Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon defends Andrea Pirlo – ‘I don’t think it’s time yet for Andrea to hang up his boots’.
The veteran midfielder has been the subject of some criticism, with Juventus director general Giuseppe Marotta claiming that ‘every player should know when it’s time to hang up his boots’.
“Marotta was making a general point,” Buffon explained to Mediaset, when asked about the criticism of Pirlo.
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon defends Andrea Pirlo – ‘I don’t think it’s time yet for Andrea to hang up his boots’.
The veteran midfielder has been the subject of some criticism, with Juventus director general Giuseppe Marotta claiming that ‘every player should know when it’s time to hang up his boots’.
“Marotta was making a general point,” Buffon explained to Mediaset, when asked about the criticism of Pirlo.
“I don’t think it’s time yet for Andrea to hang up his boots. When the games really count, and the ball becomes like a hot potato, someone like him will make us comfortable.
“Someone like him always does.”
Buffon won his 150th Azzurri cap in last night’s win over Bulgaria, while New York City midfielder Pirlo has turned out 116 times for his country.
The pair won the World Cup together for Italy in 2006, with Pirlo also spending the last four seasons at Juventus before moving to MLS.