Sport is in Buffon’s blood: mother Maria Stella held the Italian discus record for 17 years; father Adriano was a national junior shot put champion; sisters Guendalina and Veronica played volleyball, Guendalina winning the European Cup with Matera. Former Milan and Italy keeper Lorenzo Buffon was a cousin of Gianluigi’s grandfather. Buffon overcame a terrible fear of wasps. “Just before a game his goalkeeping coach told me Buffon couldn’t play – he couldn’t throw himself around because there were too many wasps,” Fabio Capello explained. “‘OK no problem,’ I said, and just asked his understudy to get ready. Ten seconds later, Buffon told me his phobia was over because he really wanted to play.”
