Nevio Scala, who gave Gianluigi Buffon his debut, says Milan’s Gigio Donnarumma is the Juventus goalkeeper “20 years ago”.
The Rossoneri number one made his debut at 16, drawing parallels with his namesake who made his first Parma appearance at 17.
“I look at the Milan goalkeeper and I see him [Buffon] 20 years ago,” Scala told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He resembles him very much, he’s his heir.”
Nevio Scala, who gave Gianluigi Buffon his debut, says Milan’s Gigio Donnarumma is the Juventus goalkeeper “20 years ago”.
The Rossoneri number one made his debut at 16, drawing parallels with his namesake who made his first Parma appearance at 17.
“I look at the Milan goalkeeper and I see him [Buffon] 20 years ago,” Scala told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He resembles him very much, he’s his heir.”
When Buffon takes to the pitch for Italy against Albania on Friday, it will be his 1000th first team game, and Scala was the man who gave him his first.
“It was Saturday night, the eve of the match. On Sunday we were playing against Milan, and I was losing sleep over it.
“In the end though I think the decision came from within me: he plays. Gigi plays.
“On the Tuesday that week, the starter Luca Bucci got injured. There were two left, Gigi and Alessandro Nista, the latter was the backup.
“Since that training session on the Tuesday, my goalkeeping Coach Enzo Di Palma and I had done the same things as always but we’d been casting a different eye over Buffon.
“We saw that no-one could score past him. No-one.
“So on that Saturday, after the session, I went to Enzo and said: ‘did you see what I saw?’.
“He said: ‘You don’t even need to say it’.
“I told Buffon on Saturday night at the training camp. It wasn’t easy to tell Nista that he’d be on the bench either, but I’d decided.
“That was the way it was going to be, even if I was torn with two doubts. The first was that Gigi was phenomenon, but he was only 17-years-old.
“The second was the risk of being lynched by the club and the fans for making a choice like that against Milan.
“In short I went to Gigi and said: ‘what if I play you tomorrow?’.
“He said: ‘Boss, what’s the problem?’. It was mad, he was already an adult.
“The game ended scoreless and he made a fantastic save, I don’t remember if it was from [George] Weah or [Roberto] Baggio.
“The only thing I remember clearly is the buzz at the Tardini when the teams were read out. Everyone went: ‘ooooh’.
“If it had gone badly I think they’d have chased me out, but I was sure of every choice I’d made.
“After the game? I gave him compliments, I didn’t expect that he’d celebrate hugely after and that’s how it was. He was a lad with attention, sensibility and natural simplicity and he’s never lost that.
“He had innate qualities, agility and the right eye. He had the technique and he could read the situations in the game, the movements of the opposition, anticipating what would happen.
“Quite simply, he was a phenomenon.
“Do we still talk? We met two years ago in Parma for an event. I’m not someone who calls and makes a nuisance of himself, but I’m sure if we met again he’d give me a kiss and a hug.
“Will he retire in 2018? He’s an intelligent man, and he’ll choose the right time. It’s better to say goodbye when you’re cheered and applauded, and not go looking for a late career elsewhere or in Serie B.
“He’ll finish with Juventus, it’ll be when he wants but at the appropriate time. Because Gigi knows the perfect moment. He always has.”