Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon of Carrara, Italy set the Serie A record for most games played in a career on Saturday according to the Associated Press. Buffon has now played in 648 games in the highest division in Italy since 1995. He played 168 games with Parma from 1995 to 2001, 472 games with Juventus from 2001 to 2018, and then eight games with Juventus this season.
Buffon passes Paolo Maldini of Milan, Italy, who played 647 games with A.C. Milan from 1984 to 2009. A defender, Maldini had 29 goals in 25 seasons.
At age 42, Buffon also holds several other records in Italian soccer. They include most appearances for Italy in international competition (176), most shutouts for Italy in international soccer (77), most shutouts in Serie A (294), most Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Awards (12), and most Serie A titles won by a player (nine).
In Saturday’s record-setting game, Juventus beat Torino 4-1. Forward Paulo Dybala of Laguna Larga, Argentina, midfielder Juan Cuadrado of Necocli, Colombia, and European sensation Cristiano Ronaldo of Funchal, Portugal scored for Juventus. Their other goal was an own goal.
With the win, Juventus improved to a record of 24 wins, three losses and three draws for 75 points. They have a seven-point lead on Lazio. Juventus next plays AC Milan on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Napoli beat AS Roma 2-1 in the most intriguing match of the day. Napoli got goals from forwards Jose Callejon of Motril, Spain, and Lorenzo Insigne of Frattamaggiore, Italy. Callejon scored in the 55th minute and Insigne scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute.
Callejon scored his fourth Serie A goal of the season. He previously scored in a 4-3 Napoli win over Fiorentina on August 24, in a 3-2 Napoli loss to Lecce on February 9, and in a 3-1 win over SPAL on June 28. For Insigne, it was his sixth Serie A goal of the season.
In an interesting twist, Napoli and AS Roma have the exact same records. They each have 14 wins, 10 losses, and six draws for 48 points. They are also each tied for fifth place in Serie A.
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