desmond,
I have high regards for your post but criticizing Buffon is not on. Yes, I do agree that Buffon did not have a great season, possibly his worst one since his amazing 0-0 debut against Rossineri. But I have seen him since he was 17year old and all I can say is that there havent been a GK that I have seen shown more talent and ability than Gigi. Buffon is tall a la Schemichael, but he has athletic ability of Perruzi IMO. His shot stopping ability is out of this world, because he combine his long frame (His long arm helps too) with quick reaction to become formiddable world in front of goal. His only weakness IMO is that he isnt as brave GK as Peter or Angelo in their primes, and he tend to punch the ball bit too much even if he is excellent puncher of the ball.
Overall, Gigi is simply the best and most reliable one out there in the world.
While I think VDS enjoyed a great career, he was obviously on his downhill by the time he joined us. And his mistakes against Nakata, Salas, Sosa cost us dear in Lotti's last year. I certainly doesnt want to go back to that era again.