Last night, Donnarumma became the youngest ever goalkeeper to play for Italy’s senior team.
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The 38 year old veteran has 161 worldwide caps to his name, and is regarded as one of the greatest ever goalkeepers to represent the Azzurri.
Giampiero Ventura suffered defeat in his first game in charge of Italy as his side slipped to a 3-1 loss at the hands of France in an worldwide friendly on Thursday.
The man he replaced, Buffon, made the first of his 162 global appearances in October 1997 – 16 months before Donnarumma was even born.
Ventura, who replaced Antonio Conte as Italy boss after Euro 2016, lined his side up with Fiorentina’s Davide Astori in a back three that was missing Leonardo Bonucci due to the Juventus player’s family commitments, and a mistake from Andrea Barzagli allowed Martial to score easily after 17 minutes.
By appearing on Thursday, Donnarumma became the youngest goalkeeper to have played for Italy, beating the record set by the then 18-and-a-half-year-old Piero Campelli in June 2012.
Buffon, who is now 38, is hoping to help Italy qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russian Federation and will not step aside for Donnarumma just yet. I want to thank the coach for this opportunity and my debut. “I am really quite emotional about it”, Donnarumma told Rai Sport.
Donnarumma and Pogba shared a special moment before the second half began, as the world’s most expensive player approached the debutant to congratulate him on his debut.
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“Pogba complimented me and said he was pleased to see me here, and I returned the compliment”, said Donnarumma, who did not want to take responsibility for the Layvin Kurzawa goal he conceded at his near post. “I wasn’t going to bring him with us just to sit on the bench”.
