An Ode to Goalkeeping, by Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus’s legendary goalkeeper, recently published a remarkable ode to his art via Facebook. He broke the record for the maximum number of consecutive minutes with a clean sheet, when he went 974 minutes without conceding, breaking Sebastiano Rossi’s record of 926 minutes in the process.

Read his translated ode below.

“I was 12 when I turned my back on you, denying my past to guarantee you a safe future.

I went with my heart.

I went with my instinct.

But the day I stopped looking you in the face is also the day that I started to love you.

To protect you.

To be your first and last line of defence.

I promised myself that I would do everything not to see your face again. Or that I would do it as little as possible. It was painful every time I did, turning round and realising I had disappointed you.

Again.

And again.

We have always been opposites yet we are complementary, like the sun and the moon. Forced to live side by side without being able to touch. Team-mates for life, a life in which we are denied all contact.

More than 25 years ago I made my vow: I swore to protect you. Look after you. A shield against all your enemies. I’ve always thought about your welfare, putting it first even ahead of my own.

I was 12 when I turned my back on my goal. And I will keep doing it as long as my legs, my head and my heart will allow.”

This translation was published by James Horncastle