Former Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio says Gigi Buffon was “my one true captain” and explains how he got his ‘Il Principino’ nickname.
Marchisio recently retired from the game due to on-going injuries at the age of 33, and gave a lengthy interview to DAZN about aspects of his career.
Marchisio played alongside Buffon for close to a decade, and has nothing but respect for the 42-year-old.
“Gigi is a real icon. The only one, in my opinion, he was my true captain,” Marchisio told DAZN.
Former Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio says Gigi Buffon was “my one true captain” and explains how he got his ‘Il Principino’ nickname.
Marchisio recently retired from the game due to on-going injuries at the age of 33, and gave a lengthy interview to DAZN about aspects of his career.
Marchisio played alongside Buffon for close to a decade, and has nothing but respect for the 42-year-old.
“Gigi is a real icon. The only one, in my opinion, he was my true captain,” Marchisio told DAZN.
“Goalkeepers live in their own dimension, they are strange. Also because they are almost never with the rest of the squad, they do their own training, have their own coaches.
“They live less within the group of players. Goalkeepers are always said to be a little crazy and eccentric, and it’s true.
“Gigi, as captain, even if he wasn’t with the squad as much as the rest of us, always knew when to raise his voice when he saw something that others didn’t notice."
Marchisio was known as Il Principino, or Little Prince, throughout his career, and he credits former Juve left back Federico Balzaretti with bestowing the nickname upon him.
“I turned up to training one day elegantly dressed, whilst many arrived with ripped jeans and a sweater. And so one day Federico said to me, ‘you really look like a prince: everything is beautiful and elegant’ and from there the nickname was born.”