Louis Buffon, the son of legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, has received his first international call-up to the national team.
The international career of the 17-year-old midfielder will start after his impressive performances in the youth teams of the for Serie B side Pisa during this season.
Although he has not yet made his senior debut for the club, he was on the bench during his team’s match against Cesena on Sunday.
He is primarily known as the son of the Italian football icon Buffon, who made more than 1,000 appearances during his illustrious career.
Even though Louis was born in Turin during his father’s seventh season in the black and white jersey, the youngster will not be joining Italy’s national team, where Gianluigi earned 176 caps between 1997 and 2018.
Louis is also the son of Alena Seredova, with whom the 47-year-old icon parted ways in 2014 after a nine-year relationship. The pair has another son, David Lee.
Gianluigi Buffon’s son, Louis, has received his first international call-up to the national team
The 17-year-old player has already been included in the senior squad of his current side Pisa and is set to feature for the Czech Republic Under 19s next month
So far, he is primarily known as the son of one of the most iconic figures in Italy, Gianluigi Buffon
Seredova is a model and actress who originates from the Czech Republic. Therefore, Louis, who also holds Italian nationality, has been called up to Czech Republic’s Under 18s squad.
The 17-year-old could make his international debut in a friendly match against England on March 21, even though the venue for the game has yet to be confirmed.
Louis has emerged as a rising star in Italy following his move to Serie B side Pisa from CBS Scuola Calcio in the summer of 2023.
After delivering impressive performances in the U17s and U19s team, Gianluigi’s former team-mate and head coach Filippo Inzaghi promoted the youngster to the senior squad.
Louis was an unused substitute during Pisa’s 1-1 draw against Cesena on Sunday.
Inzaghi and Buffon spent most of their careers at Juventus and have also played together on the Italy national team.
The iconic goalkeeper is the second player with the most appearances in the history of the Italian side, with 685 matches, following Turin legend Alessandro Del Piero, who holds the record with 705 games.
Buffon could have topped the list if he had not completed his shock move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2018, where he spent a season before returning to Juventus.
His father is the most capped-player in the history of the Italian national team with 176 international appearances
Gianluigi Buffon was one of the most respected figures in Serie A, achieving ten domestic league titles with Juventus
However, upon his return, the Italian has not been an undisputed starter as he was during his best years, often being sidelined in favour of Poland international Wojciech Szczesny.
He featured in 29 matches while also winning his tenth Serie A title.
Two years later, he returned to his boyhood club Parma, over a free transfer, where he retired in 2023 at the age of 45.
In July 2021, 23-year-old Buffon left the Yellow and Blues over a £43.8million transfer, which was considered the most expensive deal for a goalkeeper at the time.