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MANGARATIBA, Brazil - A hard rain was falling when Gianluigi Buffon paused for a moment during an Italy training session Tuesday. Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. Buffon first went to the World Cup back in 1998, although he didnt play a second-choice option behind Gianluca Pagliuca. He then took over the starting position from 2002 onward. "A fifth World Cup is a nice milestone but that doesnt mean Im satisfied," Buffon said before departing for Brazil. "Both individually and as a squad were preparing to surprise people." Buffon, of course, doesnt need to prove anything at this point in his career. He was one of the driving forces behind Italys run to the 2006 World Cup title, when he didnt concede a single goal to opponents during normal play over the course of seven matches — letting in only an own goal from Cristian Zaccardo and a penalty from Zinedine Zidane in the final won over France. He helped Parma to the UEFA Cup title way back in 1999 and has since won five Serie A titles with Juventus — including the last three. "As the years go by, Gigi still has the same amount of desire," said midfielder Claudio Marchisio, who plays with Buffon with both Italy and Juventus. "Hes a great professional, a great friend, and a top-level player. Hes a player who is able to give his all in every moment and always offer the right words of encouragement. "There are players here who are at their first big tournament and hes always there offering the right words of advice," Marchisio added Tuesday. Now that Buffon is setting records for longevity, its worth remembering what an early start he had. Born to members of Italys national teams in athletics (his mother) and weightlifting (father), Buffons distant relative Lorenzo Buffon was also Italys goalkeeper in the 1950s. Having played in midfield as a kid, Buffon decided he wanted to be a goalkeeper after seeing Thomas NKono defend Cameroons goal during the 1990 World Cup in Italy — when Buffon was 12 — and years later Buffon named his first son Louis Thomas after NKono. In 1991 when Buffon was just 13, Parma purchased his rights and put him in their youth system. At 17, Buffon made his Serie A debut with Parma, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against AC Milan. At 19, Buffon made a memorable Italy debut on a snowy pitch in Moscow during a playoff with Russia for a spot in the 1998 World Cup. Coming off a frigid bench as an injury replacement for Pagliuca, Buffon first raised eyebrows by wearing shorts in the arctic-like conditions then made a series of impressive saves in a 1-1 draw. Fast forward to 2006, when Buffon was one of the few key players to stay with Juventus when the Turin club was relegated to Serie B due to a match-fixing scandal — meaning that a month after guiding Italy to the World Cup title, he was playing in small second-division stadiums. Then at the 2010 World Cup, Buffon struggled with back pain. He played only a portion of Italys opening match and the Azzurri were promptly eliminated after the first round. But he was back in place to help Italy reach the final of the 2012 European Championship. And last October, Buffon surpassed Fabio Cannavaro with an Italy-record 137th appearance. So how does Buffon keep going? "Motivation is the key," he said in a recent interview with Italian daily La Repubblica. "Reflexes diminish. At my age you dont improve anymore, so its better to reduce training and take better care of injury prevention, nutrition and gym work." Buffon has often recounted how he fell into depression about 10 years ago, then resuscitated himself by turning to literature. He has also been the subject of a couple betting scandals. In 2011, he married Czech model Alena Seredova but Buffon announced last month when Italy gathered to begin training that they had separated. In announcing their split, Buffon thanked Seredova publicly for not making things too difficult for him, and said that he hopes she will bring their two boys to watch him play in Brazil. Whether Seredova and the boys come is yet to be seen. Either way, Buffon has already inscribed his name in the World Cup record books. And who knows, maybe Buffon will continue playing and go back to Russia and the site of his Italy debut for the 2018 World Cup, when hell be 40 — the same age that one of his idols, Dino Zoff, was when he helped Italy to the 1982 World Cup title. "Ill keep playing as long as I dont become a reserve," Buffon said. "Once the day comes that I get benched, thats when Ill hang my boots up." ___ Follow Andrew Dampf at http://twitter.com/asdampf Roquan Smith Youth Jersey . "Rob brings a wealth of coaching experience, having worked both in Canada and overseas in player development," Canada Soccer technical director Tony Fonseca said in a release. Gale Sayers Jersey . Winners of two straight, the Flames will try to become the first team in 25 years to go three consecutive games without taking a penalty Saturday night in San Jose. https://www.bearssportsgoods.com/Womens-Devin-Hester-Inverted-Jersey/ . As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back. Gale Sayers Youth Jersey . The Padres made the moves before Fridays game at Washington. They promoted infielder Jace Peterson from Double-A San Antonio and right-hander Kevin Quackenbush from Triple-A El Paso. Khalil Mack Bears Jersey . Napoli beat high-flying Hellas Verona 3-0 to keep up the pressure on the top two while AC Milan had another disappointing night as four goals from teenage forward Domenico Berardi saw relegation-threatened Sassuolo come back from two goals down to win 4-3.TORONTO -- Brett Lawries latest injury has the Toronto Blue Jays confused because theyre not sure quite how it happened. Lawrie felt something wrong in his left oblique muscle during batting practice earlier this week and now hes out a month. Even confounded by the cause of Lawries injury amid a season full of them, general manager Alex Anthopoulos doesnt blame the artificial turf at Rogers Centre. "I dont know that the injuries weve had have been linked to this," Anthopoulos said during a wide-ranging meeting with reporters Thursday afternoon. "Is there a wear and tear component to it? Sure. Im not denying that. "I just think its too easy to say everything relates back to the turf." Anthopoulos pointed to Lawries 2013 oblique injury happening at spring training in Florida and then at the World Baseball Classic in Arizona, all while running on grass. A couple of the third basemans other injuries, a broken finger from getting hit by a pitch and sprained ankle from sliding into a base, couldve happened anywhere. First baseman Adam Lind is out with a fractured right foot now but landed on the disabled list earlier this season with back problems, and Jose Reyes and Colby Rasmus each missed time with hamstring injuries. Reyes aggravated his hamstring ailment on the turf at Montreals Olympic Stadium, which Anthopoulos said used to be like "cement" when the Expos were there. Rogers Centre uses AstroTurf GameDay Grass, which gets rolled up for other events. Anthopoulos conceded that the turf can flatten out the more that its rolled but doesnt consider it the reason some players have gotten injured. "Guys that have Tommy John (elbow surgery), I dont think theres an impact," he said. "Adam Lind broke his foot. "It wasnt like a sledgehammer came up out of the turf and slammed him down on the foot." Edwin Encarnacion strained his right quadriceps muscle while running the bases in Oakland, and his rehab setback came when swinging in Dunedin, Fla. When a reporter relayed a story to Anthopoulos that opposing players have run to first and said to Lind, "I dont know how you play on this every day," the GM said he has heard the same thing before.dddddddddddd But he also doesnt want to make the turf an excuse because the Blue Jays are locked into playing on it through at least 2017, when the stadium lease for the CFLs Toronto Argonauts expires. Anthopoulos said president Paul Beeston and members of the organization were exploring the possibility of changing the surface to grass. Five retractable-roof parks -- the Arizona Diamondbacks Chase Field, Houston Astros Minute Maid Park, Seattle Mariners Safeco Field, Milwaukee Brewers Miller Park and Miamis Marlins Park -- have natural grass, so the technology is available. "Would players certainly prefer to play on grass? Absolutely. Would I love to see grass? Absolutely," Anthopoulos said. "I know no matter what, the turf is there. "Its not going anywhere, at least for the next few years. So theres no point spending time on something that isnt going to change." Anthopoulos said it was a "total cop out" to blame the turf for any of the Blue Jays losing, pointing to the Tampa Bay Rays recent success. Rogers Centre and Tampa Bays Tropicana Field are the only two Major League Baseball stadiums left with artificial turf. Asked if the turf was a problem in signing free agents, Anthopoulos pointed to the two World Series won in the building formerly known as SkyDome in 1992 and 1993. But back then, the Blue Jays were among 10-of-26 major league teams playing on turf and one-of-five in domed stadiums. Anthopoulos wasnt sure if turf being more prevalent back then affected then-GM Pat Gillicks discussions with free agents, but he implied its not the driving force behind players signing or not signing with the Blue Jays during his regime. "Even in the past, when weve been able to bid high, whether its years or dollars, weve been able to get players," Anthopoulos said. "Do I think when things are very close, can it have an impact? Sure. But I dont think turf has anything to do with you win or lose games." ' ' '