TMW
On the sidelines of the presentation in Mondadori Duomo of his book “Fall, rise again, fall, rise again”, Gigi Buffonformer goalkeeper for Parma, Juventus and PSG, spoke like this about his career, starting from his retirement: “For a 45-year-old man, in everyone’s eyes it is a normal thing, a habit. A year and a half after that day I am much more serene than I was 15-16 months ago. For someone who has led the life I have led, retirement is the first death you have to face. An athlete’s career ends at a fairly young age. And the real difficulty is not receiving certain stimuli, but how to fill the day. For 30 years I had my day organized by someone else. Then out of the blue you find yourself having 24 hours… In fact I have done all the courses possible. And now I have the total conviction that I chose the best thing a year and a half ago, that is, the role in the national team.”
On Messi:
“After the first half in Berlin, I was walking towards the locker room and behind me I hear the footsteps of a player who was running. I thought he was in a hurry, but he touches my back and I turn around. It was Messi. He says to me: ‘Buffon, will you do me a favor? Would you give me your shirt?’. I never had the feeling of understanding what I was, but I just felt lucky and never one to put on a pedestal. Seeing Messi ask me for the shirt moved me.”
About Cristiano:
“Cristiano is unique. I didn’t think there could be a professional with that determination and caliber. With all the pros and cons. As a teammate you are totally admired to see this level. This leads to dehumanizing you a bit, it seems that is a human, but Cristiano, even outside the limelight, has always been someone with a strong sensitivity and some fragility that he tried to mask with his personality.”