Buffon sets Serie A record with 648th appearance

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon set an outright Serie A record on Saturday with his 648th appearance in Italy’s top flight.

The Turin derby game against Torino moved the 42-year-old Buffon one ahead of AC Milan great Paolo Maldini, who set the record in 2009. Buffon matched this record on Dec. 18 against Sampdoria.

It was Buffon’s 915th club match as a professional, extending his record for an Italian player.

The vast majority of those matches have come for Juventus. Buffon joined the Bianconeri in 2001 after starting his career with Parma and swiftly established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

He was expected to retire at the end of the 2017-18 season but instead made a surprise move to Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the French league to add to his multiple titles. He caused even more of a stir when he rejoined Juventus the following year.

Buffon recently extended his contract for another season.

He could add to his impressive medal collection with a 10th Serie A title with Juventus, which has a four-point advantage at the top of the table.

Two other titles were stripped from the club due to the Calciopoli scandal. Also as punishment, Juventus was relegated to Serie B but Buffon stayed and helped it win the second division and bounce straight back up.

Buffon made 176 appearances for Italy — a European record — and was voted Serie A’s goalkeeper of the year 12 times.

He also won the World Cup with Italy in 2006 and the UEFA Cup with Parma in 1999.

One of the few trophies missing from Buffon’s glittering collection is the Champions League. He lost three finals in that competition with Juventus.