Louis Buffon, the 17-year-old son of Italian football legend Gianluigi Buffon, has made his professional debut with Serie B side Pisa.
The young Buffon was given his first taste of senior football by Pisa manager Filippo Inzaghi, who was once a teammate of Gianluigi.
Unlike his famous father, who was a world-renowned goalkeeper, Louis plays as a left winger.
He came on as a substitute in the later stages of Pisa’s 3-2 loss to Spezia, replacing Marius Marin in the 84th minute of Sunday’s game.
Buffon Jr.’s debut comes after he impressed for Pisa’s under-17 and under-19 teams this season, scoring four goals in 19 games.
Pisa are currently aiming for promotion to the top division for the first time since 1991.
Gianluigi Buffon, his father, retired from professional football in 2023 at the age of 45 after playing for Serie B side Parma.
Inzaghi and Buffon were teammates for many years at Juventus and also represented the Italian national team together.
This debut follows Louis’s recent call-up to the Czech Republic under-18 national team. Despite being born in Turin, Louis is eligible for the Czech Republic through his mother and has chosen to represent them at the youth international level.
It is important to note that Louis could still play for Italy in the future, as only senior competitive international appearances definitively tie a player to a nation.
Gianluigi Buffon earned 176 caps for Italy before his retirement from international football in 2018, famously winning the World Cup in 2006.
Gianluigi Buffon holds the record for the most appearances for the Italian national team and is the fourth-most capped European international player in history.
Throughout his illustrious 28-year career, the legendary goalkeeper won 28 major honors for club and country, alongside over 70 individual awards.
Buffon’s senior career began at Parma in 1995, where he won the Italian Cup, Italian Super Cup, and UEFA Cup before a high-profile transfer to Juventus in 2001.
He played 656 games for Juventus, securing nine Serie A titles, one Serie B title, five Italian Cups, and six Italian Super Cups.
In 2018, Buffon made a surprising move to Paris Saint-Germain for the 2018/19 season, making 25 appearances and winning the Ligue 1 title before returning to Juventus.
He added another 29 appearances for Juventus, winning his tenth Serie A title, before eventually rejoining Parma in 2021.
