Gigi Buffon, 647 appearances in Serie A (recordman ex aequo with Maldini), celebrates his 42nd birthday. "After a certain age, turning years is not a big party - the Juventus goalkeeper smiles - but it is something inevitable and must be accepted with a smile on your lips". :-) Buffon and all Juventus missed Sunday, the day that started with the news of Bryant's death ("a disgrace that makes you feel much more vulnerable", reflects the goalkeeper), and continued with the knockout remedied for San Paolo (" a bad defeat, because we had to and could do better ").
The difference is in the reaction after the knockout, in the lesson learned by the team. "These are the delicate and negative passages that in a season are used to find a certain hunger, a certain humility, not to take anything for granted - it is the way indicated by Buffon to his companions - Probably we too, unconsciously and unwittingly, thought of face a Napoli in difficulty: but if it had been a decisive match for Juventus, I am convinced that we would have won ".
In the final calculation, however, the knockout of Naples could have a not insignificant weight in the race with Inter and Lazio and Buffon knows it. "They are two teams that will fight to the end: Lazio are doing something exceptional and have only the championship; Inter does not surprise me, I know Conte and until the end the Nerazzurri will be there. Destiny is in our hands anyway, when you are the strongest, you know that fate depends on you. "
As for his future, Buffon explains that he is not thinking about retiring, at least not immediately: "I am ready and open to all ideas: let's see how I arrive in March April. The most important thing is to always remain in balance and consistent with that I am doing. If what I am doing is still high, as I think it is, it is something that gives me satisfaction. If there is not the collapse that everyone hopes has been there for ten years, I will go on; otherwise, I will not it will be a problem and I will stop. "