Dino Zoff congratulates Gigi Buffon on matching his Italy caps record, “but he’ll never reach my 330 consecutive games for Juventus.”” data-scaytid=”1″>Juventus.”
Dino Zoff congratulates Gigi Buffon on matching his Italy caps record, “but he’ll never reach my 330 consecutive games for Juventus.”
The legendary 1982 World Cup winning goalkeeper had 112 appearances for the Azzurri and Buffon is set to earn his 112th cap in Tuesday’s friendly against Uruguay.
“It’s true, Buffon will catch me, but only for the Azzurri,” Zoff told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He’ll never reach my 330 consecutive games for Juventus. That record will remain mine alone.
“I first saw Gigi when he was 19 years old and playing for Parma. You could understand right away he had fantastic skills, but when you see someone at that age making his debut, you can never imagine whether or not he’ll surpass 100 caps.”
Buffon has struggled with injuries in recent years and was out for almost the entire campaign after back surgery in 2010.
“Can he play beyond the 2014 World Cup? It depends on his physique. In recent years he’s had a few problems, but if he gets fit then I don’t see why not.
“Italy have talented goalkeepers like Morgan De Sanctis, Salvatore Sirigu and Federico Marchetti, but Gigi is a guarantee.
“This Nazionale could certainly finish in the top four at Euro 2012 and with a bit of luck win the trophy,” continued Zoff.
“We always play to go all the way, even if that means stumbling into embarrassing performances like the last World Cup.”