Italy’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Albania on Friday was doubly special for goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon: not only did he set a new European record by winning his 168th international cap, the Azzurri’s 2-0 Group G victory was also the 1,000th competitive match of his career.
“As far as I am concerned, it will be a huge honour,” he had said at the pre-match press conference. “The only thing I can say for sure is that I will not be playing another 1,000 games.”
So far, the 39-year-old has played 612 games for Juventus in all competitions (winning seven Scudettos, two Coppa Italia titles and five Italian Supe…