Maybe it's that infectious enthusiasm: the way Gianluigi Buffon belts out the Italian anthem before international games and greets opposing captains like old friends.
Maybe it's the disarming honesty: those ready confessions to scarfing down too many gummy sweets and brawling with Ultras as a kid.
Maybe it's the fact that he still sounds like a big kid when he talks about sticker albums and Subbuteo.
Or maybe it's just because he has been one of the best goalkeepers on the planet for two decades, and has a strong claim to being the greatest of all time.