Buffon: 'Juve attempt impossible'
By Football Italia staff
Gigi Buffon wants Juventus to leave the Bernabeu with heads held high against Real Madrid. “In life we must attempt the impossible.”
The first leg of the Champions League quarter-final ended 3-0 in Turin, so their hopes of turning this around are frankly slim.
“We’ll face it with the usual mentality, playing like Juventus. We’ll play with logic, tenacity, balance, good football and try to get the best possible result,” said the captain in his Press conference.
“I don’t know if Cristiano Ronaldo is the most complete player I’ve faced, as over the years I have taken on so many. At this moment, for the role he has created for himself as a true hitman, he is the most decisive. I have no doubts on that, because he scores with remarkably regularity.”
Considering he is 40 years old now, this could well be Buffon’s final ever Champions League appearance.
“The important thing is that it won’t be the final Juventus match in the Champions League. When it comes to me, it’s a possibility, but not one that depresses me or brings up negative thoughts.
“As a child, I’d have been more than happy to play the final Champions League match of my career at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid. You have to look at the positives.
“It’s a game we must honour, regardless of what happened in the first leg. We are meeting such a top club and we represent such a top club that every game must be played with the utmost dignity to achieve our best result and put in the strongest performance. That is the duty of anyone who wears these jerseys.
“There have been some incredible comebacks in the history of the competition. I want to make clear that in life you must attempt the impossible. That is extra motivation for us and trying to leave the Bernabeu with positive sensations.
“We need this, to go out of a stadium like this and a competition like this knowing that we are on their level. If a miracle were to happen, we’d all be hugging and celebrating, but to reach a dream there are other important steps.
“I tried to motivate my teammates by threatening to continue my career unless they qualify…” joked the 40-year-old.
“There is a big gap, 3-0. The only way to believe in it is not going on wild flights of fancy and being confident we’ll make it thanks to some divine intervention. That’d be madness and we may as well stay in the locker room.
“If we go out there to sacrifice ourselves and play for our teammates, then the game could go in a certain way that nobody expected.”
Buffon was asked if he expects to receive a standing ovation from the crowd at the Bernabeu.
“I have learned to expect nothing in life. I do remember receiving very nice and sporting applause here. They don’t owe it to me, though, and I don’t expect it.”
Paulo Dybala is suspended for this second leg, while Andrea Barzagli and Rodrigo Bentancur are out injured.
“While we had 11 men on the field, it wasn’t a bad performance in the first leg. We were unlucky, just as we were in Cardiff, but we were more than in the game until that red card. Incidents then affect the final score, there’s no denying it.”
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