5 players who changed positions after graduating to senior level football

Youth football is the level where footballers are allowed to make their mistakes, identify their best qualities and experiment with their place on the pitch to find one that best complements their strengths. So, it’s not uncommon for players to switch their preferred positions at some point during their career.The most common shifts include full-back to center-back, winger to midfielder or wide player to striker. Some, however, are more drastic than others, they involve completely different roles and these players have gone on to achieve quite a bit in their changed positions since.While some were influenced by their parents to change, others found it to be the right choice in their development as players. Either way, we were lucky they did because it would be hard to imagine some of these players in the roles that they started off with. 

#1 Gianluigi Buffon

The Italian custodian has grown to legendary status in his role at Juventus not only between the sticks but also as captain. He could be considered among the illustrious list of best goalkeepers the world has seen having achieved cult status for both his nation and his club.

The now 37-year-old, however, wasn’t always a goalkeeper. His initial days as a football player were spent playing in midfield for a small Italian club called Perticata and later in Parma’s youth system. 

What changed then? The 12-year old Gigi watched Cameroon in action at the 1990 World Cup in Italy and their then goalkeeper Thomas N’Kono captured him and spurred him towards what seemingly would be his destiny. In fact, Buffon was idolised the Cameroonian so far as to name his first-born after him – Louis Thomas. But that wasn’t the only mitigating factor.

Goalkeeping ran in the family for the Italian. His father Adriano been coaxing the young boy to try his luck in goal.  He thought his son had talents that were not being utilised in midfield, and how he would be proved right. Gigi also told The Guardian in an interview about the strong arms that ran in his family. His mother was a discus thrower, his two older sisters were volleyball players, his grandfather’s cousin was A.C. Milan goalkeeper Lorenzo Buffon and he also followed a bit of tennis.

He had all the initial makings of a solid goalkeeper, but the Cameroon keeper’s heroics were the turning point for Italy’s 2006 World Cup winning captain.

What might have been if Buffon had decided to stay a midfielder is a question most Italian or Juve fans might not want to find out.