Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha admits it “hurt to see my idol Gigi Buffon so sad,” along with Ciro Immobile and Marco Parolo, after Italy missed the World Cup.
The Azzurri were beaten 1-0 on aggregate by Sweden in the play-off and for the first time since 1958, there will be no Nazionale at the tournament.
“My father (Albania legend Foto Strakosha) is my hero, but my idol has always been Buffon and it hurt to see him so sad, as all of Italy wanted to go through,” Strakosha told Sky Sport Italia.
Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha admits it “hurt to see my idol Gigi Buffon so sad,” along with Ciro Immobile and Marco Parolo, after Italy missed the World Cup.
The Azzurri were beaten 1-0 on aggregate by Sweden in the play-off and for the first time since 1958, there will be no Nazionale at the tournament.
“My father (Albania legend Foto Strakosha) is my hero, but my idol has always been Buffon and it hurt to see him so sad, as all of Italy wanted to go through,” Strakosha told Sky Sport Italia.
“It was awful to see him so distraught and it made me sad too, along with all Italians. He deserved a different ending with the Nazionale.”
Albania international Strakosha’s Lazio teammates Immobile and Parolo have also resumed training after this huge disappointment.
“I saw them the day after and they were so sad. I wasn’t accustomed to seeing them like that, I’d never seen them so downbeat. It’s only to be expected, because the World Cup is such a wonderful experience.
“It’s an even heavier burden to carry because Italy hadn’t missed out in 60 years. They gave their all, I watched the game, but they were just a little unlucky.”