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Rome - Spectators at Stadio Olimpico do Torino probably won't have to wait long on Sunday to see one of Serie A's great records fall.
If home team Torino can't score against city rival Juventus in the first three minutes, then goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will equal Sebastiano Rossi's 22-year-old record of consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.
One minute later, the record will be all Buffon's.
He hasn't let in a goal for 926 minutes.
Rossi kept a clean sheet for 929 minutes for AC Milan from Dec. 12, 1993 to Feb. 27, 1994, beating the previous mark set by former Juventus goalie Dino Zoff in 1972-73 by 26 minutes.
"I'm delighted for Gigi," Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said after Buffon beat Zoff's mark last week in a 1-0 victory over Sassuolo. "If we manage not to concede in the first three minutes of the derby, it will be a record, and the crowning of an extraordinary career."
Extraordinary is right. The 38-year-old Buffon has won almost everything in football — including the World Cup in 2006, when he conceded just two goals in seven matches.
Buffon joined Juventus in 2001 from Parma, where he won the UEFA Cup and Italian Cup, and swiftly started adding to his trophy cabinet. He won another Italian Cup and eight Serie As, although two were revoked in a match-fixing scandal which saw Juventus demoted to the second division.
Buffon was one of the stars who decided to remain with the club, and helped Juventus bounce straight back up as Serie B champion.
One big prize he doesn't have is a Champions League winner's medal. In his time, Juventus has lost in the final twice, including last season.
Despite the intense rivalry between Torino and Juventus, the home supporters will more than likely roundly applaud Buffon if, as expected, he breaks Rossi's record in the Derby della Mole.
