📍Carrara, Tuscany, Italy
1978 – 1991“Gianluigi Buffon was born in January 1978 in Carrara, the Tuscan town famous for the white marble quarried from the Apuan Alps above it, and grew up there and in Marina di Carrara, by the sea. He came from a family of athletes: his mother, Maria Stella, was a discus thrower, his father, Adriano, competed in field events, his older sisters, Veronica and Guendalina, played volleyball for Italy, and his uncle, Angelo Masocco, was a basketball player. Buffon has said that sport was in his DNA. He began playing football at about five and played for local youth clubs around Carrara, including Canaletto, Perticata and Bonascola. At first he was an outfield player, a midfielder with a strong shot who took the free kicks. But he was fascinated by goalkeepers, and when he saw the Cameroon goalkeeper Thomas N'Kono at the 1990 World Cup, he was so inspired that he decided he wanted to play in goal. At thirteen he joined the Parma youth system, still as a midfielder, but when the team's goalkeepers were injured he was asked to fill in, and within weeks he had become the first-choice keeper. He made his Serie A debut for Parma at seventeen, in 1995, keeping a clean sheet against Milan. He went on to become one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, playing for Juventus for nearly two decades, winning ten league titles, and the World Cup with Italy in 2006. He was so grateful to N'Kono that he named his son Thomas after him.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today