“Superman is back.
It is with this sentence full of meaning (it is his nickname in Italy) that Parma announced this Thursday the return of Gianluigi Buffon in the goals of the Italian club, last of Serie A this season and relegated to the lower floor .
He is back where he belongs.
He is back home. # SupermanReturns 🔙🟡🔵 @ gianluigibuffon @Kyle_J_Krause @ParmaCalcio_en pic.twitter.com/bh2FO6P8YX
- Parma Calcio 1913 (@ 1913parmacalcio) June 17, 2021
The arrival of the former Italian international (176 selections) was no longer a secret. Last March, the former Parisian had already announced, in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, his intention to continue his career for two years. Earlier this week, the Parmesan rumor had swelled. It only remained to put a signature at the bottom of the two-season contract established between the two parties. It was recorded twenty years a day after the player's last match (a 1-3 defeat against Roma) with the Yellow-and-Blue. Quite a symbol.
The record holder for matches played in Serie A (657 since 1995 when he was 17) was trained in Parma where he started before joining Juventus in 2001. Apart from a season at PSG (2018-2019), “Gigi” Buffon has spent his entire career with the "Bianconeri" club, which he recently left and with which he won everything in Italy (ten league titles, five Italian Cups, six Italian Super Cups), but also lost three times in the Champions League final (2003, 2015, 2017).
His return to Parma was, it seems, a real desire. Just like that of not being an understudy, as was the case in Turin (behind Pole Wojciech Szczęsny). According to the Italian press, Buffon is committed with the assurance of being a holder, captain, and with guarantees on a retraining in the club after the end of his career. He also finds the man who opened his prestigious record to him with an Italian Cup and a UEFA Cup (which has since become the Europa League) in 1999, at only 21 years old.
