Gigi Buffon Makes 500th Appearance for Juventus

Juventus' trip to Genoa on Wednesday is a special one for goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, as it marks his 500th appearance for the current Serie A champions.

After spending six years at Parma, Buffon moved to Turin in the summer of 2001 for the considerable sum of €51 million.

During the past 13 seasons, Gigi has battled depression and suffered the drop to Serie B that came as a consequence of Calciopoli, but he has remained loyal to the Old Lady.

Over his 500 appearances, Buffon has acquired seven scudetti (although two were subsequently taken away), a Champions League runners-up medal and a reputation as one of the finest 'keepers ever to play the game.

Tributes and embarrassing old pictures have been flooding in on Twitter...

Phil Cole/Getty Images

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ON THIS DAY in 1997 Gianluigi Buffon made his Italy debut Tonight he's set to make his 500th appearance for Juventus pic.twitter.com/iqqXaLHdCv

— InsideWorldFootball (@insidewldftball) October 29, 2014"