeeper - due to the fractured arm in the warm-up match against Norway eight days before the Start of the European Championship, Buffon, like Peruzzi two years ago, had to leave the team on the eve of the opening of the competition – Andrdo was promoted to the first goalkeeper.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="34" > the same age as Buffon is the misfortune of the Italian goalkeeper, and Abiati is the biggest tragic figure</h1>
At the 2002 World Cup, the 24-year-old Buffon finally became italy's first goalkeeper in the competition, and naturally created an era of his own.
Seniors Tordo and Peruzi still maintain excellent competitive form, but they have to give up the main position for the younger and more promising Buffon to become the escort wingman. Tordo took on the second division at the 2002 Fifacé and Euro 2004, while Peruzi played as a substitute for Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Abiati was also once considered a promising young goalkeeper, but he has always lived in Buffon's shadow.
The greatest tragic figure of this period was actually Christian Abiati. Abiati was born in July 1977, only half a year older than Buffon. Compared to Buffon, who was trained by Parma himself and was helped to work at the age of 18, Abiati was still playing Serie B at the age of 20 and was poached by AC Milan as a training object. No one expected that he would actually play half of the games in his first season with the team and sit firmly in the main force. You know, the first two goalskeepers of AC Milan in the 1998-99 season will be sebastian Rossi, the meritorious elder of the "Milanese dynasty", and Jens Lehmann, who was promoted to the German international at that time.
Many people may forget that Lehmann had a terrible season at AC Milan.
Despite his lack of stretching and beauty, Abiati was quick to react in front of goal, often making bizarre saves, and was seen as a rival to Buffon as he gained a foothold in Milan. When Buffon withdrew from Euro 2000 due to injury, Italian coach Zoff selected Abiati as the third goalkeeper for the national team. Interestingly, Francesco Antonioli, who was a second-goal player at the time, and Abiati, a minor, had not yet played for Italy.
Abiati (right) also accompanied the team to the 2002 World Cup, but he had never made a debut for his country until then.
Two years later, at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Abiati once again went with the team as the third goalkeeper, and his national team appearance record at that time was still "0". It wasn't until April 2003 that Abiati played for his country for the first time, but by then he had already lost his main position at the club, and after Milan brought in Brazilian international Deida, Abiati lost trust. After a long period of cold bench and multiple loans, Abiati did not return to the main role in Milan until the 2008-09 season, when he was over 30 years old. Shortly before the end of that season, Abiati announced with a gamble that if he could not serve as the starting goalkeeper, he would not be called up for the Italian national team. Since then, he has no connection with the "Blue Army", and the number of battles for the country will always be fixed at 4 games.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="35" > Desanctis as a substitute to assist Buffon in the "wingman" for three tournaments</h1>
Being the same age as Buffon is perhaps the biggest misfortune as an Italian goalkeeper. Unlike Abiati, who was born in March 1977, Morgan de Santitis has been at ease playing the role of a substitute goalkeeper for the Italian team, and as a result, he has accompanied the team to euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Euro 2012 competition.
DeSancitis is also Italy's top international and he is content to serve as Buffon's replacement.
Desanktis became famous in the small team Udinese, obviously not from a prominent background, but the so-called weak team outfielder, he is tall, good at commanding defensive teammates, whether it is a shot or a save has a high level, there is no obvious weakness. DeSanctis's ability has been recognized by Italian domestic public opinion and is regarded as an excellent goalkeeper in that generation. But because of Buffon, Desanctis could only serve as a substitute for the national team.
Being the same age as Buffon means that they are at a huge disadvantage in the competition for the national team goalkeeper, and unfortunately, the coaching staff usually chooses to bring younger goalkeepers to the competition to experience the atmosphere for the sake of cultivating a successor. Lippi's first choice for the 2006 World Cup was naturally Buffon, the second goalkeeper would be the experienced Peruzi, and the third goalkeeper's chance would be given to Marco Amelia, although Amelia had only participated in two seasons in Serie A at the time, far less experienced than Desanctis, but because the former was born in 1982 and was more "qualified" to play the role of successor as Buffon's junior, Desanctis was only listed as a waitlist to train with the team.
Amelia (right) was short-lived, but he was a member of the world championship team.
