“Juventus was my life as a footballer”, Gianluigi Buffon

Credit: Photo by Icon sport

Gianluigi Buffon looks back on his Champions League failures and the biggest regrets of his playing career.

The former goalkeeper has won almost every honour available in his 29-year career, claiming a World Cup, 10 Scudetti, six Coppa Italia, a Ligue 1 title and a UEFA Cup. Despite appearing in two Champions League finals, the Bianconeri legend failed to lift the trophy. Buffon hung up his gloves at the end of last season after an emotional two-year spell in Serie B with Parma. He now works as head of the Italian national team delegation, taking on the role a month before Luciano Spalletti took over. Speaking to Eco di Biella via Calciomercato.com, Buffon spoke of his love for Juventus.

“Juventus was my life as a footballer, there were wonderful memories, an adventure and human growth and a consecration from a sporting point of view. The world of Juve upsets your certainties, but once you succeed, they will never abandon you. For me, it was an incentive to fight every year for something that was extremely important. If I then have to say something general that affects the Juve world, the team-mates and managers, I was really sorry for them and for the fans who have been aspiring to this cup for more or less thirty years. For me, playing in the Champions League was already a joy, winning it would have been the closing of a loop, but I don’t care,” declared the former Juventus player.