This is a really great interview with Gigi. Here are a couple of things that I thought were interesting:
>“There are two things I’m particularly proud of,” Buffon adds. “The first is the longevity and continuity of my high-level performance. The second is the bond with my teammates, with our chemistry on the pitch, which is one of the most beautiful ways of working and playing together.”
>…but Buffon believes his best campaign was in 2002-03 when “I was in superb form, a type of feeling I also experienced in 2006 at the World Cup … in those moments it seems that everything is perfectly in order, you feel almost omnipotent, and you have a perception that you are unbeatable”
>Twenty years on Buffon tells me that, after a national scandal which meant Juventus were relegated to Serie B, “it wasn’t easy to find the calm and serenity to focus on our priority – which was to play the World Cup at our best. But the real difference is that, when you look at yourself in the mirror, you realise you’re not a liar. You’re true to yourself. We knew we hadn’t done anything bad. We were paying an inexplicable price but the injustice brought out the best in us.”
>Buffon suggests that Parma resemble his mother, Juventus his father and Paris Saint-Germain, his third club, is like a wild friend with whom he goes on holiday. So what does Italy, as a team, represent to him? He thinks carefully before, with some tenderness, replying: “The national team is a grandfather. There is a notion of legacy that means it needs it to be protected with delicacy. The grandpa needs to be supported.”
>What are the reasons for the decline of Italian football? “I would say there are three clear ones,” Buffon says “The first is globalisation, which has made it possible for all teams to be very competitive, and the average level of play has increased a lot. Secondly, up to 15 years ago when we used to win, we were stronger tactically than our opponents. And thirdly, we have some fantastic players but what’s missing is the truly creative talent like [Roberto] Baggio, [Alessandro] Del Piero or [Francesco] Totti that used to help us prevail.”
Raffajel on
Loved it! He always had a philosophical take on things. As a kid, I started following Juve in 2002/2003. I can’t explain it, but looking at Buffon coming on the pitch at that time I had a feeling of “we’re good with this guy”. He had this aura that he just articulated. Same at the 2006 WC. He was incredibly good there.
The fact that he stayed with us after the WC on what is arguably the peak of his careeer is something that I will never forget.
Grazie Gigi, ci manchi 🖤🤍
2 Comments
This is a really great interview with Gigi. Here are a couple of things that I thought were interesting:
>“There are two things I’m particularly proud of,” Buffon adds. “The first is the longevity and continuity of my high-level performance. The second is the bond with my teammates, with our chemistry on the pitch, which is one of the most beautiful ways of working and playing together.”
>…but Buffon believes his best campaign was in 2002-03 when “I was in superb form, a type of feeling I also experienced in 2006 at the World Cup … in those moments it seems that everything is perfectly in order, you feel almost omnipotent, and you have a perception that you are unbeatable”
>Twenty years on Buffon tells me that, after a national scandal which meant Juventus were relegated to Serie B, “it wasn’t easy to find the calm and serenity to focus on our priority – which was to play the World Cup at our best. But the real difference is that, when you look at yourself in the mirror, you realise you’re not a liar. You’re true to yourself. We knew we hadn’t done anything bad. We were paying an inexplicable price but the injustice brought out the best in us.”
>Buffon suggests that Parma resemble his mother, Juventus his father and Paris Saint-Germain, his third club, is like a wild friend with whom he goes on holiday. So what does Italy, as a team, represent to him? He thinks carefully before, with some tenderness, replying: “The national team is a grandfather. There is a notion of legacy that means it needs it to be protected with delicacy. The grandpa needs to be supported.”
>What are the reasons for the decline of Italian football? “I would say there are three clear ones,” Buffon says “The first is globalisation, which has made it possible for all teams to be very competitive, and the average level of play has increased a lot. Secondly, up to 15 years ago when we used to win, we were stronger tactically than our opponents. And thirdly, we have some fantastic players but what’s missing is the truly creative talent like [Roberto] Baggio, [Alessandro] Del Piero or [Francesco] Totti that used to help us prevail.”
Loved it! He always had a philosophical take on things. As a kid, I started following Juve in 2002/2003. I can’t explain it, but looking at Buffon coming on the pitch at that time I had a feeling of “we’re good with this guy”. He had this aura that he just articulated. Same at the 2006 WC. He was incredibly good there.
The fact that he stayed with us after the WC on what is arguably the peak of his careeer is something that I will never forget.
Grazie Gigi, ci manchi 🖤🤍