At Euro 2008, Amelia was even promoted to the second goal of the Italian team, while DeSancitis went with the team as a three-goal team. In the end, DeSanquetis's career was much more brilliant than That of Amélia, who was considered a more suitable successor, was reduced to a substitute for the big club at the age of 30 and has since collapsed, while DeSanctis can also serve as Roma's main goalkeeper at the age of 38. Although DeSanctis has played in three tournaments, he has played for his country less often (6 times) than Amelia (9 times), which may be the annoyance of "peers".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="36" > Marchetti was hand-picked by Buffon, but never survived</h1>
Although he has been in the professional arena for more than 20 years, in fact, Buffon is not an "iron man" physique that is not easy to be injured. He missed Euro 2000 with a broken arm and suffered injuries during the 2010 World Cup.
Marchetti replaced Buffon in the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, which even sparked speculation in public opinion.
As the defending champions, Italy in South Africa's World Cup out of the disadvantage, the first match against Paraguay in the 39th minute, and at halftime, Buffon was replaced by substitute goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, this substitution once triggered a lot of Italian media speculation, and even reported that "the Blues dressing room infighting, Buffon and Lippi quarreled, and was left in the locker room." However, the Italian team gave official clarification that Buffon was injured and felt uncomfortable before the game, but he hoped to stick to the game.
After the match, Buffon was diagnosed with a herniated disc and a recurrence of an old injury, saying goodbye to the World Cup early and the main goalkeeper was replaced by Marchetti, born in 1983. Italy suffered a crushing defeat in South Africa, missing out of the group with 2 draws and 1 defeat, and Marchetti conceded four goals in two and a half games, but it had little to do with his performance.
Marchetti missed a precious season because he was banned by Cagliari.
Marchetti played only two seasons in Serie A before the World Cup, and his performance was highly recognized by the industry, and he was even hand-picked by Buffon as his successor. But the goalkeeper with long hair had a lot to lose. After the End of the World Cup, Marchetti applied for a transfer to Cagliari, which was not only rejected by the club, but also banned, and the entire season of 2010-11 could not play, wasting the most precious time. It wasn't until 2013 that Marchetti returned to the Blues, though the title of "successor" had been given to the younger Salvatore Sirigu.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="37" > Sirigu was unanimously favored, but after Buffon quit the Italian team, he also grew old</h1>
Born in Siligu in 1987, he was a full 9 years younger than Buffon. At the age of 22, Sirigu became the main player in Palermo, and the head coach who straightened him out was the former international Tsanga. Sirigu has the physical condition and psychological quality of a top goalkeeper, and is unanimously favored by his predecessors such as Zenga and Peruzi, and more importantly, his age difference with Buffon makes him the best candidate for succession.
Sirigu, 9 years younger, was unanimously expected to succeed Buffon.
Before the 2010 World Cup, Lippi recruited Sirigu to the pre-match training camp and used him as an alternate player. In the summer of 2011, Sirigu was recruited by Paris Saint-Germain as a key goalkeeper at the French giants, and also helped the young Italian accumulate enough European experience and championship temperament.
Euro 2012, World Cup 2014 and Euro 2016, Siligu won the number 12 shirt symbolizing the number two goalkeeper in three consecutive tournaments, and he also got the opportunity to play in the last two major competitions - the first game of the 2014 World Cup group stage against England, due to Buffon's ankle injury in the pre-match warm-up, Sirigu was able to start, he performed well, helped the team beat England 2-1, and the final battle of the 2016 Euro 2016 group stage against Ireland, With Italy already locked up the top spot in the group early, manager Conte gave Sirigu a chance to play.
After Buffon retired, Sirigu was also old, and although he got the Number 1 shirt, he was still not the main player in the Italian team.
But Sirigu, who was unanimously optimistic, finally failed to survive time and Buffon, and when Buffon finally faded out of the Italian national team, Sirigu also became a veteran. At this European Championship, although the 34-year-old got the No. 1 shirt of the national team, the main position belonged to the 12-year-old Donnarumma - in the 89th minute of the battle with Wales, manager Mancini replaced the extremely outstanding Donnarumma with Sirigu, which is likely to be a parting gift to the veteran. For a long time to come, the number one goalkeeper position for the Italian team will belong to the young Donnarumma, and it remains to be seen whether he can usher in a long era like Buffon. #Soccer##Soccer World##Euro 2019#意甲 #